When viewing a film that's presented as a puzzle, one certainly hopes that everything will make sense at the end. Of course, if that result is to be at all satisfactory, the narrative for getting viewers to that conclusion needs to be equally engaging. Unfortunately, that's where writer-director Mathieu Amalric's latest offering loses its way. While the story of a wife and mother (Vicky Krieps) desperate to leave her family starts out strong (especially since her reasons for doing so are far from clear), audiences are likely to think that they're in store for a compelling ride, a mystery that's going to deliciously reveal itself as the story plays out. However, after this noteworthy beginning, the picture spins its yarn in a highly fractured way, mixing a variety of images that appear to draw from current activity, flashbacks and envisioned futures (some even of a fantasy nature), all thrown together in a somewhat haphazard fashion that constitutes more muddle than riddle. One can readily assume that this jumble of imagery is indicative of what's going on in the protagonist's mind, but that's not always clear nor is the cause for it. Thankfully, the filmmaker manages to tie up all of the various strands by picture's end, but it asks viewers to go back and reassemble the pieces that lead its conclusion, and, frankly, that seems like an awful lot of work to go through after a protracted stretch of film where it's easy for audience members to lose interest. To its credit, this release provides an excellent showcase for Krieps, backed by gorgeous cinematography and a superb classical music score, as well as its fine opening sequence. But these strengths aren't enough to compensate for the shortcomings and an overall approach that often seems contrived and certainly sacrifices substance for style. This is the kind of picture that will definitely appeal to the arthouse crowd, but average moviegoers are likely to find it pretentious, self-important and needlessly cryptic, qualities that detract from what could have been more involving had the filmmakers kept matters simpler and less enigmatic.
8 Reviews
Very Affecting
derek-duerden12 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Vicky Krieps is a very interesting actor and here she gets to display a great range of mood and emotion in a way that (for me) was much more satisfying than Corsage (for example).
It takes a while before it's clear what's going on - so don't give up after 20 minutes. Once the various perspectives and timelines start to gel, it turns into a quietly devastating study in grief and exploration of the potentials of life, which I found very thought-provoking. Amalric doesn't strongly signal the differences between the "real" and "imagined" scenes - which could be frustrating - but perhaps was intentional to try and match the possible chaos of Clarisse's thoughts and emotions.
Well worth a look.
(Spoilery bit: For what it's worth, I don't think she ever really left her family. She fantasises this scenario in order that she can visualise them all getting on with their lives without her - in particular so that her children can have a future. As opposed to what "really happened", when they all left *her*, accidentally.)
It takes a while before it's clear what's going on - so don't give up after 20 minutes. Once the various perspectives and timelines start to gel, it turns into a quietly devastating study in grief and exploration of the potentials of life, which I found very thought-provoking. Amalric doesn't strongly signal the differences between the "real" and "imagined" scenes - which could be frustrating - but perhaps was intentional to try and match the possible chaos of Clarisse's thoughts and emotions.
Well worth a look.
(Spoilery bit: For what it's worth, I don't think she ever really left her family. She fantasises this scenario in order that she can visualise them all getting on with their lives without her - in particular so that her children can have a future. As opposed to what "really happened", when they all left *her*, accidentally.)
devastating French film
SnoopyStyle12 March 2023
Clarisse (Vicky Krieps) leaves his seemingly nice close family. Dysfunction within the family is slowly revealed. Some seems to be memories, some an alternate world, and some surreal. The reality is eventually revealed.
This is directed by Mathieu Amalric who I know more as a great character actor. I was a bit confused with the first half. The movie kept slipping away as the confused plot kept piling on the tangential arcs. In some ways, the visuals need to be more surreal. There are ways for Clarisse to show some more clarity especially during her moments. Of course, it all comes together with the older girl pianist. It's a nice a-ha moment. It's a very devastating reveal.
This is directed by Mathieu Amalric who I know more as a great character actor. I was a bit confused with the first half. The movie kept slipping away as the confused plot kept piling on the tangential arcs. In some ways, the visuals need to be more surreal. There are ways for Clarisse to show some more clarity especially during her moments. Of course, it all comes together with the older girl pianist. It's a nice a-ha moment. It's a very devastating reveal.
