This "legal copy" is the first attempt by the famous Iranian director Abbas to make a European film outside Iran. Whether it is the choice of characters or scenes, they are very close to the aesthetics of modern European films, and even have a bit of Wong Kar-wai's style. Of course, as an unmarried Chinese moviegoer, I don't have much resonance.
The film begins with a stop at James's book launch. Suddenly, a child walked up to Binoche's "she", trying to convince her of something, but she impatiently wanted to send him away. If James represents the cold, self-disciplined British male figure, Binoche perfectly captures the neurotic characteristics of a French woman, who is accompanied by a child and a cat. Binoche's performance was so good, the film won her the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival. First, Binoche's "she" has a crush on the writer, and she invites him to the antique shop she runs, then drives him aimlessly on the beautiful Italian roads. In the new book, James argues that copies of artworks are also valuable, or rather highly valuable. The film builds on that argument and makes one even ponder whether their marriage was an original or a copy. The relationship between the original and the copy is a very complicated philosophical issue, but there is indeed a gimmick like "Love at Sunset and Dusk" outside such a deep core. Unlike "Sunset", the two characters are very detached from the constraints of the environment, and they each have their own emotional abyss under the surface. When they passed a bronze statue fountain, James believed that the artist's reputation was the key to discussing the artistic value of the work. However, the French woman who runs an antiques shop said she was drawn to the "subject matter" of the artwork - heroes protecting women. In fact, they had been quarreling all the time, and no one would believe if the fifteen-year marriage was peaceful. For example, at first, "she" thought that James would be attracted by a twentieth-century forgery modeled on ancient Roman frescoes, but James did not, he even showed a trace of impatience.
All in all, this film presents reflections on a very complex issue in a very concise, very formal manner. Of course, the most crucial question is not to discuss the relationship between men and women, or the inherent character of the French and the British; the most important question may be to think about the relationship between art and reality. How to make a fictional narrative legitimate? The turning point of the movie is that they "fake it for real", they start to really get into the role of husband and wife, they start to reminisce about the past and the argument... But such a dramatic change happens in one day. Perhaps, we really have to believe that the copy brings legitimacy to the original. There is no greater need for legitimacy than marriage, and yet the film playfully explores how a fictional marriage can seem so believable in just over an hour.
View more about Certified Copy reviews
