THE PLOT THUS FAR
A French woman mourning over the death of her husband three years prior is courted by a Swedish co-worker.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
Nathalie is having a very hard time dealing with the death of her husband. The first chunk of the film deals with Nathalie trying to find her place in the world, all the while pushing people away. When she finally finds someone that wants to help here, she clams faster than a girl in math class. The two keep shifting gender dynamics, until Nathalie lets her inner Amelie shine. Everyone gets a little happier and the world is a little less grim.
Sparked off by Nathalie’s decision to kiss Markus on a whim, this utterly charming middle section wittily observes the unintended consequences from that very impulse. In a clever switch of archetypes, it is Markus who turns out totally smitten by Nathalie, so much so that he deliberately runs away when he senses he may be falling too deeply in love with her. That scene set on a bridge against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower is one of the funniest in the movie- ditto for another in which Nathalie takes the initiative to ask him out for a play over office messaging just as his Google search turns out the exact same date idea.
The Blu-Ray comes with a featurette, interview and trailer. The 1080p transfer is rather refreshing from a company that I’m not used to reviewing. However, I found that the DTS-HD master audio track couldn’t decide if it wanted be 2.0 or 5.1 surround. If it was 5.1, then why where was there no back channel support? In the end, I’d recommend a purchase.
RELEASE DATE: 09/25/2012
