I saw this film in London yesterday and loved it. The story takes place in France in the late 50's. It is about love that is subverted by extreme
selfishness and class difference, about shifting attitudes and emotions and about reconciliation. Corsini's direction is understated, and the acting of all the leads is very convincing. The film is over two hours long and I wasn't bored for a second.
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markbernd13 January 2019
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acheampongwamekwame12 July 2019An impeccable film held together by astonishing performances and a very understated direction. I don't know if I am biased because French is my first language, but I found the film so incredibly real. Even at the lengthy runtime, I barely felt it. Corsini is at the top of their career with this film!
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paul2001sw-120 October 2021In Catherine Corsini's drama 'An Impossible Love', a woman's life is shaped by her affair with an extremely selfish man. Later, he abuses their child. There should be a lot of good material here: about how society normalises male selfishness, and how we can blind ourselves to the unbearable truth and semi-consciously assist an abuser. However, the male character is so outrageous that any subtlety is lost, while the female protagonist cannot truly be blamed except for the stupidity of being in love - morally, she's unimpeachable. The result is a film that says rather less than it might have done. Meanwhile, the economic consequences of being abandoned as a single parent are basically ignored; overall, the film is surprisingly painless given its dark subject matter.
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lazygafiltafish26 November 2021I watched this on Chai Flicks (aka Netflix with Jewish themed movies and Israeli ones). Her religion and ethnicity really was irrelevant to the movie. Couldn't figure out if Phillipe was supposed to be but I believe he wasn't.
Phillipe to me is one of the most disgusting villains I have ever seen in any movie. I just expected him to be a snobbish, rich piece of you know what but he's even worse. The abuse to me was not needed and made the movie much more intense than it needed to be. To make things more complex, the daughter Chantel is nothing like the mother Rachel and is exactly like her father in looks and personality. How Rachel was able to live with a reminder of him is beyond me.
Brings me to Rachel. I don't think she was unlikable at all, rather naive. To Phillipe's defense all signs of him being a jerk were there from the beginning. He literally tells her he won't marry her throughout the movie and adds that if she were rich, it could be different (wtf?). Rachel knowingly allows him to have him to send his "seed" inside her. He sees her and Chantel every now and then for essentially a romp in the hay with Rachel mainly to get her off his back. He never financially helps out until he establishes a regular relationship with Chantel when she is a teenager. The sexual abuse imo came out of nowhere. They made him go from being a pig to being a pervert and a creep. Rachel had no idea what was going on until her daughter's much older "lover" tells her to not allow her to see Phillipe due to the ongoing abuse. Phillipe writes her a letter blaming Chantel for him not being able to see her anymore and that he thought she was different (classic narcissist to shame the victim) Chantel seems to have stopped seeing him until he is much older and when she is an adult. The only really unlikable thing about Rachel is that when she realizes that there has been abuse, she doesn't reach out to call the police as well as to warn Phillipe's wife who he has a child with.
Chantel spends years giving her mother the cold shoulder and on and off stops communicating with her. While a teenager, Rachel just thought Chantel was acting out as a teen and resented how her mother was working class and not as cultured as her father. Chantel clearly is messed up throughout the movie once her father reappears regularly in her life. The girl doesn't understand why her mother continues to sleep with him, gets abused by him, and at 14 or 15 has a relationship with a man who is in his 20s and a friend of Rachel's calling him a lover and not a boyfriend. As an adult she appears to be in a loveless relationship and has a child contemplating leaving him.
It's a depressing movie from start to finish. -
euroGary24 October 2018"An Impossible Love" may or may not be based on a true story - according to Wikipedia it is not clear whether or not Christine Angot's source novel "L'Inceste" is fiction.
