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Va Savoir 2001 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Jacques Rivette
PG-13, 154 min. (brief nudity) |
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Starring: Jeanne Balibar, Sergio Castellitto, Marianne Basler, Jacques Bonnaffé, Hélène de Fougerolles, Bruno Todeschini, Catherine Rouvel, Claude Berri
Producers: Pierre Grisé, Martine Marignac, Maurice Tinchant
Screenplay: Pascal Bonitzer, Christine Laurent, J. Rivette
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Released: 10/28/01 (Limited)
(In French with English subtitles) |
Rating:
 (out of ) |
Va Savoir is a simple story involving six characters that find themselves in chaos with complex feelings and burgeoning love that
is obviously inappropriate given their current situations. It draws comparisons between an ongoing stage play and real
life, demonstrating that its characters are not far from their fictional counterparts. Respected director Jacques Rivette
weaves their lives together with a stroke of contemplation for their individual conundrums. Wonderfully-nuanced performances
and inviting charm combine to make Va Savoir a gentle, extremely likable picture.
While most films concentrate on one central relationship, Va Savoir presents several variable relationships that begin and
end within the film's running length. The players: Camille (Jeanne Balibar), an actress who returns with her troupe to her
home in Paris; Camille's new husband Ugo (Sergio Castillitto), the director of the struggling troupe; Pierre (Jacques Bonnaffe),
Camille's former lover; Sonia (Marianne Basler), Pierre's new wife; Do (Helene De Fougerolles), a beautiful librarian
in charge of a rare library; and Arthur (Bruno Todeschini), Do's half-brother who makes a career out of stealing from women.
As the story unfolds, Camille seeks out Pierre for closure while he falls for her again, Ugo searches for a lost play in the
library where Do seduces him, and Arthur has an affair with Sonia in order to theive a precious ring from her. Although the characters
seem uncontented, eventually they will each have to make a decision that will affect all their lives, since an intricate web
has been spun by their unfaithfulness to one another.
Rivette's love for unique characters emboldens him to experiment with seemingly-mundane but brilliant scenes. Two scenes
in particular, one where Camille must make a clever escape from Pierre's apartment through a skylight, and another
involving a gentlemen's duel to the death involving drinking alcohol from a theatre's loft, are ingenious pieces of
directing. Instead of fashioning his characters around a contrived plot, Rivette allows his actors the freedom to explore
their visceral feelings for one another, thereby empowering the characters to drive the story.
It's fun to watch each newfound relationship unfold, even if just a passing fancy, because of the baggage that each character
brings to it. They must balance a measure of etiquette for the other's situation, while pushing their own need for pursuing
the relationship. It's the characters that we enjoy - they are at times sqeamish, and at times exuberant with guilty pleasures
of love. They make the viewer want to see more of them, instead of being forced to see them in a manipulative plot-driven
farce. This is the main reason that Va Savoir is a success.
Because Rivette treats his audience with intelligence, he is rewarded with adoration for his unforced, yet identifiable
character study of people who only think there's something more satisfying than what they already have. Rich in
wonderful performances and clever set pieces, Va Savoir is a gem of a film for those with the patience to sit through
a long film with much to offer in return.
© 2002 Jonathan Cornwell
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 |
 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
 | Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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