Seventh Heaven

"I understand HOW: I do not understand WHY," Winston Smith wrote in his forbidden journal in Orwell's 1984--little realizing that he was deftly summarizing my own response to the understated weirdness of Benoit Jacquot's elegant "huh?" -provoker. There is such a thing as too much ambiguity, and when even the corporeal existence of one of your key supporting characters is in doubt, you've definitely hit Equivocation Overload. The story concerns an unhappily married couple (Sandrine Kiberlain and Vincent Lindon) who find their world turned upside-down when she begins regular sessions with a mysterious hypnotist who approaches her in a cafe; the actors are both first-rate, as ever, but what the sudden shift in their relationship's balance of power (accompanied by an equally sudden change of protagonist--the film begins as her story, ends as his) is intended to signify escaped me entirely. Optional. (M. D'Angelo)[DVD Review--Mar. 9, 2004--Zeitgeist, 85 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, $29.99, avail. Mar. 30--Making its debut on DVD, Benoit Jacquot's 1997 Seventh Heaven features a decent widescreen transfer, but no extras. Bottom line: optional on video, this remains optional on DVD.]