Last week, I was told by my French teacher that we could choose a film from the Chicago International Film festival to see for extra credit and then write a paper on it. I looked at the film fest website last week in order to decide on a film to see. The one that caught my eye was Lovers because the lead actress Elodie Bouchez had already appeared in a french film which I had seen recently, titled, Le Vie Rêvée des Anges (The Dream Life of Angels). I had thought that Elodie Bouchez was a very strong and talented actress, so I decided to see her film!

Over the weekend, on Saturday, me and my husband decided to see Lovers at 9:30pm in downtown Chicago, as it was only showing for two days...We arrived there approximately 20 minutes early. They would not let anyone into the theater until everyone was out of the theater from the previous movie that had played. I did not understand why it was taking so long, but it all became clear to me when Roger Ebert walked right past me! I have never seen him close up before, so it seemed to suggest that a lot of important people were here and that made being there really exciting!

We stood as close to the entrance as we could. I wanted to rush in so that I could choose a good seat before everyone took all the best seats. When I walked in, the theater was bigger than I anticipated and so I was unsure of where to sit. All I knew was that I wanted an aisle seat, because I like being on the end(especially if I have to go to the bathroom), and that I did not want to be to too close to the front!

I wandered to the left side (the side I usually sit on no matter which theater I go to), and passed up two or three different areas which I briefly considered...It didn't feel right so I wandered over to the right side and passed up one or two other areas before I settled on the seats I chose for us!  I have no idea why I was so unsure of where to sit...I can only assume that it had a lot to do with having so much choice in where to sit!

Regardless of how I came to the decision of where we should sit, by the start of the movie I knew I had chosen the best seats!  I realized this when it came to my attention that the row behind us was reserved for important people.  I assumed that it would be journalists or maybe film critics, but I was wrong!  It turned out that the lead actress Elodie Bouchez was sitting behind our row! Not only was she sitting in the row behind us, but also directly behind ME! This made the experience of seeing her film all the more exciting!

Before the film, the host at the theater thanked the audience for being there. The host proceeded to announce the special guest, the lead actress Elodie Bouchez!  Excited applause followed her as she confidently walked to the front. She was dressed in black, and she looked chic, stylish, and beautifully sophisticated! She said "Hello" and a few words...She seemed timid and nervous. I also think that it was somewhat hard for her to express herself in English, as she had a beautiful strong french accent.

The film was over 2 hours and most interesting. It seemed to be the director's raw cut, which made it seem choppy at times, but that may be the fact that it is a low-budget film. It was different than any other french film I had seen because it was surprisingly mostly in english, although it had several lines in french and a few in yugoslavian...

The story is about a young Parisian woman named Jeanne played by Elodie bouchez, who falls in love with a Yugoslav artist named Draggon. The differences between them are so great that it causes problems, which lead to their eventual separation.

Jeanne is responsible and mature, while "Draggon" is often irresponsible, undisciplined, and too much like a child.  Their eventual separation is caused by the fact that they are too different. Draggon is told that he must leave France because he is an illegal alien which he neglects to tell her. In their last days together, they try to hold onto the dream of being together, but love isn't enough and cannot conquer all.

Elodie's performance in "Lovers" is radiant and charming! She has a true gift for non-verbal and expressive acting, which makes her seem very natural and photogenic on screen...

After the film ended, there was silence filled with respect and awe as Elodie Bouchez was once again presented to the audience in order to answer questions. At first, people were very hesitant (and perhaps intimidated by her prescence) to speak. The question and answer session lasted approximately 20-25 minutes. In the short time that she spoke, I got a good sense of her personality.  She seemed timid yet confident and at ease about her performance as an actress.

Based on questions from the audience, she told us that she had gone to the University in France for a year when she was discovered. She told us that she did indeed like some Hollywood movies, although she often watched many foreign and indie films. She admitted that she found a lot of french films boring, which really surprised me.

She told us that at this time she was in the middle of filming a movie in English with Rosanna Arquette here in Illinois, called, Too Much Flesh. When someone asked what the movie would be about, she replied in a cute voice, "Too much flesh," and, everyone burst out laughing! It was very exciting to hear her speak!  What a memorable night!