La Belle Histoire

Claude Lelouch must really love films and making them because he gets so involved in the work that he doesn't know when to stop. A three-hour film is not an exception in his case, but rather a standard. He likes to include a large number of characters on the screen and his works usually resemble a complex puzzle that is not easy to figure out. That is also the case with this film. The director utilizes the ancient legends of Christ, going back to the beginning of our era, only to quickly jump to the present and depict the story of a modern-day Jesus played by a French Roma. His fate is intertwined with the parallel stories of several other characters, all of whom have counterparts in the companions of Jesus Christ. We follow the destinies of two mischievous thieves, a hopelessly-in-love policeman, a naive teacher, and several other characters who intersect remarkably and eventually find their way to each other. Although some scenes are, as is usual for Lelouch, somewhat longer than they should be, everything is richly compensated by Lelouch's originality, excellent camera work, and the performances of the actors. It is a beautiful story about love and its various forms. Overall impression: 80%. Although I didn't believe it at first because the film had a traditionally slower start, Lelouch's story managed to captivate me in the end. (22/10/2009)