Typist Rachel meets translator Philippe in small-town 1950s France. Even on their first date there are signs he considers himself a cut above her: he suggests she should read Nietzsche. But he is charming, handsome, and Rachel finds him fascinating. A passionate affair ensues, but when Rachel finds herself pregnant Philippe declares he will not marry her and disappears out of Rachel's life for years at a time, not even making any financial contribution to baby Chantal's upkeep until she is a teenager. But despite his caddish treatment of her (which includes marrying another woman when he also knocks her up because she, unlike Rachel, comes from a rich family), he is always able to convince Rachel to welcome him back to her bed - until his ultimate betrayal. Years later, Chantal has grown into an unpleasantly self-centered individual and Rachel has new conflict with which to deal.
The problem with this film is Philippe is such a pantomime villain - superior, selfish, irresponsible and cruel, he has no redeeming features at all. If he is indeed based on a real person who did what Philippe does in the film, it would have been difficult for director/co-screenwriter Catherine Corsini to make him sympathetic, but it detracts from what is otherwise a very grounded story when one of the major characters is such a cardboard cut-out. Niels Schneider does what he can with the role, but inevitably is constrained by the limited dimensions of the character he must portray. Belgian actress Virginie Efira, as the mumsy Rachel, has more with which to play and delivers a likeable performance. There's also a very nice turn from Estelle Lescure as the teenaged Chantal.
Seen at the 2018 London Film Festival. -
Avian-215-74879811 December 2020I was certainly gripped by the set-up. Fine performances, nicely directed and stylish portrayal of events. My issue was with the sudden and what seemed to me, convenient/unearned simplistic ending. I simply did not 'buy' the ending. I agree with another user review which suggests we are simply presented with a 'one-note villain. Are we really to believe a Mother/woman who never responds vocally to a man such as Phillipe is a reliable narrator ? Is the Mother as innocent and worthy/decent as the character suggests? It has many strengths - but ultimately, it sloppy, rushed, convenient ending frustrated me and really had me wondering what exactly the director wants us to take away from this epic tale which covers 60 years.
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jromanbaker28 September 2019Sometimes I think it is only France that is producing one incredible film after another. I have a list of the great films that I have seen from this country ( the ones that I believe will last and be returned to as great works of art ) and this joins them. I watched it late at night and I could not sleep such was the impact. To tell its story is to do it a disservice. It is the story of a life, and the people in that life; it questions and it probes, and it shows how far we all are from knowing those who affect us during this short span of living that we have. Many philosophical questions are asked, and the scene at the end of the film between Virginie Efira and Jehnny Beth is so precise, so clear that my head was spinning with its truth and sometimes dreadful clarity. Society and us as individuals are pitilessly drawn into question, but all this would mean nothing without the direction of Catherine Corsini and the group of actors she has brought togethet. Efira is superb, and Jehnny Beth has a fierce force in her acting that I found overwhelming. I have admired Niels Schneider for quite a while, but here he surpasses himself. I am a poet myself, and one fine writer said about one of my poems that it was above criticism. So is this film. Like that elusive thing that we call truth it shifts and it changes, and perhaps truth in its essence is beyond us all, both in its certitude and its horror and its beauty. ' Un Amour Impossible ' cuts into the heart and the brain like a scalpel.
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The plot is overloaded with all sorts of personal, psychological, familial malfunctions. It ends up tiring you rather than entertain or make one think. The development of the characters is a bit predictable even though they have many different hardships to undergo. The acting is excellent without an exception and the aesthetics of the film is brilliant. I'd say it's like a crush test for yourself to see how you'll react and what you think intuitively about all that's going on.
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denise-882-13902317 October 2021I did not seek out this film.
Watched it one Sunday afternoon on BBC iPlayer.
I was feeling unwell and thought it looked gentle enough. There was no write up, so did not know what to expect.
It was a fine, intelligent film; Rachel was a wonderful character, I liked and understood her. It is this factor that sustains the film throughout. The two hours or so passed quickly; one becomes heavily invested in the central character.
One is left with no doubt about Phillippe from the start, he is not ordinary and totally narcissistic. Therein lies the reason for, what sometimes seems like, his unfathomable hold over Rachel. This is not about class differences or anything as mundane as that keeping lovers apart, this is about a true narcissist's manipulation of a trusting and loving girl / woman.
