Customer Reviews

The Apartment

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Note: French with English subtitles.

Synopsis: Vincent Cassel and Monica Bellucci play two star-crossed lovers whose attempts to reunite after an unintential two year separation are constantly thwarted by fate and the devious actions of a third party determined to keep them apart.

Critique: Released in '96, `The Apartment' receives the highest marks on every level. First of all, two of my favorite French stars head the cast; Vincent Cassel (Max) and Monica Bellucci (Lisa), which is further complimented by a magnificent performance by Romane Bohringer (Alice). The cinematography is superb, artistically capturing the urban, Parisian terrain which seems to ooze from the screen. The camera skillfully captures the spirit of this legendary city and the atmosphere of the landscape incorporating that romantic ambience into the separated lovers Max and Lisa. The soundtrack is melodic, melancholy and apprehensive, a perfect fit for the taut, expertly constructed plot unfolding layer by complex layer on the screen before the viewer. The storyline is unbelievable intricate, flashing back and forth between the past and present with each time shift unveiling some new secret, some previously unsuspected nuance to the story that seems to change everything you had known and understood up to that point.

`The Apartment' is first class entertainment from beginning to end and believe me when the end finally arrives you'll be taken totally by surprise just as I was. This is a classic that definitely can be watched again and again. Buy it and save yourself from repeat rental fees.

L'Appartement became an instant favorite when I saw it a few years ago, although on revisiting it I did find myself wondering for a while if I hadn't over-valued it. But then, a third into the picture it takes a sudden left turn and what had been a relatively simple romantic drama about lost love suddenly became a much more complex piece of work touching on the nature of desire and the way accidents of timing and interpretation can change fate.

What's most fun - or most frustrating, depending on how you like your narrative delivered - is the way it doubles back on itself, revealing that the passing details in one person's life can be major ones in another's, even revealing that for the first third of the movie both we and the main character haven't noticed the presence of one key character. Rewarding and exhilarating stuff.

I have the French region 2 PAL DVD, and gosh, this region 1 version sounds just horrible. The French DVD is anamorphic AND has DTS sound.

To true lovers of this film, get a multi-region DVD player and get the French version. It's the only version that can do this film justice.

This is the film that made the quadra-lingal Monica Bellucci a star; plus it's the one that introduced her to now-husband, Vincent Cassel. Bellucci is - if possible - de-glamorized here most of the time. She wears a backpack! And pants! And athletic shoes! Such are the pressures when you are Monica Bellucci. To see she and Cassel together at the starts of their now famous careers is a treat.

The movie itself is tortuously complex and riven with holes, most notably: Cassel's Max (rising corporate hotshot and fixer) is tasked with flying to Tokyo to swing some major deal. But he [THINKS HE] overhears Bellucci's Lisa - his erstwhile lover and one-time _almost_ live-in mate - in a happenstance semi-encounter and becomes frantic to track her down. So, what to do? He pretends to wing it to Tokyo, goes out the backdoor of the airport (passing the fiancée, Muriel, who dropped him in the process), calls the high-profile clients in Tokyo telling them he's been unavoidably detained, and makes calls from Paris to Muriel pretending he's in Tokyo. Muriel is, by the way, Max's CEO's sister...but no big deal to the director: nothing ever really becomes of all this. Huh? In real life, Max's ruse would be found out in a day, and the film's entire premise shot. But, whatever, right? It annoyed me that something that blatant would essentially pass unnoticed.

The movie's second-half turns into a head-spinning roundelay between Lisa, Max, Lisa's spurned friend Alice (or is she Lisa?) and Max's friend Lucien. Despite the complexities and bulldozer-sized plot holes, The Apartment still made for 2 hours of enjoyable watching. Writer/Director Gilles Mimouni (Wicker Park) employs a really neat trick of showing you an event from a character's point-of-view, then revealing, say, 40 minutes more of the story, and then showing you the event again from another character's point of view...by which time the quizzical first-time showing has new meaning and gives you an 'ah ha!' moment. It's very carefully constructed and artful stuff.

One facet of this movie that no one mentions but it really is a factor is that two of the actors on the screen are perhaps the sexiest, most magnetic and charismatic stars movie goers have seen in awhile. These two are Vincent Cassel and Monica Bellucci. They made the movie in 1996 and actually married one another in 1999. IMDB lists them as still married. So perhaps the film was helped by this real life sizzling and chemistry. It is difficult to shoot a film involving love, attraction and sexuality if the two actors are absolutely flat with no chemistry between them. This French film involves them as former lovers who cannot find one another again. He does spot her one day and follows her to her apartment. However, when he hides in her apartment, he discovers it is someone who looks like her who lives there. But he was sure he saw her, not this other woman. This is a very nuanced, layered film. Cassel is definitely the lead because the camera is always on him and he is the one who is searching. Just writing about it, I feel another watching coming on! Some have compared this to Hitchcock and De Palma and it is a fair comparison. Truffaut was another Frenchman who paid homage to Hitchcock with THE BRIDE WORE BLACK. This film is like that one in style, elan and suspense.

