Regular Lovers

A darling of European critics and winner of numerous film-festival awards, Regular Lovers probably benefited more from feelings of nostalgia than the storytelling gifts of writer/director Philippe Garrel—a talented journeyman who here attempts to recapture the excitement of France's New Wave filmmaking. Set against the backdrop of 1968's student riots in Paris, Regular Lovers stars Louis Garrel (the director's son) as Francois, a draft-dodging student poet whose affair with aloof sculptor Lilie (Clotilde Hesme) ushers in the dissolution of his youthful idealism. Beautifully photographed in black-and-white, Regular Lovers seems dreamlike at times, and achieves a level of emotional intimacy that's sadly lacking in much of Hollywood's output, while also recreating a time, place, and attitude with uncanny fidelity. One can't help but suspect that director Garrel pines for that tumultuous era, even while recognizing that it wasn't the transcendent period so fondly remembered by aging baby boomers--at least, that's what is suggested by the film's undeniably elegiac, cynical undercurrent. Recommended, overall. [Note: DVD extras include a 28-minute “Venice Film Festival Press Conference” featurette (with director Philippe Garrel, producer Gilles Sandoz, and costars Louis Garrel and Clotilde Hesme), a filmography, a text essay by film critic Kent Jones on Garrel, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an interesting foreign film.] (E. Hulse)