When adult Chantel, Rachel and Philippe's daughter, confronts Rachel at the end, Rachel's answer is believable; she simply did not conceive that the problems in their mother and daughter relationship, during Chantel's teenage years, was anything other than that she, Rachel, was simply not good enough.
I am trying not to give anything away, just watch the film and see it play out. Just remember that it is Rachel's life you are watching unfolding. -
bjarias8 February 2024... first off, must-saying absolutely-luv-imminsely Virginie-Efra's-work... time-again she's-awesome... yet would really have-her-here reversing-characters-personalities (more-involvement-than-his), that would've been something incredible
... otherwise, it gives-provides what audiences expect, yet overall not very interesting-above-average... without her (either personality) would need another high-caliber-actor to carry-the-production as-she-does-here... and the woman's fated going-thru-life looking-appearing 10-15 years younger than reality... forty-two could be late-twenties-easily
... a film to benefit from added viewing.. not for understanding-depth, just watching her-at-this-age. -
dakjets18 April 2021Sometimes things are not as we think. This movie is an example of that. What starts with a very ordinary story develops into an adventure of drama. We have seen the story, the beginning of the film many, many times before; boy meets girl, they fall in love, but can not marry due to class differences. But this issue is only used as a starting point in this gripping, well-played and engaging film. The film depicts people, main characters in an era, and masterfully manages to follow developments. For my own part, it was also demanding to watch, first and foremost to understand why Rachel played by Virginie Efira makes the choices she makes in the film. This is how good film should be like. Challenge us and give us insight into choices others choose to make. I now understand that I have to check out the other films director Catherine Corsini has made. At least she has succeeded greatly in this wonderful film.
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ourelbi20 January 2023This movie grabbed me because I love French films, and I'm drawn to watching films with both of the lead actors.
It started off good, if not extremely maddening, due to the storyline of the main female character letting herself being used and walked over. That was hard to watch.
Then, halfway through, as the daughter starts to grow up and different actors are used for the character, it gets messy. The storyline in the second half, which I was not expecting, and made me pretty sick, was weird and could be triggering for some.
I love how films make you really feel something, but if it's a storyline for a movie (such as the one that starts halfway through in this movie), I'll usually give it a miss - but who knew from the outset? You'd never guess, and it's pretty gross. Then comes the hastily put-together ending between mother and daughter. I think the title An Impossible Love / Un amour impossible was inaccurate. Perhaps, Un amour revoltant would have been more apt. -
DPMay6 January 2022I came to this film with no prior knowledge of it (I didn't even realise it was going to be in French until I started watching) and so had no preconceived ideas about it. So I was pleasantly surprised to find myself hooked by the storyline from quite an early stage and captivated throughout - perhaps not the easiest of tasks for a lengthy subtitled film (my French is somewhat lacking).
Essentially a woman's account of the relationship between her parents (from their first meeting) and herself (from birth through to adulthood), the story is full of twists and frequently wrong-footed me as to just where it was going to head next, even though the progression of events was generally logical and believable.
Telling its story over the course of decades, I was glad it didn't fall into the usual trap of trying to ram the styles and fads of each period down the viewer's face. The gradual aging of the characters, always a tricky thing for filmmakers to get right, was remarkably convincing too.
Although I'd like to comment on certain specifics of the plot, which can be hard and uncompromising at times (as indeed the effects of human love can be), that would only serve to reduce this film's capacity to surprise the first-time viewer. However, Virginie Efira gives a terrific central performance as Rachel, the woman who spends her whole adult life providing love but finding precious little of it reciprocated. Yes, some might question the rather one-note tone of Rachel's behaviour throughout and the manner in which she just accepts the metaphorical kicks in the teeth without histrionics, but I think it works in this context. Some people are like that and the lack of any reactionary aggression on Rachel's part emphasises how cruelly she is treated, and also demonstrates how being passive does not necessarily always achieve the best outcomes. -
SB10022 June 2021Very good performances and superb period atmosphere in this absorbing story of the relationship between a woman and a man who sees the relationship very differently to her perception. Bravely extends the story over a long period, over thirty years, and does so convincingly.