The previous reviewer (Lim) did a great job of summarizing without giving anything away. Apparently, I liked this movie a whole lot more. This movie was a classic french love story - no hollywood ending here. The soul of the movie is best explained by Alice, as she is confronted by Max of her duplicity - Haven't you ever felt such love that you were willing to do anything? Love is the real main character. We see idealized love (Max and Lisa), we see obsessive love (almost all of the characters at one point), we see pragmatic love (Max and Muriel & Lisa for Daniel), etc. There is no right or wrong in this tale. According to Nietzsche, anything done out of pure love is never evil. Hmmm.... All types of love are displayed and the ending is most fitting for each character. I believe that Alice's character was the most intriguing as she starts obsessive and grows into true love.

This is one of those rare movies that you can sit back and enjoy simply on a plot driven level or discuss all the different levels of love and what the ending meant. Either way, it's a great way to spend 1.5 hours!

Hollywood re-made this movie (Wicker Park), which was good but nothing like this very french tale. The U.S. version focused more on the obsessive angle and copied many of the same scenes with a Fatal Attraction twist.

Not sure about the complaints about the quality of the DVD as I come from Europe I have that version (So I guess we got one up on you there) I have had no problems with the subtitles or sound quality and this film realy is truely exellent. If there are such problems they you realy need to buy the European version as this is one of the best films you are likely to see.

It has so many twists and turns that to go into any detail about the film would simply spoil it for you. Describing it as 'Hitchcock' in style is probably the best description I can think of. The acting is superb with both Vincent Cassel and Monica Bellucci at their best (Bellucci rarely does have a poor day in the office when it comes to her acting)

Exellent film highly recomended.

This is a stunning romance thriller. It breathes like Hitchcock. After watching it I went back to the beginning of the film when the jeweler asked Max (Vincent Cassel) which of the three beautiful rings (how he described them) he will choose. Max will think about it and we find out who he choose at the end of the film. He's not sure about his engagement to Muriel when he overheard the voice of his lost love Lisa (Monica Bellucci). From there on he must find her and find out why she has left him two years ago without a word. He finds clues which may lead him to an unsuspecting surprise. The music and camera work is excellent as you follow the characters throughout and the story keeps you thinking.

The problem with watching Alfred Hitchcock's films is that they leave you wanting to see another and another, to savour his unique and playful blend of romance, tension and intrigue. Unfortunately Hitch has gone to the Bates Motel in the sky, and no one has really proven to be his equal.

L'appartement is the closest to being a "new" Hitchcock film that I've ever come across. The director, Gilles Mimouni, makes the connection to Hitchcock clear from the beginning with a lush, romantic soundtrack (courtesy of Peter Chase) that immediately recalls Vertigo. Also like Hitch, Mimouni uses sweeping camerawork and a rich colour palette to heighten the eccentric nature of his story.

Ah, the plot. Well, in the interest of not revealing too much I'll just say that Max, played by Vincent Cassel, thinks he catches a glimpse of Lisa (Monica Bellucci), the love of his life who seemingly vanished two years previously. Max has just become engaged and is due to fly to Tokyo for an important business trip, but he decides to put everything on hold to track down Lisa. Naturally, not everything is as it appears and the story, filled with flashbacks and unexpected plot twists, becomes a romantic mystery and a thriller.

Looked at as a whole the plot verges on the nonsensical, but then so do many of Hitchcock's films. Half the fun and purpose of Hitchcock's films is to see what happens to ordinary people when they're caught in an extraordinary series of events. And where Hitchcock liked to play with the language of film, Mimouni focuses on creating a series of overripe, romantic interiors that are stars on their own right. In fact, you could almost call this a film about apartments, as each of the several featured in the story are given a distinct and arresting look. And even Paris, which doesn't need much help to look mysterious and romantic, is made to look lusher and more delectable than the real thing.

During the final section of the film, as the loose ends are being tied up and various mysteries are revealed and solved, you'll be amazed at the cunning of the plot. You'll also want to immediately re-watch it to understand how it all fits together. The only real flaw in the film is that Max is forced to make some unlikely life choices in order to keep the plot moving along, but that's a minor quibble. Call this one Hitchcock's last great film.

You can read more of my reviews at JettisonCocoon dot com.

I buy films for the local Alliance Francaise, and this is one of them. The U.S. film Wicker Park was based on this film. Neither is all that great, but I liked The Apartment better because it has more nudity, specifically more of Romane Bohringer. The very beautiful Monica Bellucci is also nude, but we don't get to see anything.