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I really don’t know where they got our translated title from either, because my O’level French tells me that ‘Jeux d’enfants’ does not translate to ‘Love Me if you Dare’. Ho hum.
Overall, recommended in a four star way! Rated 15, the odd swear word does creep in and there’s one ... Read review
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Love Me If You Dare is a visually inventive and darkly comic romantic fantasy where two ... more
childhood friends take their game of dare to the extreme...Sophie (Marion Cotillard, Big Fish) and Julien (Guillaume Canet, The Beach) escape their troubles by sett...
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 2000 - Drama - Director: Giuseppe Tornatore - Original Language: Italian - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Monica Bellucci, Giuseppe Sulfaro, Luciano Federico, Matilde Piana
...conquest “Do you believe in love at first sight?” to which she replies “Yes” whilst gazing into his eyes. “Naïve” he says. And walks off, taking her earrings with him for Sophie.
Sophie is adamant that Julien can never hurt her. But as their feelings develop towards each other, alternating between confusion, hatred and passion, they find themselves pushing each other away, yet still wanting to play the game.
‘Teasing ... ...around after her. Does she love Julien, and how does he feel about her? Is she just ‘the spice of his life’?
* What’s good *
I did like the idea of the storyline. There are some bizarre dares – Sophie dressing up in a very short bride’s dress and walking blindfolded along train tracks, waiting for Julien to tell her when the train is near. Blind trust? Sometimes the pranks are sadistic and will hurt others, but they ... more
Julien (Ju Ju) is a boisterous eight year old child. His mother is ill and bed ridden, his Dad is worried and doesn’t have time for him. So when Sophie comes into his life, she is a welcome distraction from the problems at home.
Sophie is bullied at school. The kids call her Dirty Pollack. She’s a loner but soon finds a soulmate in Julien. Everything’s a challenge to her – and soon they begin a competitive game of ‘Dare’.
At first the pranks are harmless – swearing in front of the classroom and teacher and Ju Ju peeing in front of the headmaster when they are reprimanded. But the children’s malicious behaviour seems to be their raison d’etre.
Fast forward ten years. They’re at college, they still tease one another. Julien dares Sophie to wear her underwear to an exam – outside her clothes. It’s all a joke, isn’t it? But what happens when Julien fancies a girl – does jealousy start to rear its ugly head? No. Sophie begs him to bring her a souvenir of their encounter. Julien says to his conquest “Do you believe in love at first sight?” to which she replies “Yes” whilst gazing into his eyes. “Naïve” he says. And walks off, taking her earrings with him for Sophie.
Sophie is adamant that Julien can never hurt her. But as their feelings develop towards each other, alternating between confusion, hatred and passion, they find themselves pushing each other away, yet still wanting to play the game.
‘Teasing as kids may be called perversion now’.
* My thoughts *
Well, this is a French film and one that’s been compared to Amelie, especially at the beginning. We’re treated to the same fast camera work, zooming in on certain objects, only to go whizzing away onto something else. At times it’s hard to keep up. There are fantasy sequences, a fabulous Adam and Eve scene with the young children dressed in fig leaves, Ju Ju biting into the forbidden apple, the headmaster dressed as God, shouting at them as he had been earlier in the school room. A merry go round turns in the background playing music.
I have to say I found the beginning a bit disjointed. It’s not made clear why the children feel the need to play these nasty dares all the time. Sophie doesn’t appear to have a family, just a sister who’s exasperated at her fooling around, and Julien’s father is distant and disapproving of Sophie. Overnight the children are transformed to adults, and it is then that the film takes a turn for the better. The childhood games are gone and instead the stakes become much higher.
* The actors *
Guillaume Canet (Julien) was familiar to me as Etienne in ‘The Beach’. Tall, dark and, yes, handsome, he is an acceptable choice as the embittered young man and he works well with Marion Cotillard (Sophie) who has big blue eyes and big lips (eat your heart out, Angelina) and she seems to turn the waterworks on to great effect. As a child the Sophie character is bossy and very much ‘in charge’ and this is followed through when the adult actors take over, as she always seems to be able to get Julien to run around after her. Does she love Julien, and how does he feel about her? Is she just ‘the spice of his life’?
* What’s good *
I did like the idea of the storyline. There are some bizarre dares – Sophie dressing up in a very short bride’s dress and walking blindfolded along train tracks, waiting for Julien to tell her when the train is near. Blind trust? Sometimes the pranks are sadistic and will hurt others, but they don’t care. The cinematography is clever, one minute fast and furious, the next in slow motion.
