Kings & Queen

Ismaël (Mathieu Amalric) believes that women have no souls because they live in “bubbles,” and that men's souls are a consequence of their “living to die.” Of course, Ismaël is in a mental institution, under the care of a coldly clinical psychologist (Catherine Deneuve), but it's also true that Ismaël's ex-wife Nora (Emmanuelle Devos) lives in a bubble of her own creation while the men around her die, including her father. Director Arnaud Desplechin (who co-wrote the script with Roger Bohbot) mixes with aplomb equal measures of intellectual screwball comedy and dark metaphysical tragedy in the dovetailed stories of Ismaël and Nora, presented in a fractured-time narrative that is hypnotic and provocative, and sure to be embraced by fans of thoughtful, mesmerizing filmmaking. Highly recommended. (M. Johanson)