"Fall in love with me if you dare" - 2003 film. It belongs to the genre of French melodrama. The main characters of the film, Julien Dante and Sophie Kowalski, met in childhood. This meeting changed their lives. Friends came up with their own game, according to the rules of which they lived for many years. Entangled in their own feelings, they ceased to understand each other. The game sometimes took dangerous turns, and how it ended, we learn further.
Producer
The 2003 film “Fall in love with me if you dare” is a non-standard story telling about the strange way of finding love. The plot of the film is not typical for melodrama. Here you can meet cruelty and dangerous turns of events.
This opinion can be agreed or not. There is much debate about this. The reviews for "Fall in love with me if you dare" are rather controversial. We will review them in more detail below. Only one of the majority of critics is united - the film was shot professionally and talented, despite the fact that it is the debut work of the French director and screenwriter Ian Samuel. He dedicated the film to his dead adoptive parents.
Awards
Confirmation of the quality of the director’s work “Fall in love with me if you dare” by Jan Samuel is also confirmed by the fact that the film was recognized as the best drama at the Newport Beach Film Festival. Its creator was awarded the John Schlesinger Prize in Palm Springs.
Plot of the film
“Fall in love with me if you dare,” reveals the theme of rebellious love, which over the years does not fade, but only flares up more strongly under the influence of a strange and sometimes cruel game. France is famous for melodramas, but this film does not quite correspond to the genre. The plot of this film does not provide for the recreation of an atmosphere of love.
In the original, the film is called "Children's Games." It has been renamed for rental in America.
Fatal meeting
The mother of one of the main characters, Julien Janvier, fell ill with cancer. She gave her son an original carousel-shaped box, telling him that it was a treasure.
The boy, heading to the school bus, saw a girl named Sophie Kowalski. The children mocked her, threw her things into a puddle and teased with a dirty polka. This meeting was fatal for both of them.
Wanting to console the girl, Julien gave her a box, asking her to, in turn, periodically give him to play her. Wanting to take revenge on the offenders, Sophie set the condition for the boy. She said she would give him a box if he removed the bus from the parking brake. The driver at this time collected the scattered things of the girl. Sophie wanted the bus to start without a driver.
So these two children had the game "Dare - Do not Dare." The owner of the box set a task by completing which the second participant in the fun received it for a while, while the first completed his next task. And so in a circle. Children talked and shared their dreams with each other.
Parting
As time went on, Julien and Sophie continued to be friends and play their own fun. Relations between them became more tense, and tasks became more sophisticated and cruel. Young people no longer distinguished between life and play. This fun has become their reality. They hurt each other, trying to show ingenuity and come up with a more juicy task.
Once, after a quarrel, a guy kissed his girlfriend, to which she said: "Love me." He took it as the next task. Sophie was offended by him.
Julien's father was against this friendship and strange game. He told his son that it was time for him to go to university. After another quarrel with his father, Julien came to a friend, but the offended girl drove him away.
Thinking a little, Sophie decided to make peace with the guy. She went to him to say that she loved him. But it was not Julien who met her, but his father. He offered the girl money in exchange for the fact that she would leave his son alone. Sophie was indignant and left, throwing money in his face.
She found Julien in the library, where he was preparing for entrance exams. The guy did not listen to her, citing employment. The girl left and got on the passing bus. Julien wanted to catch up with Sophie. He ran after her and shouted that he loved her, but the girl did not hear him.
The roads of young people diverged for a while. Julien was educated at the university, and Sophie worked in a cafe. She met with men and took vocal lessons.
The game continues
They met again a few years later. Julien invited Sophie to the wedding. The girl thought that the young man made her an offer, but, as it turned out, he called her as a witness and introduced him to his bride. Sophie said at the wedding that the marriage could not take place, as the groom swore allegiance to her. The ceremony was ruined.
Now it was Sophie's turn to complete the task. She stands on the rails blindfolded and is waiting for the train. The girl asks Julien to warn her about the approach of the composition, but he was silent. Sophie managed to escape in the last moment.
