Saturday, May 2, 2009

Movie: "Shall We Kiss?"

I recently saw and enjoyed this new release of a 2007 French movie, written and directed by, also starring, Emmanuel Mouret. A Parisienne (Julie Mayet) visiting another town on business, meets a kind stranger (Michael Cohen) when she asks him about taxis. He offers her a ride, then invites her to dinner. She spends most of the movie telling him why she isn't going to kiss him: a cautionary tale about her friend Judith (Virginie Ledoyen) and an ill-advised kiss that changed forever her long-term platonic friendship with Nicolas (Mouret). This is romantic in that the movie gives more thought to an as-yet unbestowed kiss, than do most movies in recent decades about all-out sex. Other good performances: Stefano Accorsi as Judith's partner Claudio, and Frederique Bel as the ex-girlfriend Nicolas and Judith try to fix up with him. The only disappointments in the whole thing: it doesn't show much of Paris, and Emilie doesn't say which of Judith's exes she married. On the whole, I enjoyed it immensely!