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kpassa27 June 2021Set in a time where men could get women pregnant and disavow them with no consequences, the story follows the life of a woman who takes getting dumped on as a way of life that gets passed down through generations. It got to be so bleak I counted the minutes until it ended and wouldn't recommend it to anyone. How it got as high a rating as it did is a mystery.
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pauliewalnuts-4935624 October 2021I couldn't sleep one night and looking for something to watch on my planner I saw I had recorded this off bbc very glad I watched it!
I highly recommend this film with a brilliant turn by the lead Virginia Efira.
France seem to churn out mesmerising thought provoking films like this which had me enthralled from beginning to end.
I don't like to say too much on these reviews because I'd rather people went in raw to watch it so all I'll say is watch it,you won't regret it. -
It's Grégoire Hetzel's score that is most immediately striking. Defined predominantly by vibrant, stirring themes for piano, there's a heartfelt fullness to the music that almost seems more fitting for a title of more momentous, sweeping drama. Yet the profundity of these chords nevertheless serve to immensely enrich and elevate the very personal drama that 'Un amour impossible' does represent - a tale that only ever becomes more engrossing and impactful as the length progresses. From the outside looking in this movie doesn't necessarily look like much; the premise isn't one I'd usually gravitate towards. I'm so very glad I didn't pass it up, however, because filmmaker Catherine Corsini has given us a picture of tremendous simmering vitality and power. As a matter of comparison this may be a quiet domestic drama, but there's a great underlying strength that makes it just as rewarding for a viewer as one could hope.
I can't claim any familiarity with Christine Angot's novel, but I happily recognize by its adaptation a book that I'd be glad to read to discover what may have been left out when translated to film. I can't easily imagine it's a lot, however, as Corsini and co-writer Laurette Polmanss present to us a screenplay of real, complicated characters, stark dialogue, and scene writing that thrums with undeniable tension and electricity. While 'Un amour impossible' bears a definite sense of progression and passage of time as a narrative, it's the fraught dynamics between Rachel, Philippe, and Chantal that are the true core of the storytelling: the single mother, trying hard and struggling; the father, cruelly selfish, manipulative, and abusive; the daughter, fiercely intelligent and torn between her two parents and what they represent to her. Make no mistake, however, this is all the feature needs to keep us actively engaged and invested, for those relationships, and primarily that between Rachela nd Chantal, are carefully shaped with a mind for only the most terrific potency, and to utmost success.
Corsini's direction is really rather remarkable, striking a delicate balance between a broadly low-key tone, and summoning forth severe charged emotions from the actors; feeling in turn natural, reserved, meticulously attentive, firm, gentle, and hands-off. Then again, all parts work in tandem here, and robust source material and an outstanding screenplay make Corsini's task as director all the easier - as does the utterly superb cast. Virginie Efira I'm most familiar with, and I loved her in Paul Verhoeven's 'Benedetta'; she informs why here with an exquisitely well-rounded performance of controlled nuance and range. Niels Schneider inhabits the role of Philippe with so complete an air of pretense and false charm that he becomes that actor who is easy to hate for how inseparable player and part are. And still the actors who each portray Chantal in turn threaten to upstage even Efira who is mostly centered as a protagonist. Young Sasha Alessandri-Torrès Garcia, stunning Jehnny Beth, and possibly even more so Estelle Lescure bring to vivid life the complex maelstrom of emotions that the daughter goes through over the long time span of the story, and it's genuinely a pleasure as a viewer to see them demonstrate their incredible skill. As if it weren't true before, 'Un amour impossible' aptly shows me that I need to go about finding more movies to watch from all involved.
