Product Description

When we first meet rising young artist Angelique (Tautou), she is in the glorious throes of true love, and the whole world has seemingly fallen under her spell. Her handsome lover Loic is madly in love with her, her paintings are winning wide acclaim, and a glorious future seems all but assured. But Angelique's blissful world may not be as enchanting as it first seems, and in a quick startling moment, her life - and our understanding of it -seems to unravel in front of our eyes. Starring Audrey Tautou (Amelie), Samuel Le Bihan (Three Colors: Red).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15012 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2003-08-12
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: French
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 92 minutes

Amazon.com
That adorable Audrey Tautou from Amélie plays the central role in this deceptive story of a rather unusual romance. It would spoil the film's clever design to reveal what happens halfway through He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, so let's just say that Tautou plays a winsome girl in the sunny town of Bordeaux, whose relationship with a married doctor has more layers than first it seems. Samuel LeBihan, from Brotherhood of the Wolf, plays the doctor, but it's the casting of cutie-pie Tautou that sets up the movie's gradually sinister undertow. Director Laetitia Colombani's inventive structure plays a satisfyingly tricky game with the audience, and may have some viewers going back to the beginning to make sure they saw what they thought they saw. Just don't go in expecting Amélie part deux, and you should find this an ingenious little number. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews

Very well done romance / thriller
"He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not" is a clever French film that begins as a romance and ends up as a thriller. I personally like this kind of story, in which nothing you see at the beginning is what it seems. [The most famous example, perhaps, is Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo"] While this movie might prove too deceptive and cynical [or even a bit cruel] for some viewers, I think it wll prove rewarding for those who like films that `think outside the box'.

The movie begins much like any standard romance. Angelique [Audrey Tautou], a promising young artist, is madly in love with Loic [Samuel Le Bihan], a successful cardiologist. She sends some flowers and a painting she did to his office to show her affections. She is house sitting for a family who has gone away for a year. Her life seems almost perfect until it dawns on her that the doctor doesn't keep the promises he makes to her - he doesn't show up for dates, he refuses to leave his wife, etc. Slowly, she sinks into a depression. She later plots her revenge against her `unfaithful' man. But what is really going on between these two? To say more would be to ruin the story.

Tautou is the French actress who charmed audiences around the world a while back as "Amelie". Here, she proves she is more than a big smile, wide eyes and an odd hairdo; in fact, she looks completely different. She is a most accomplished actress. Samuel Le Bihan is first rate as the object of her affection.

The movie is in French with English subtitles. These do not bother me in the least, but I am well aware that some people refuse to watch a movie in a foreign language. I say that that's their loss.

A love that cannot be
In HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME NOT, Audrey Tautou once again has proven that she cannot be pigeonholed into the type of character she played in AMELIE. Each of her films validates the claim that Tautou is much more versatile and talented. In this film Tautou plays Angelique, a young woman in love with a married man. Angelique waits patiently and anxiously on the sidelines while his marriage deteriorates and he comes to claims her. While the audience is treated to what appears to be a typical romance during the first half of this film, the movie is suddenly rewound and an entirely new perspective on the same events is revealed. Multiple perspectives lead to new viewpoints.

HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME NOT is a smart thriller movie which certainly caught me by surprise. When I rented this DVD I didn't expect to be treated with a film that delved deeper than a French romance, and I didn't expect to be fooled. Highly recommended.

A romantic-comedy...or is it?
This is the story of Angelique. Angelique has fallen in love with a married doctor, but lately the doctor has been missing their dates and refusing to leave his pregnant wife. When he skips out on their promised trip to Florence, Angelique spirals into depression. Then the film jumps back to the beginning, and we see the whole story from the doctor's point-of-view. And what a view it is...

My sister recommended this to me after watching it in her French class. If you're going in expecting this to be a fluffy romance-comedy about two lovers who keep missing each other due to circumstance, be prepared for a huge shock halfway into the film. This film is not what it appears to be (no thanks to other reviewers who have spoiled it), and even after you know the whole story it still works well as a romantic thriller (and how many films do we know that fit into that genre?).

Of course the cruel-yet-fun thing to do would be to pass it off as a romantic comedy to your significant other, then watch their mouths slowly fall open in shock as the story reveals itself. As the film definitely merits repeat viewings, you might find yourself with the urge to play this joke sometime...

A definite gem. North American cinema rarely has the guts to think outside the box like this.