Struck by such cruelty, she gave the guy the task that he had not seen her for ten years. That evening, she met with her friend, a football player named Sergei, and stayed with him.
The final
Ten years have passed. Sofia during this time married Sergei. By that time, he played in the national team, was the pride of the country. Julien was also married, raised two children, but at the same time he remained unhappy. Father did not maintain a relationship with him after the wedding incident.
The main characters of the film grew up, but in their hearts remained children. They, like many years ago, are ready to continue the game.
Julien wonders if Sophie will appear after the assignment expires. In the evening, during a family celebration, the man received a parcel with a treasured box. Throwing everything, he runs to Sophie. Julien is waiting for a new task. He must hide from the police chase.
During the fulfillment of this condition, a man has an accident. Sophie found him in the hospital. He was a completely burnt man. Nearby, she saw a fateful box. In tears, blaming herself for what happened, Sophie runs home.
But Julien only joked with her. Over time, he realized that the rally was cruel. Sophie also began to realize that, most likely, Julien circled her around her finger. She asked Sergey to take her to the hospital. They met on the porch of the clinic. It's raining. Lovers completely forgot about their spouses.
Sergey hit Julien in the face. A man falls, and the whole history of their relationship swims before his eyes. Lovers decide to bury themselves and their love in concrete.
In the film finale, we see the elderly Julien and Sophie together. They continue to love each other, and the ill-fated box is always with them.
Actors
“Fall in love with me if you dare” - a film that combines the game of talented people. Two independent personalities harmoniously merged into one. Guillaume Canet played the role of Julien Janvier. Today, a talented actor tries himself as a director, which also works great for him.
In the movie "Fall in love with me if you dare," Marion Cotillard played the role of Sophie Kowalski. The young actress coped with her task perfectly, not inferior in skill to her partner. At the Newport Beach Film Festival, she won a prize as the best actress in a dramatic film.
Movie Reviews
“Fall in love with me if you dare,” the reviews earned are quite controversial. The audience was divided into those who understood the main characters, and those who did not understand. From this we can conclude that the film is not suitable for everyone.
For some viewers, many moments of the storyline cause an unpleasant sensation. These people speak of the actions of the heroes as a mockery of others. Negative reviews about "Fall in love with me if you dare" are based on the perception of the plot as completely devoid of meaning and logic.
Heroes are perceived as stupid and infantile adolescents who have not matured with age. There are reviews in which they are called crazy.
The style in which this film was shot does not appeal to everyone either, since it is typical of French cinema and is not accepted by all of our compatriots.
The exact opposite opinion can be heard in the positive reviews of "Fall in love with me if you dare." The audience, who understood what the director wants to convey to them, call this picture a masterpiece of cinema art.
Separately, a high-quality play of actors is noted, both by fans of the picture, and by its critics. Lovers of French cinema note the wonderful style of the film and the talented work of the director.
Viewers claim that not everyone can understand the main characters. The film is able to appreciate only those who know what excitement is. In their opinion, the plot is quite meaningful and similar to reality. He reveals the theme of passion, which each person has his own. It can add color to our daily routine, and it can be fatal.
It all depends on whether we control our passions or whether our weaknesses control us. It is a great science to add peppercorn to your life without turning it into a bag of pepper.
The film shows the difference between existence and fullness of life. He reveals the circumstances in which two people were on the edge of the abyss, being every minute on the edge, at the limit of feelings.
As we can see, the reviews about the film are the opposite. It should be noted that there are much more positive ones. Since opinions differ, it is possible to make a true impression of a picture only by looking at it.
It should be borne in mind that the film "Fall in love with me if you dare" should not be taken literally, hanging labels of madness on current events. If you look deep into the plot, reflect, you can see morality in this story, which is individual for everyone.
No matter how the audience responded about this film, one thing remains unchanged: for each of them, the picture evoked certain emotions, whether they were positive or negative.