Meine schöne innere Sonne (2017)

Meine schöne innere Sonne: Directed by Claire Denis. With Juliette Binoche, Xavier Beauvois, Philippe Katerine, Josiane Balasko. Isabelle, Parisian artist, divorced mother, is looking for love, true love at last.

“u0026quot;Let the Sunshine Inu0026quot; (2017 release from France; 94 min.; original title u0026quot;Un beau soleil intérieuru0026quot;) brings the story of Isabelle. As the movie opens, we see Isabelle, naked, and making love to a guy we later learn is married (but not to Isabelle). Isabelle is enjoying a week of relative freedom as her 10 yr. old daughter is away at her dadu0026#39;s, Isabelleu0026#39;s former husband Francois. Soon we learn that Isabelle is deeply unhappy and restless about where she is in her life, and her love life in particular. At this point weu0026#39;re 10 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, youu0026#39;ll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCouple of comments: this is the latest movie from French writer-director Claire Denis. Here she gets to work with one of Franceu0026#39;s treasures, actress Juliette Binoche. Binoche carries this movie on her shoulders from start to finish, and along the way exposes herself in ways I canu0026#39;t recall before. And it has to be said: Binoche is not in her mid-50s but she looks at least 10 years younger. The movie is what one could generalize as being a u0026quot;typical French talkieu0026quot;, in which there is a lot, a LOT, of conversation and not much else. The director had the great sense of letting scenes play out, for minutes on, without interruption, as if we are simply a fly on the wall listening in on strangers talking. And yet, for all that closeness, I couldnu0026#39;t find myself all that emotionally invested in the movie or these characters. Yes, one feels that Binoche is delivering a towering performance but so what? Last but not least, Gerard Depardieu makes an appearance at the very end of the movie, as a fortune teller of some sort.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;u0026quot;Let the Sunshine Inu0026quot; premiered at last yearu0026#39;s Cannes film festival, to positive acclaim (mostly for Juliette Binocheu0026#39;s performance). Almost exactly a year later, this movie finally showed up at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. The Saturday matinee performance where I saw this at was not attended well (4 people, including myself), I honestly canu0026#39;t see this playing in the theater very long. If you are interested in u0026quot;French talkiesu0026quot; or a character study of a woman struggling with various relationships (think u0026quot;An Unmarried Womanu0026quot; or u0026quot;Starting Overu0026quot;), Iu0026#39;d suggest you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.”