Customer Reviews

Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A gentle movie that explores a complex relationship. Understatement at its best.

Nelly, played by the beautiful Emmanuelle Beart, is at crossroads of her life -- disillusioned with marital problems and aimless about future. She meets Arnaud, played by Michel Serrault, -- a gentleman, retired judge and businessman, wife separated -- at a cafe through a common friend. He helps her to overcome her debts and she in turn helps him to type his memoirs. Thus their interaction begins. Arnaud is infatuated by her beauty and personality (who wouldn't be?), but he is helpless in expressing that for the fact that he is of more than double-the-age of Nelly. She too is in love with the sophisticated, mature Arnaud but for the same reason as his, she is unable to accept it. She finds that her heart longs for Arnaud when she automatically rejects a live-in relationship proposed by a publisher-friend with whom she was dating and was happy.

They try to be and feel that they are happy together, all the time knowing that a complete and defined relationship is impossible. Both of them are tormented by their love for each other. Is it love in the romantic sense? May not be. There is an emotional vacuum in both their lives. And they fill each other very well. She needs someone mature enough to steady her drifting, aimless life and he needs someone to illuminate his dull, boring life. It is not lust. It is not romance. It is not friendship. It is not concern. It is not finding solace. Or is it lust? Is it romance? Is it friendship? Is it concern? Is it finding solace? Frankly, I am at loss trying to comprehend the nature, complexity, depth and layers of their relationship.

They know how much each one meant for the other at the time of their parting, when Arnaud's ex-wife takes him for a global tour. Arnaud, collected and withdrawn till then, embraces her passionately. Nelly, composed and passive till then, is shaken and devastated. They know it is coming to an end. The film ends with Arnaud thinking of her and Nelly trying to cope up with her daily life. I hate the ending as much as I love it. Perhaps, it was the appropriate ending. Not all relationships in life are complete; some end abruptly, some never ends.

Beart and Serrault are magnificent. I am amazed by her ability to bring about a variety of emotions with subtle facial expressions and effortless motion.

Can anyone confirm that the 2nd line of subtitles are cut off the bottom of the screen when played on a widescreen tv? I began watching the film on my Sony 46" Widescreen and anytime a 2nd line of subtitles appeared on the screen I could only see the top of the words barely. I tried on another DVD player and it was the same. I tried all settings, (Full, Zoom, Wide-zoom, Normal) and all 4 cut the subtitles off. I ended up watching it on my 4X3 Sony 36" TV and I could read the subtitles. Anyway, good movie, just wish I could watch it on my Widescreen.

Edit. This is due to overscan on many TVs. You should be able to see the subtitles correctly on displays without overscan, or 4x3 televisions.

This is the film that I watch when I am in a decidedly Parisian mood. The lightning fast dialogue, the eloquent gestures and the few glimpses of the city conjure up that wonderful Parisian essence. The outdoor scenes are pre-wintry gray whereas the indoor scenes are softly luminous. These descriptions can also be attributed to the distinguished, older Monsieur Arnaud (a delightfully cynical but witty Michel Serrault) and the beautiful young Nelly (Emmanuelle Beart's loveliness saves her from mediocre acting abilities).

Nelly is a woman in her twenties struggling to make ends meet after being laid off from her publishing job. The fact that her husband (Charles Berling of Ridicule) is also out of work and completely demotivated allows her to entertain an offer that she would not normally accept - a substantial loan from a virtual stranger, Monsieur Arnaud. She meets Monsieur Arnaud through her elegant, older friend, Jacqueline who confides that she once had an affair with this judge turned successful businessman. Jacqueline was attracted by his ability to really listen to a woman and offer true friendship. Nelly ends up accepting Pierre Arnaud's offer to type up his memoirs, and the two develop a unique relationship as they match wits in editing his manuscript. He's alternately gruff yet admiring while she's coyly feigning nonchalance. An undeniable chemistry exists but is never physically expressed.

Monsieur Arnaud's publisher, the young, dark, somewhat smarmy Vincent is immediately attracted to Nelly. She's reluctantly drawn to him after spending an enjoyable evening with Monsieur Arnaud in one of Paris' most exclusive restaurants. Why she gets treated to this extravagant evening is a fun story in and of itself. After a dinner of remarkable fare, exceptional dessert wine (Chateau d'Yquem, 1961!) and flirtatious conversation, the desire to end the evening in intimacy results in Nelly seeking out Vincent. While Pierre Arnaud provides her with stimulating and heartfelt companionship, Vincent merely provides her with a physical outlet. Although Vincent wants more from Nelly, in her eyes, he cannot take Pierre's place.