A very beautiful movie, in many ways...
denisvp211 September 2021
Mathieu Amalric's new movie is another (very) beautiful piece of work, piece of art. It is full of intelligence and subtle emotions ; sound and footage are brilliantly edited. All actors are delivering great performances, especially Vicky Krieps. She's more than gifted, she's breathtaking. Irresistible. The movie lingers in your head for quite a while after you've watched and "felt" it...
Enigmatic mystery with a terrific Vicky Krieps
gortx6 December 2022
Matthieu Amalric's fine French film HOLD ME TIGHT begins with a woman leaving her husband and two kids (a boy and a girl) and driving away while they sleep. Or, so it seems.
Clarisse (Vicky Krieps) does leave her husband Marc (Arieh Worthalter) and children (played by four different actors at various points). But, was it this morning? Yesterday? Tomorrow? Or, ever? Amalric's screenplay adaptation of Claudine Galea's play, immediately makes it clear that little of what we see can be taken either linearly or even, literally.
Clarisse reveals herself slowly, but it's all purposely fragmented: She travels to a resort in the mountains. Visits a friend at a coffee shop. Takes on a part-time job. Flirts with men. All the while, she imagines what is happening to her family back home. Do they miss her? Are they angry with her decision? Better off without her? Amalric is constantly challenging the viewer. At various points, Clarisse seems to be almost telepathically communicating with her husband and children, even physically moving through their lives like a form of ghost.
Amalric's deft handling of difficult material shows a strong director's sense, Best known in the U. S. for his acting in QUANTUM OF SOLACE, GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL and DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, Almaric has now directed a half-dozen features and his experience on both sides of the camera are on clear display here. Amalric is abetted by the exceptional Krieps (PHANTOM THREAD, BERGMAN ISLAND) in the leading role. Krieps has a natural presence where she can appear to be both accessible and mysterious at the same time - open, yet never truly revealing. It's those very qualities which make the movie so intriguing no matter how inscrutable it may seem at times.
At a couple of key moments, we see Clarisse fumbling over a stack of old Polaroids. Are they her experiences? Her memories? Or, apparitions? After all, what are ghosts but memories? Moments in time to hold on to. And cherished in the moment.
Clarisse (Vicky Krieps) does leave her husband Marc (Arieh Worthalter) and children (played by four different actors at various points). But, was it this morning? Yesterday? Tomorrow? Or, ever? Amalric's screenplay adaptation of Claudine Galea's play, immediately makes it clear that little of what we see can be taken either linearly or even, literally.
Clarisse reveals herself slowly, but it's all purposely fragmented: She travels to a resort in the mountains. Visits a friend at a coffee shop. Takes on a part-time job. Flirts with men. All the while, she imagines what is happening to her family back home. Do they miss her? Are they angry with her decision? Better off without her? Amalric is constantly challenging the viewer. At various points, Clarisse seems to be almost telepathically communicating with her husband and children, even physically moving through their lives like a form of ghost.
Amalric's deft handling of difficult material shows a strong director's sense, Best known in the U. S. for his acting in QUANTUM OF SOLACE, GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL and DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, Almaric has now directed a half-dozen features and his experience on both sides of the camera are on clear display here. Amalric is abetted by the exceptional Krieps (PHANTOM THREAD, BERGMAN ISLAND) in the leading role. Krieps has a natural presence where she can appear to be both accessible and mysterious at the same time - open, yet never truly revealing. It's those very qualities which make the movie so intriguing no matter how inscrutable it may seem at times.
At a couple of key moments, we see Clarisse fumbling over a stack of old Polaroids. Are they her experiences? Her memories? Or, apparitions? After all, what are ghosts but memories? Moments in time to hold on to. And cherished in the moment.
Brilliant movie
ledddy-940-48347324 May 2023
I don't write reviews at all but in this case I wanted to share my experience. I watched this movie twice and I think it's extremely hard to catch everything in first round. And partially that's the beauty of this movie. Second round closed the circle for me. There's so many nimble moments I missed and revealed.
It is one of the most underrated movies I ve seen.
I understand that sometimes it's hard to find time to watch a movie let alone twice. I found it so rewarding in this case.
Im wondering how many people really understood this movie.
Beautiful, sad, hard, Life. Masterpiece.
9,5 / 10.
It is one of the most underrated movies I ve seen.
