Customer Reviews

Jet Lag [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Juliette Binoche and Jean Reno are the protagonists in "Jet Lag," a melancholy and sad story about two people who fall in love through no fault of their own. They do everything to avoid it but ultimately cannot, due to the inevitability of fate and an over-riding sense of being in the right place at the right time (or the wrong place at the wrong time).
Binoche as Rose is a down on her luck Cosmetician who has decided to flee a bad relationship and fly to Acapulco and Reno is Felix , trying to fly to Munich to hook up with his supposed girl friend. Needless to say, neither makes it to their destination.
Director Daniele Thompson keeps it light and airy and banks on the screen personas of both Binoche and Reno to set the mood and tone of the film. Initially Reno looks at Binoche as an overly made-up bimbo while Binoche looks at Reno as an anal-retentive Bureaucrat. Both are right but come to realize that, though they are initially wrong for each other, are unavoidably, ultimately and cosmically destined to be with each other.
Binoche and Reno trade on their patented dramatic personas and turn in slyly comic performances that are psychologically true. "Decalage Horaire" (Jet Lag) is a story of what happens when two emotionally weary and frozen people are willing to let their guards down and allow Love to enter their lives. It's a story as old as time but nonetheless feels fresh here because of the truthfulness and emotionally emphatic performances of Binoche and Reno.

***1/2 "Jet Lag" is a French romantic comedy that takes place almost entirely in an airport terminal and an airport hotel. Juliette Binoche and Jean Reno are two strangers who meet at the Paris airport and end up sharing a room when all flights are cancelled due to an air traffic controllers strike (think of how this affair would have been thwarted had Reagan been France's president at the time!). Rose and Felix are both riddled with insecurities and anxieties, having been largely unlucky in the ways of love. Yet, after some predictable initial tension between them, they somehow manage to find a mutual strength - and attraction - in their combined weaknesses.

"Jet Lag" is so simple and unassuming in its early stages that we are amazed to discover, about a third of the way through, just how completely it has managed to sneak up on us and win us over. Unlike most American romantic comedies, "Jet Lag" allows its characters to actually talk and get to know one another. It sure doesn't hurt, of course, that Binoche and Reno are such talented, attractive performers who establish an astonishing rapport in their scenes together. Sure, the plotting isn't exactly believable, but when is that ever the case in a film of this type anyway? The thing that matters is that we like the people we have become involved with and that we can accept, if only for just a moment, the possibility that they might be able to find happiness together. That is certainly the case in this film. (If there is a criticism to be leveled against the film, it is that it is simply too short, clocking in at barely over 80 minutes. How many films can one say THAT about?).

"Jet Lag" could have been a completely insubstantial little film; instead, it resonates with a joyfulness and charm that truly captivate the viewer. This is a winner well worth checking out.

JET LAG is a rare treat. It is a smart, saucy film that takes two well known actors and gives then a chance to play different types and the result is very successful.

Juliette Binouche steps into the tacky clothes and glitzy makeup of a superficial loquacious beautician who needs her makeup, perfumes, and wacky clothes to complete her 'self', an unlucky-at-love waif on her way to Acapulco from the Charles DeGaulle airport. She encounters a neurotic, fastidious (except for his groungy hair and beard) chef play by the usually dark 'hitman' Jean Reno and because of strikes in the Paris airlines and trains preventing scheduled flights, she agrees to share a room wiht him for the night until their separate flights are available. Well, of course, the 'odd couple' find subtle but strong needs in the opposite persons and the way their rather bizarre cohabitation results in their mutual and individual awakenings is the source of the plot and the delight for the viewer. Both Binouche and Reno create indelible characters and their transformations are wise and wonderful.. A definite 'feel good' movie - and we certainly need films like this as warm entertainment. Kudos to director Danielle Thompson for uncovering other layers in these two fine actors' gifts.

One of my perennial romantic comedy favorites, this French film is delightful. The sets, as well as the characters, are very colorful and the actors who play them (Jean Reno and Juliette Binoche) are marvelous. This movie is always a lovely rewatch. The only lamenting thing about rewatching it is realizing how pitifully and dully Hollywood makes romantic comedies.

Jetlag began life as a high-concept Hollywood romcom before becoming a French vehicle for Jean Reno and Juliette Binoche. Similarities to 'One Fine Day' notwithstanding, this is pretty much 'Avanti' in an airport, albeit without Wilder's wit or romanticism. Reno is the Jack Lemmon substitute, an uptight chef-turned-frozen-dinner-company-owner in a hurry to reach his ex's grandmother's funeral while Binoche takes the Juliet Mills role as the working class beautician. When their planes are constantly delayed and they find themselves sharing a hotel room... fill in the blanks. It's not particularly good and wildly over-reliant on starpower to hide the gaps in the script, but it's a watchable soaper which does have one nice scene in a hotel kitchen when Reno cooks dinner while revealing family secrets (the equivalent of the nude swim in 'Avanti' where the two characters' barriers finally come down). Thin stuff even at the 81-minute mark (seven of which are credits), but it just about manages to fill the gap between real movies.

The transfer is acceptable but although the film was shown in theaters in 2.35:1, once the titles are over the film is presented 1.85:1.

Two people with nothing in common stuck at an airport? I know it might sound kinda boring, but this film has much more going on under the surface, much like our 2 main characters.

Don't be fooled by the "oh we're having so much fun" (which I am assuming is an American-ized) dvd cover, and if you've seen the American/English preview, it is just as misleading.