And by all means, this is splendidly well made in all other regards. Jeanne Lapoirie's cinematography is a soft anchor for the feature; only at select points does it specifically come to one's attention, yet all the while her work is sharp and mindful. The production design and costume design are swell all around. Of all those aspects contributed from behind the scenes, it's actually the hair and makeup artists whose effort lends most substantially to what the writing, direction, and acting otherwise establish. The subtle but unmistakable details that progressively age Efira and Schneider along with their characters add considerably to the verisimilitude of the tableau, and it's safe to say that if the vanity artists weren't so practiced in their craft the title at large likely may have suffered. The end result of all this is a film that's far more absorbing, poignant, satisfying, and indeed fulfilling than I'd have ever assumed sights unseen. There's no singular stroke of genius in these 135 minutes, but the whole consistently and irrevocably draws us in more and more with its tight drama, and the length passes by more quickly than one realizes. I don't know if I'd go so far as to say this is an absolute must-see, but the total excellence the picture represents most assuredly marks it as something that earns my highest, heartiest recommendation for anyone seeking a good drama. 'Un amour impossible' is far richer than the premise first suggests, and it's very much worth checking out if one has the opportunity. -
3 stars for the decent acting, but weak character development leaves the plot feeling unmotivated and unbelievable. Bad make up doesn't help. The end result is 2 hours plus of depression, with absolutely no redemption in the forced ending. 2 hours that I unfortunately won't get back.
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zapostolov12 September 2023"An Impossible Love" (2018) is a French film that attempts to explore the complexities of relationships and the evolving role of women in society. While it has some commendable aspects, it ultimately falls short in its execution, earning a rating of 5 out of 10.
One of the film's notable aspects is its modern shift in focus towards the female protagonist, Rachel, portrayed by Virginie Efira. It seeks to depict her journey, struggles, and triumphs in a world that often marginalizes women. However, the film's portrayal of men as either absent or villains is a significant flaw. This one-dimensional characterization not only lacks depth but also perpetuates stereotypes that do a disservice to the complexity of human relationships.
The absence of well-developed male characters hampers the film's ability to offer a balanced perspective on the dynamics between men and women. It simplifies the narrative by painting men with broad strokes, which undermines the film's potential for meaningful commentary on gender roles and relationships.
Additionally, "An Impossible Love" suffers from pacing issues, making it challenging for viewers to fully engage with the characters and their emotional journeys. The film's meandering storyline and occasional lack of focus can be frustrating, detracting from the overall viewing experience.
While "An Impossible Love" attempts to address relevant themes and showcase a modern perspective on women's roles, its lack of nuance in depicting male characters and its pacing problems ultimately limit its impact. It falls short of its potential and earns a rating of 5 out of 10. -
frukuk20 June 2021Perhaps the moral of this film is to avoid any potential partner who suggests you absolutely must read Beyond Good and Evil and/or Thus Spoke Zarathustra? (Mentioning Nietzsche's The Gay Science is possibly less of a red flag.)
Philippe (played by Niels Schneider) seems to have absorbed the idea that there is no absolute morality and has convinced himself that the world exists only to satisfy his desires and that he must pursue those desires at whatever cost to others. He's such a consistently obnoxious pig that it is difficult to believe that Rachel (played by Virginie Efira) would really persist in her pursuit of him, even if only to give their daughter legitimacy.
No one could possibly care what happens to Philippe, as he is clearly beyond redemption. And Rachel is quite an unsympathetic character, simply because she puts up with so much narcissism from Philippe. -
yk-8423418 April 2023She made the wrong decisions from start to finish. Throughout the movie, I shook my head at everything she did. People on this site keep saying it's a great movie. My opinion is "hell" no! Fortunately, only the actors acted normally. Not just only she made her own life horrible, but also she does her best to make sure that even his meanness is passed on to her daughter. She never had to pass on his last name to her daughter, of course. She had to cut ties with him as soon as possible. The same story and same dumbness continues until the end. Other than that, all is nonsense so, save yourself a couple of hours and think straight.
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yatessarah10 November 2021Excellent cinematography with great performances but this is not entertainment. I can handle emotional arcs within storylines but there are very few ups in this emotionally draining film.