The subplots also support the major theme of love and age. A sweetly sad movie that will satisfy those in the mood for good (French) dialogue and a twist on the May-December relationship.

Sautet's talent is fully displayed in Nelly et M. Arnaud. He revealed the subtly and complexity of human relationships so clearly that any human beings will agree with. This film is about dissecting reality beautifully on the silver screen. The ending was astutely thought out that one has to admit that only the French can do it.

Claude Sautet delivers interesting characters in all his movies and this work is his best. Beart is stunning as a lonely women who leaves her coach-potato husband and then finds work and friendship w/ Mr. Arnoux, a retired judge. She helps him write his memoirs and puts "wind in his sails." Any love felt between Nelly and Mr. Arnaux sneaks up on you and leads to a bittersweet conclusion. This movie gets better each time you watch it.

This film takes place against the backdrop of central Paris, always a plus in my book. Michel Serrault plays Pierre Arnaud, a charming older man, a retired judge, who is well beyond his prime. At a pavement cafe, he is introduced, by a mutual friend, to Nelly, (Emmanuelle Beart) a lovely young woman, and is immediately attracted to her, as any man of any age would be. Within minutes she is confiding in him and he is offering her money to pay off her three month's rent arrears. He then offers to employ her to assist him in writing his memoirs . She accepts both, and in no time they have set up a close working relationship, which becomes, as time goes by, increasingly pleasurable for both of them. However, he becomes tormented by his love for her whilst finding himself, because of the discrepancy in their ages, unable to do anything about it. She is out of reach and he can't bear it.

In the mean time, she has divorced her husband and has started dating Pierre's young publisher. But her heart is still with Pierre and when the publisher suggests that they live together and she turns him down, he will have nothing more to do with her. She is alone again.

At this point, Pierre hears from his ex-wife that her second husband has died and she is coming to Paris to see him. Then things happen quickly. One morning, two days later, Nelly arrives for work to be told that Pierre and his ex-wife are leaving that morning for an extended round the world trip that will take several months. Nelly is stunned by this news, suddenly realising how much Pierre means to her. Pierre, empathising with her and now fully aware of the enormity of what he is about to do, passionately embraces her for the first and last time as he says goodbye. Both now accept that their love is doomed to remain unconsummated.

At the airport, whilst his ex-wife is getting the tickets, he stands in a reverie thinking longingly of Nelly. At that same moment we see her, having finished her work for the day, walking home with her head held high and then disappearing into the crowd. We are left wishing her well and desperately wanting to know what the future holds for her. It is an inconclusive, poignant ending typical of so many French films.

If you like the intimacy and subtlety of French films then you will like this one. But it is a film to like and not rave about. It is a very gentle film - perhaps too much so. As some other reviewer has said, Emmanuelle Beart is very passive; she certainly lacks vivacity. But that is probably a trait that some will like. I do.

If infintisemally less fine than its companion piece (and equally sumptuous feast for Beartophiles) "Un Coeur en Hiver", this movie is still light-years ahead of any romance that Hollywood has put out in the last 50 or 60 years. Do yourself a favor and watch it.

Yes, people mock the French and their films. However, this is one of the great films of recent years. It upsets me that the Amazon review mentions how the ending is facilitated, because it takes away from the punch that comes and leaves such a deep whole inside. The very idea that in life one can never really know how deeply one person can affect another, or who that very person may end up being, is better expressed in this masterpiece than any film I've ever seen.

This is best movie made in France ever.I enjoy in every minut.This movie is masterpiece of Claude Sautet,and everyone should see it.I saw this movie year ago,but it is now in my heart,and it will stay there forever.

I can confirm what the previous reviewer remarked, that the editors did something wrong with how they recorded subtitles on the DVD and that they are not readable on a widescreen TV on at least several types of DVD players, while the picture itself is recorded in widescreen anamorphic. The only way we could watch it with my non-French speaking wife was to set the TV to 4:3 aspect, set the DVD player as if it was pluged on a 4:3 TV and watch the movie with gray bars on the side and black bars on top and bottom. And while the anamorphic picture looked like a beautiful transfer, for some reason two players that I have tried had trouble scaling it properly to letterbox and many "venitian blinds" artifacts appeared during pans.