HOT CHICK SEEKS WARMTH.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic ROUGHLY TRANSLATED, the title of Benoit Jacquot's nod to the French New Wave, ``A Tout de Suite,'' means ``Right Now,'' which belies the film's period setting and strikingly grimy grim·y adj. grim·i·er, grim·i·est Covered or smudged with grime. See Synonyms at dirty. grim  i·ly adv. black-and-white photography. But it does capture the mind-set of the movie's heroine, a free-spirited French girl looking for Looking forIn the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. kicks and finding plenty when she goes on the run with her love-at-first- sight boyfriend. Lili (Islid Le Besco) is an art student living with her parents in a sprawling Paris apartment in the mid-'70s. Lili wants her own place, wants her own life or, in lieu of that, someone else's life. Out on the town with a girlfriend, she meets Bada (Ouassini Embarek), an inscrutable in·scru·ta·ble adj. Difficult to fathom or understand; impenetrable. See Synonyms at mysterious. [Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin young Moroccan, at a disco. They dance to Diana Ross' ``Do You Know Where You're Going To.'' She takes him back to the apartment for sex. She's smitten smit·ten v. A past participle of smite. smitten Verb a past participle of smite Adjective deeply affected by love (for) Adj. 1. . Did we mention he's inscrutable? Bada explains the thick wad of cash in his pocket by telling Lili he's in real estate. A couple of nights later, Lili learns the truth when Bada phones her to say goodbye. He and a partner have just robbed a bank. A teller is dead. Hostages have been taken. He doubts they'll make it out alive. But just in case ... could Bada and his friend hide at Lili's until the heat is off? For the impulsive im·pul·sive adj. 1. Inclined or tending to act on impulse rather than thought. 2. Motivated by or resulting from impulse. im·pul Lili, there can be only one answer, which leads to adventure that leads back to the essential emptiness of Lili's life.'' A Tout de Suite'' is less of a lovers-on-the-lam movie than a study of a passive young woman willing to do anything to be with the man she sees as her savior. The process of discovery is thus: The beautiful Lili can leave men (and women) gasping, but there's a self-absorption that she needs to work through in order to have any kind of chance for lasting happiness. Can she? And, if so, do we really want to see that happen? Appropriately, Jacquot tells Lili's story mostly in close-ups, focusing on the lissome lis·some also lis·som adj. 1. Easily bent; supple. 2. Having the ability to move with ease; limber. [Alteration of lithesome. Le Besco's freshly minted sexuality. The actress, who honed this performance with Jacquot in his 2000 movie ``Sade'' (the sadist, not the singer), can hold the screen and then some, conveying the essence of a young woman who might not have any essence at all. But she's trying. Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672 glenn.whipp(at)dailynews.com A TOUT DE SUITE - Three and one half stars (Not rated: strong sexuality, language, violence) Starring: Islid Le Besco, Ouassini Embarek. Director: Benoit Jacquot. Running time: 1 hr. 36 min. Playing: Landmark's Nuart Theater in West Los Angeles
In a nutshell: Impulsive, sexy French girl goes on the lam to find happiness in this striking nod to the French New Wave. In French with English subtitles sub·ti·tle n. 1. A secondary, usually explanatory title, as of a literary work. 2. A printed translation of the dialogue of a foreign-language film shown at the bottom of the screen. tr.v. . |
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