Je vais bien, ne t'en fais pas (2006)
Director: Philippe Lioret
In total contrast to my previous attempt at movie-watching in Israel, I came across this one almost accidentally.It was playing to a near empty house in an obscure theatre, hidden inside the Tel Aviv art meuseum. Itook the ticket without even knowing the title - just ensured that there are subtitles in english too. But ended up sitting engrossed for close to 100 min. A movie with a great plot and awesome screen play. Characters change their colours right under your nose without you noticing a tiny bit. Elise ( played to near perfection by Melanie Laurent) has just returned to Paris after a brief stay in Barcelona for a course or something. Immediately on her return, she's in for a rude shock - her twin brother has split from the parents for what then seems to be a very trivial reason. They are a very attached bro-sis duo and this girl's getting increasingly edgy about his absence. He does not return .He did not leave a note for her. He doesn't return her calls. He does not try to contact any one in the family. And worse, the father does not seem to care. And nobody seems to tell her the truth about the reason why he left. Finally, the girl loses it and ends up in a solitary psychiatric hospital ward, being fed forcefully. When every one has lost the hope, the brother finally gets in touch. He's been drifting and is moving from place to place in some western european towns. However, he leaves a hint about the reason for his absence. In his letter, he criticizes his father refering to him as a creep. But the letter does improve the girl's situation and she slowly gets back to life. She leaves school and starts working in a super market. She still is worried about her bro and why he doesn't want to see her.And she's still puzzled about his absence. However, the letters she recieves from him (without a return address, and each one from a new city) are cheerful. And all of them end with an accusatory note on their dad. Then the story takes dramatic but subtle turns and finally a touching ending. Great cinematography and brilliant direction. EXCELLENT performances. And great music score in the background.
9/10