The destructive love/hate relationship is well played – the film covers a vast number of years up until the characters are in their 30s, time marching on with no contact between the two, culminating in outrageous meetings that only they understand. These are two complicated individuals – desperate for one another yet unable to admit to their feelings.
* What’s not good *
We were rudely interrupted by some kind of power failure just as things started hotting up. The lights came up, the film went off. This greatly annoyed me and a number of people went to complain. This normally wouldn’t bother me but the plot was fairly erratic to start with and not that easy to follow, so this halted our enjoyment for a short while. However when the lights dimmed again, the film improved a lot. I don’t think the childhood part of the film was that enjoyable – the actors weren’t endearing and they came across as just plain mean!
* Other info *
Rated 15 Written and directed by Yann Samuell (his directorial debut) 93 mins
The children were played by Thibault Verhaeghe (Julien) and Josephine Rebas-Joly (Sophie)
* Overall *
This will leave you squirming in your seat. It’s offbeat, and different, and delicious. The characters seem willing to risk everything just for a laugh, and to seek a thrill forsaking all others. But one star has to go – there’s something missing that I can’t put my finger on, but it leaves a few questions hanging in the air after it’s finished. The next day my friend and I were still discussing how we thought it had ended, but neither of us came to any satisfactory conclusion!
Visually it’s stunning, and all the special sequences just add to the darkness that comes later on in the film. There are some laugh out loud moments too.
The subtitles were a little difficult to read at times – the writing was white which seemed a foolish choice considering the dream sequences contained clouds and bright white lights. However this was only a minor quibble.
I really don’t know where they got our translated title from either, because my O’level French tells me that ‘Jeux d’enfants’ does not translate to ‘Love Me if you Dare’. Ho hum.
Overall, recommended in a four star way! Rated 15, the odd swear word does creep in and there’s one semi nude bedroom scene (unfortunately it wasn’t Guillaume!). If you want something different, this is it! But don’t expect Amelie’s quirky smile and hearts and flowers. This one’s nasty! ;-D
Advantages: A romantic comedy with bite Disadvantages: The subtitles may put some people off
...games and admit that they love each other?
“Love Me if You Dare” is writer-director Yann Samuell’s first live-action feature. But the former animator’s earlier career shines through in this bittersweet romance. It is a sweet romantic comedy overlaid with broad strokes of cartoon violence. There are plenty of flights of fancy worthy of “Amelie”, including a sequence in the Garden of Eden where the young Sophie and Julien are being chastised by God ... ...easily forgotten during their tender love scenes.
The very young actors playing the young Julien and Sophie (Thibault Verhaeghe and Joséphine Lebas-Joly respectively) are sweet without being sickly. Why we Brits can’t nurture consistently talented child actors who don’t overact is beyond me. Of the remaining cast, my personal favourite is Gilles Lelouche, who plays Sophie’s footballer boyfriend Sergei Nimov Nimovitch. It’s a great caricature of ...
afy9mab 08.09.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Love Me If You Dare (Subtitled) (DVD)
Advantages: Amelie with blacker humour Disadvantages: Very surreal with open ended finish
...back then you should add Love Me If You Dare to your viewing schedule. Beware though, while Amelie was a whimsical romantic fantasy ‘LMIYD’, while possessing those qualities, adds a heady dose of black humour to the mix.
‘LMIYD’ is the tale of two childhood friends who while growing up play an ever more outrageous game of dare. Often to the detriment of their lives and their relationship the game involves a toy carousel, given to a young Julien ... ...is about two people who love each other but who allow the game to get between them, preventing them from ever feeling able to tell each other how they really feel.
It is very reminiscent of the golden years of Hollywood Screwball Comedies (1930’s-50’s), when a man and a woman would meet and be continually arguing and fighting even though everyone could see they were perfect for each other. They were always the only two who were incapable of realising ...
Ailran 16.10.2004 (19.10.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Love Me If You Dare (Subtitled) (DVD)
Advantages: Dark humour combined with incredibly passionate love story Disadvantages: Subtitling is poor at conveying the French meaning
...the one she portray in Love Me If you Dare. However, her acting as Polish cream puff Sophie Kowalsky is flawless. All praise cannot go solely to Miss Cotillard though, her co-start Guillaume Canet gives a stunning performs as a boy who loses his mother and on the whole a father to game that tears his life apart.
