Sept. 11 - I was able to watch the opening film of the 11th Cine Europa with my friends (Myra, Amiya, Noee, Che, Rein and her friend Rod, Ms. Bubbles & her husband) at Shangri-La Mall in Shaw boulevard.
The film was "Love Songs" (Les Chansons d'Amour) by Christophe Honoré.
The Cine Europa booklet states:
"This modernist musical about love and loss in Paris centers around a young couple, Ismael (Louis Garrel) and Julie (Ludivine Sagnier), who in the hope of sparking their stalled relationship, enter a playful yet emotionally laced threesome with Alice (Clotilde Hesme). When tragedy strikes, these young Parisians are forced to deal with the fragility of life and love. For Ismael, this means (after the death) negotiating through the advances of Julies' sister and a young college student (Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet)--one of whom may offer him redemption."
It was a beautiful film. The singing was initially off putting but the direction was brilliantly. In my mind, I was imagining a film of my own, with a story strung together around the songs of the local band "Aegis" songs like "Halik" etc. sprinkled with, let's say, Jessa Zaragoza songs and a few ones from Noel Cabangon thrown in. But I digress. Seventy percent into the film and I felt, like the rest of the audience perhaps, that I could not really guess how the film would end, and it was exhiliratingly engaging towards the end. And when the closing scene came, I was absolutely smitten by the film.
This is a spoiler for those who haven't seen the film but I would say that the last words from Ismael were the ones which will be most quoted by the audience:
"Love me less but love me for a long time"
...words that were sealed by a kiss no less. (I wish I had the original french words).
Catch all the other films until Sept. 21. Check the screening schedule at www.delphl.ec.europa.eu or call Shangri-La cinema.
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