Late August, Early September
by Olivier Assayas
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alex Descas, François Cluzet, Jeanne Balibar, Mathieu Amalric, Virginie LedoyenDirector: Olivier Assayas
Brand: Zeitgeist Films
Cinematographer: Denis Lenoir
Writer: Olivier Assayas
Editor: Luc Barnier
Producer: Françoise Guglielmi
Producer: Georges Benayoun
Producer: Philippe Carcassonne
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); French (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 112 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-05-27
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Zeitgeist Films
Movie Reviews of Late August, Early September
Movie Review: September song . . .
Summary: 5 Stars
Unlike Ozu films that are named after the time of year in which they are set, this absorbing film by French director Olivier Assayas refers more to a time of life and the feelings that accompany the awareness that one's youth is over and one's aspirations have remained unfulfilled. The title's reference to a cusp between seasons also reflects the film's interest in "in-betweenness." Characters are in between relationships, in between commitments, in between an unsettled present and an undetermined future.
The plot of the story (if it can be said to have one) is apparent mostly in retrospect, as the death of one of the characters has an impact on the lives of friends and associates. But it's not plot you enjoy in this film. Instead it's the often self-absorbed characters, on whom life's lessons are gradually dawning - we don't always get what we want, and we're not good at anticipating what will make us happy. Attempts to get our lives in order rarely pan out. Relationships to those closest to us are often conflicted by competing desires - or the dying of desire itself. In a way, the film is high-class soap opera, but as it unfolds, it manages to articulate its share of truths. Great cast and believable performances appropriately captured in a kinetic style of cinematography and editing. The DVD includes a brief interview with the director.
Summary of Late August, Early September
French filmmaking sensation Olivier Assayas' follow-up to his much-loved IRMA VEP centers on a cadre of thirty-something Parisians coming to grips with romantic uncertainty, professional upheaval and the looming spectre of their own mortality. Starring KINGS AND QUEEN's Mathieu Amalric, 8 WOMEN's Virginie Ledoyen and VA SAVOIR's Jeanne Balibar, LATE AUGUST, EARLY SEPTEMBER also boasts a stellar soundtrack featuring Ali Farka Touré and Assayas regulars Sonic Youth.The sublime Late August, Early September, a story of a quartet of Parisian adults (young and not so young) grappling with love, indecision, and crises of confidence, is not titled for a time of year but for a feeling, a tone, and a sense of passage. Self-conscious, shy writer Mathieu Amalric (My Sex Life...) is fast approaching 30 and furiously second guessing every step he makes. He's broken it off with delightfully gawky yet graceful Jeanne Balibar and is in the midst of an affair with the wild Virginie Ledoyen (The Beach), a sexy, young, sweet-and-sour girl with the temper of a diva. Francois Cluzet (Round Midnight), a cult author with a teenage girlfriend, is the old man of the bunch and an uncomfortable mentor to Amalric.
Shooting with a restless camera that bobs around searching for a better look, and fading out of scenes before they end, as if life continues on past our privileged peek, Olivier Assayas (Irma Vep) has an unusual and unique style. It's like he catches his characters off guard, capturing moments of hesitation and discomfort, when the social front can't quite hide their fears and frustrations. All the better to appreciate their little triumphs. Not much really "happens" in the drama, but the quirky Assayas beautifully captures a portrait in messy emotions, inarticulation, and contradiction with modesty and sympathy. --Sean Axmaker
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