Blind Date (2015)

I happened upon this film whilst searching for a romantic that portrayed a different storyline than the most common boy meets girl. I don't tend to watch a lot of foreign films - but this film reminds me why I should as it's definitely one of my favourites. The storyline is unique - the only critisim I have (without giving too much away) is that I wish they had prolonged the ending and introduced that scene a little sooner. Not that it exactly ruined the film for me because it was a brilliant ending. And it only made the chemistry between the two so much more intense along with some comedic (major cheese) moments that I loved and a storyline so filled with talent and compassion for the arts. If you're doubting watching this film - I recommend it wholeheartedly and you'll become addicted, and perhaps watch it a few too many times, like I did.

Fmovies: At points it reminds me of 'Les émotifs anonymes.' There are unbelievable parts, but once this disbelief is suspended it becomes a charming and lovely film.

Une belle histoire originale et romantique. Aucune longueur, une jolie palette d'acteurs ! Ce film est une ode à l'amour

Blind Date fmovies. Full disclosure, 2016 hasn't been a great romancing year for me, so I get easily irked by too much quirky stuff or unsubstantiated love kernels. And for the most part, easy-breezy romcoms tend to consist of a string of those. So it's at least partly my fault that Blind Date didn't stick.

Then again, it felt like all the creators were working with was a concept and a final scene: the former bordering on the absurd, the latter more romantic than I was set up to expect, by the look of things. Everything else was filled in with a competent, but cloggy and predictable plot and endearingly cardboard-y characters. OK, that's harsh. The leads have a tinge of something special about them, both reclusive introverts, passionate creatives - playfully nicknamed Machine and Machin. Separated by a thin and not at all soundproof wall, they get to organizing their lives around one another and ultimately fall for each other. The secret sauce lies in them not having seen each other and therefore being able to focus on the essence of what's being conveyed. At times, the two even have enough personality to be more than cardboard cut-outs.

Instead of spending more time with them, we're served with two second-hand supporting characters, the adulterous sister (or was it friend?) of 'Machine' and the overly supportive friend of 'Machin'. The problem with these two is that they bring nothing to the story. Instead, they are classic counter-points - the rebellious matron to the timid girl, the happy-go-lucky fellow to the misanthrope. This makes them superfluous, because no time is dedicated to truly fleshing them out enough for anything they do to even matter.

Coming back to our protagonists, their purpose is to free one another of what's tying them down, while also coming together. For one, it's a perfectionist obsession with the creation brain-teaser games; for the other, it's a perfectionist obsession with playing the piano. It fits, we do like fixing in others what we can't fix in ourselves. This takeaway, so common to romantic comedies, is the bane of my existence. To its defense, Blind Date tries to nuance the matter, as one might find motivation in another, but still needs to independently commit to change. Even so, there's just an excessive amount of wish fulfillment about the movie, as too much is left unexplored to really make it worthwhile. Luckily, the bits of Chopin scattered throughout help out.

People seem to like the flick, so with my disclaimer in mind, take what you will out of this review. Yet I cannot help being disappointed, because while it does feel authentic at points, it predominantly appears trite. Maybe I should just lower my pretentious romcom bar a notch or two.

Un peu, beaucoup, aveuglément (a.k.a Blind Date) is a simple romantic comedy largely for people who are Introverts. The Premise is simple: An Introvert lady has just moved in her new apartment where she forms an unexpected bond with her neighbour, a puzzle maker (who largely stays away from people) by not meeting & just communicating through walls of their rooms. The movie is also available on Netflix. It is a good watch, a rather refreshing take on the romantic-comedy genre.

Romcom's often tend to bore me these days but I feel pretty lucky that french TV sometimes show little gems like this one. I don't remember having heard of it in 2005 when it came out, but apparently it was only showing on around 250 screens in all of France. This is the first time that Clovis Cornillac (great in "Le Cactus" 2005) directed a film, and I have to admit he's set the bar quite high for a first shot. His wife Lilou Fogli wrote with him the scenario but also stars as Charlotte, a secondary role very well played. In fact the secondary rolls are spot on and are as good as the lead actors (Mélanie Bernier and Clovis Cornillac), who do a sort of blind duet I won't say more about the story. Cornillac comes from a family of actors, it runs in his blood and you can see that he's a passionate actor in every film, as he doesn't act his role but literally lives it.

I highly recommend you find a DVD, which is what I'm about to do as soon as I've finished this review.