Juliette Binoche and Jean Reno serve wonderful performances as two people who are struggling with their very livestyles and personal problems. Initially they are not impressed with the other person but as this story grows, so does their realization that a book cannot be judged by its cover.

It is exciting watching them challenge one another, and each character takes what they have learned in order to find the courage to take giant steps in improving their lives.

I would not call this a comedy, nor a drama. Its a "dramedy", more like. Funny at points, dramatic, sad, romantic, and real. If you dislike the rubbish that Hollywood churns out, please check out this film. C'est magnifique!

"Décalage horaire" (2002) aka Jet Lag was the third film written/directed by Daniele Thompson that I've seen. It may not be as marvelous as La Būche (1999), her directorial debut or charming and delightful as Fauteuils d'orchestre (2006), her latest film but it is definitely worth seeing for the wonderful acting by two fine French actors, Juliette Binoche and Jean Reno who both played against their types. Binoche does not appear often in the comedies and Reno is not well known as a romantic lead but they were pleasure to watch in the light romantic dramedy that takes place in the famous Paris Charles de Gaulle airport one long rainy night when all flights were grounded by weather and a baggage strike. Two strangers meet by chance, when Rose (Binoche) who had accidentally flushed her cell phone in a toilet, asks a perfect stranger, Felix (Reno), to use his phone. They are both professionally successful. He is a chef who made a fortune in the frozen-food business, and she has won a golden brush, the equivalent of Pulitzer Prize for the make-up artists. Their personal lives are the mess. Each has the problems, disappointments, unsatisfying or unfinished relationships by the time of their first encounter. She flees from her abusive boyfriend of 12 years (Sergio Lopes is memorably scary in a tiny cameo). He still can't recover from his previous relationship and suffers from anxiety attacks. Perhaps, 81 minutes is not enough to convince us that these two flawed and insecure individuals will overcome their past and live happily ever after but Binoche and Reno masterfully and elegantly created on the screen the possibility of love and readiness to accept it.

3.5/5

A fast paced almost American-like movie in French. Jean Reno who I'm not familiar with and Juliette Binoche (she looks great without makeup), play travelers who meet at an airport when Binoche's character, Rose, somehow loses her cell phone in a toilet. Reno is Felix, a chef with his own frozen food company and a cell phone he's kind enought to let Rose continually borrow. Both their flights become delayed and what follows isn't surprising. They eventually spend enough time together that they develop a romantic relationship.

What keeps this movie alive are Reno & Binoche, two professionals at their craft who kept this viewer involved every step of the way. I've read the mixed reviews from so called mainstream critics, and now that I've seen this funny, yes (I chuckled a lot), I can say those critics are wrong. I grade Jet Lag, a B (I would've preferred a happy ending kiss). Jet Lag is a pleasant romantic comedy.

Juliette Binoche and Jean Reno are the protagonists in "Jet Lag," a melancholy and sad story about two people who fall in love through no fault of their own. They do everything to avoid it but ultimately cannot, due to the inevitability of fate and an over-riding sense of being in the right place at the right time (or the wrong place at the wrong time).
Binoche as Rose is a down on her luck Cosmetician who has decided to flee a bad relationship and fly to Acapulco and Reno is Felix , trying to fly to Munich to hook up with his supposed girl friend. Needless to say, neither makes it to their destination.
Director Daniele Thompson keeps it light and airy and banks on the screen personas of both Binoche and Reno to set the mood and tone of the film. Initially Reno looks at Binoche as an overly made-up bimbo while Binoche looks at Reno as an anal-retentive Bureaucrat. Both are right but come to realize that, though they are initially wrong for each other, are unavoidably, ultimately and cosmically destined to be with each other.
Binoche and Reno trade on their patented dramatic personas and turn in slyly comic performances that are psychologically true. "Decalage Horaire" (Jet Lag) is a story of what happens when two emotionally weary and frozen people are willing to let their guards down and allow Love to enter their lives. It's a story as old as time but nonetheless feels fresh here because of the truthfulness and emotionally emphatic performances of Binoche and Reno.

In JET LAG two strangers meet under unusual circumstances in a crowded and chaotic Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. As a result of various labor union strikes flights are either delayed or cancelled while travelers are impatient and nerves are frayed. Rose first approaches Felix in the airport terminal to borrow his phone after she accidentally dropped her cell phone down the toilet. There is certainly no "love at first sight" for these two individuals, and they even succeed in getting on each other's nerves. But each time they say goodbye they end up bumping into each other at a different time and place in the airport. Each appears to have little in common Felix and Rose have little in common other than being stuck in an airport. Felix is a twice-divorced idiosyncratic man who has immigrated to New York and detests everything about his native country. On the other hand, Rose is a woman who feels naked without makeup and is escaping an abusive boyfriend. But as time progresses they warm up to each other and form a meaningful friendship. What really makes this film work is that they form a bond based on their differences and they begin to appreciate and understand each other's lived experiences. Their relationship isn't based on lust and sex but rather delves deeper into emotional longing to be understood and affirmed in the modern world. As the film progresses they become more connected and appreciated in each other's company. In JET LAG Juliette Binoche delivers another wonderful performance that his indicative of her successful film career in French cinema. It is always a pleasure to watch her perform as she rarely plays the same character repeatedly. This film is fun to watch and is a good diversion for a cozy night inside in front of the television. JET LAG is described as a "romantic comedy" but I believe it delves deeper and says volumes more than other films in this genre. Enjoy!