CFUV @ VFF: Valley of Love

I was unable to attend the first viewing of this new film from French director Guillaume Nicloux, but finally last night got a chance to catch it. It stars Gérard Depardieu and Isabelle Huppert in the role of a older divorced couple coming to Death Valley at the request of their recently deceased son. Their son left them both a suicide note of sorts that lays out a schedule for them to meet in Death Valley over a period of a week. Huppert and Deapardieu play fictitious versions of themselves, still famous French actors, while also still having chemistry on screen after not appearing together in a film in over 35 years. The heat and landscapes of Death Valley are prominent throughout the film acting as the device through which their son tortures them now a character says early on in the film. These two reconnect and fill in portions of each others lives as they spend this time together. The opening and closing sequences are among some of the best I have seen this year, especially the ending.

– Troy Lemberg