Day ninety-nine: Heartbeats (June, 16)

There's something odd about Heartbeats from the start, from its name - Les Amours Imaginaires on the original french: there's neither a heartbeat or love in this movie or its characters. Even if imaginary, what I found here was a total lack of life actually.

A film by the young trendy Quebecois director Xavier Dolan (the same of the incredible and disturbing Mommy), it  got me in such a state of distaste that I couldn't believe what I was witnessing. I understand that maybe he wanted to debate empty people that seek other to fulfill their the hollow they have inside. Two friends seek the attention of a third hoping for... I don't know. I'm not even sure if Francis (played by Dolan himself) and Marie were acquainted with the concept of love. And of course they elect as a object of desire someone so inflated with himself, but equally unable to love, that he has to built his image through others.

That is not a rare thing to see in daily life... but at least there's a bit of life in it... which this movie had not - at least for me. 

Am I being too much? Well, that was what this movie caused on me. A film is a perfect way to talk about in what a soulless  world we're living, with more and more soulless people around, but this movie is so conceptual and stylish that there's no life in it. There's no soul. No honesty, only concepts. Sure, some scenes are beautiful, but they only got me angrier. And angrier. Until I would like nothing more than to reach its end and go back to Sense8.

And here I can point out a possible explanation for my distaste: after spending part of my day and night with the Wachowski's new TV show, I was full of love and empathy toward the humanity. The world, life, the sky and the whole universe (As are we already talking about being too much...). Different, imperfect, amazing people, all together by  their humanity. That's life. You cannot get rid of it in a story and still hope for someone to relate to that. Or you cannot expect that from me - the movie's ratings on imdb.com are rather good, actually. But count me out. I prefer my movies alive.

I saw this still  and thought about warmth, how this film looked good. 

It just looks, unfortunately. These three are cuddled only in hate, despise and 
shallowness. It's silly, though. . They could be cuddled to each other instead.

Heartbeats (Les Amours Imaginaires). Directed and written by Xavier Dolan.

With: Xavier Dolan, Monia Chokri, Niels Schneider. Canada, 2010, 101 min.,

Dolby Digital, Color (Netflix).

PS: Fragments: Sense8, season 1, episodes 5 to 9. 

PPS: One of the main songs in this movie is Bang Bang, by Sonny Bono, in the voice of Dalida. It is beautiful and heartbreaking, but for itself wasn't able to give life to the film. I remember another appearance of this song in the title sequence of Kill Bill: Vol 1, performed by Nancy Sinatra. I was so mesmerized by it, and it is a good example of the fundamental role of the opening to tell a story.