I understand that sometimes it's hard to find time to watch a movie let alone twice. I found it so rewarding in this case.
Im wondering how many people really understood this movie.
Beautiful, sad, hard, Life. Masterpiece.
9,5 / 10.
Great dramatic movie and great directing!
frcata24 February 2022
This movie is great: it gathers a lot of intensity and power that go through the spectator. Mathieu Amalric in the directing did an extraordinaire work: the plot, the shots, the editing...real great stuff.
He created a movie that deserves a lot of credit. It's common to find a film that has a great story and an ambitious use of the skills to tell the story itself.
Don't miss it!
He created a movie that deserves a lot of credit. It's common to find a film that has a great story and an ambitious use of the skills to tell the story itself.
Don't miss it!
Grief in a way
theallenjohan3 April 2024
Grief is a compelling theme in cinema. Indeed, it's a subject that is persistently explored in the arts - grief is inevitable, all-encompassing and unforgiving: it is intertwined with time, and can only be experienced in time. But what version of time is commonly associated or portrayed with grief, but a linear one? In Serre moi fort (2021) by actor-turned director-Mathieu Amalric (you may know him from his performances in Le scaphandre et le papillon and The Grand Budapest Hotel), there is a singular subversion of this trend, and though non-linear time as a concept has been around awhile now, in cinematic language, in this masterfully done work, it has appeared anew, and so we arrive at an unconventionality.
"Serre moi fort" or "Hold Me Tight", adapted from an unpublished play by Claudine Galea, tells the story of a woman, played by the phenomenal Vicky Krieps (is it a coincidence?), recounting her departure from her family... or does it? The film's description suggests as much. Without revealing too much and risking spoilers, I can say that the description aptly encapsulates the essence of "Serre moi fort", and more broadly, the central conflict of the art form itself, which lies in its mysteries, riddles, puzzles, and the struggle for definition - in this case, the definition of grief.
Grief can be seen as a state, a reaction, or a series of reactions to loss. And what is loss but an event that has occurred? In cinema, and in real life too, loss is perceived as something that has passed. Even though this is our usual perception, the true expression of grief is never fully captured - we may cry, we may scream, we may categorize it into stages, but the internal experience is not easily discernible, if at all. I believe that films have the potential to portray grief as something diverse: a variable, so to speak. This is what "Serre moi fort" has achieved to perfection, in my view: through experimenting with filmic sequencing, it is able to present grief as a malady that may lessen in symptomatic intensity over time but resurfaces, again and again, in tender moments, in lucid desperation of a long day. "Serre moi fort" also depicts grief as hallucinations, delusions, and projections, working similarly to nostalgia in enabling you to revisit the past, modify it, and learn from it. It is unreasonably visual, seen through the inner eye - which, perhaps, the medium of film can best convey to us.
So long as one knows grief and has grief, like Clarisse does.
"Serre moi fort" or "Hold Me Tight", adapted from an unpublished play by Claudine Galea, tells the story of a woman, played by the phenomenal Vicky Krieps (is it a coincidence?), recounting her departure from her family... or does it? The film's description suggests as much. Without revealing too much and risking spoilers, I can say that the description aptly encapsulates the essence of "Serre moi fort", and more broadly, the central conflict of the art form itself, which lies in its mysteries, riddles, puzzles, and the struggle for definition - in this case, the definition of grief.
Grief can be seen as a state, a reaction, or a series of reactions to loss. And what is loss but an event that has occurred? In cinema, and in real life too, loss is perceived as something that has passed. Even though this is our usual perception, the true expression of grief is never fully captured - we may cry, we may scream, we may categorize it into stages, but the internal experience is not easily discernible, if at all. I believe that films have the potential to portray grief as something diverse: a variable, so to speak. This is what "Serre moi fort" has achieved to perfection, in my view: through experimenting with filmic sequencing, it is able to present grief as a malady that may lessen in symptomatic intensity over time but resurfaces, again and again, in tender moments, in lucid desperation of a long day. "Serre moi fort" also depicts grief as hallucinations, delusions, and projections, working similarly to nostalgia in enabling you to revisit the past, modify it, and learn from it. It is unreasonably visual, seen through the inner eye - which, perhaps, the medium of film can best convey to us.
So long as one knows grief and has grief, like Clarisse does.
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