This is the story of a group of students at Les Amandiers, the prestigious theater school headed by Patrice Chéreau in the 1980's. We follow their lives over time in and outside of the classroom as life takes its toll.
Based on the experiences of director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, FOREVER YOUNG has moments that feel like they were filmed as a documentary. Watching the early scenes sequences play out as if we are watching life happening before our eyes, but with only a too perfect a camera angle as a give away that things are not real. I was jonesing on how fantastic the individual bits were and how great the acting was.
The problem is that somewhere along the way there is some attempt at a narrative and the film kind of doesn't really work. As we get a narrative thrust and characters and Louis Garrel shows up the film feels less special. We see gaps in narrative. Things happen and then time passes and other things happen without a clear link up. Its not bad but it isn't satisfying. I disconnected from the film just enough that this went from a great film to just a good one.
That said the film has moments that are among the best you'll see all year and as such FOREVER YOUNG is worth seeing.
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