The thing about the film is, though both are mad for one another, the game separates them with a void that neither knows how to fill. When ... ...enough to realise that they love the game as much as each other. There are many notable scenes in the film: the two children before their headmaster (repeated again in old age); the torment they put Igor the gym coach through; the following scene where they kiss atop a moving car, and so many others which make this film an unmissable triumph. The soundtrack is, on the whole, covers of the same orginal Edith Piaf song - the song almost tells the story ...
clumsy_central 25.02.2007 (13.03.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Love Me If You Dare (Subtitled) (DVD)
Advantages: smashing movie with smart story, original presentation, outstanding performances Disadvantages: No real disadvantages but it's very unique, you either love it or hate it
THE TITLE- Love me if you dare
I’d really like to see the person who gave this silly title to a great movie. By the way the original title is different (Jeux d’enfants = Children’s games), it doesn’t tell much more, but at least it isn’t so dull.
THE STORY
Julien and Sophie are trying to escape from their troubles by playing a challenging game. It all starts in their childhood innocently but as they grow up the game is getting more and more serious, ... ...the story line
• The love scenes are hot
• The soundtracks are very French and very lovely
• The whole movie has an exciting passionate rhythm, if you can let yourself getting involved, you’ll love it for sure!
YOU MAY NOT LIKE THIS MOVIE BECAUSE...
• It’s unique rhythm, subject and picturing is simply not for everyone, you’ll either love it or hate it
• If you don’t speak French reading the subtitles can be annoying
• The end of the movie ...
amoremiamore 13.11.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Love Me If You Dare (Subtitled) (DVD)
Advantages: Very original, extremely realistic characters Disadvantages: subtitled
Love Me If You Dare has completely converted me to french cinema, being a refreshing break from the predictable and carefully choreographed characters and storylines of American and British movies. This film is a heady mix of humour and a much darker recklessness. The two main characters Julien and Sophie grow up together, playing an increasingless dangerous game of 'dare' throughout their lives, with little regard to the people around them. There ... ...ones, and the very flawed but strong-minded main characters are easy believable and completely draw you into their lives. I think this movie works especially well due to the almost childish conflict between the Julien and Sophie that reaches various states of resolve throughout the film. Certainly buy this movie if you like drama combined with very believable/real characters! ...
greenflake 23.08.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Love Me If You Dare (Subtitled) (DVD)
Hyperactive Julien (Guillaume Canet) and shy Sophie (Marion Cotillard) are pre-teen misfits who forge a bond based on their mutual hardships--for Julien it's his mother's terminal illness, and for Sophie it's the ridicule she receives for being Polish. They devise a game in which the passing of a tin carousel between them signals the recipient to carry out an outrageous dare designed by the other, with the trouble they get into only serving to bring them closer together. Ten years later, Julien and Sophie are in college--and while they have both grown to be attractive and intelligent, their relationship is still only platonic and their disruptive game still continues at a fevered pace. Continuing into adulthood and forging separate lives, their dares become more hurtful to each other. It soon becomes apparent that the game has only served to prevent them from admitting their true feelings for each other. This dark and whimsical debut from director Yann Samuell shows the influence of Luc Besson and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, sidestepping traditional French cinematic austerity in favor of splashy, big-budget visuals. In fact, the entrancing first act (in which Julien and Sophie are children) is bathed in a beautiful autumnal glow and features a kinetic style reminiscent of Jeunet's AMELIE. As Julien and Sophie's game escalates, LOVE ME IF YOU DARE lands in bleaker territory, with the performances of Canet and Cotillard and a daring ending giving this surprising romantic fantasy an uncommon resonance.
A deliciously cruel, darkly funny, deeply twisted romance (Elle, )
DVD Description
Hyperactive Julien (Guillaume Canet) and shy Sophie (Marion Cotillard) are pre-teen misfits who forge a bond based on their mutual hardships--for Julien it's his mother's terminal illness, and for Sophie it's the ridicule she receives for being Polish. They devise a game in which the passing of a tin carousel between them signals the recipient to carry out an outrageous dare designed by the other, with the trouble they get into only serving to bring them closer together. Ten years later, Julien and Sophie are in college--and while they have both grown to be attractive and intelligent, their relationship is still only platonic and their disruptive game still continues at a fevered pace. Continuing into adulthood and forging separate lives, their dares become more hurtful to each other. It soon becomes apparent that the game has only served to prevent them from admitting their true feelings for each other. This dark and whimsical debut from director Yann Samuell shows the influence of Luc Besson and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, sidestepping traditional French cinematic austerity in favor of splashy, big-budget visuals. In fact, the entrancing first act (in which Julien and Sophie are children) is bathed in a beautiful autumnal glow and features a kinetic style reminiscent of Jeunet's AMELIE. As Julien and Sophie's game escalates, LOVE ME IF YOU DARE lands in bleaker territory, with the performances of Canet and Cotillard and a daring ending giving this surprising romantic fantasy an uncommon resonance.
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