Someone, Somewhere - Deux Moi (French Film Festival)

6/10

Remi and Melanie may be perfect for each other. They live in the same building, separated from each other by the thinnest of walls. They shop at the same convenience store and take the same public transport, pass each other on the street, but in a city of millions will these two have a chance to meet?

Focusing on how it is to be young and single in the modern Megapolis, and in particular Paris, the city of love, the movie takes on the daily lives’ journey, that is as extraordinary as it is simple. The plot is easy to relate to, as so many of us follow the “work-eat-sleep” routine and rarely pay attention to the fact that something is not right with this arrangement, something is missing. Anxiety and depression in the film is seen as a part of the daily battles to be fought and are almost taken for granted. The leads by young stars François Civil and Ana Girardot are believable “girl and boy next door” trying to make their lives work and fight this desperate and lonely feeling underneath it all.

Director Cedric Klapisch specialises in romanticising Paris. Here it is practically a love letter to the city, and partly a guidebook to what it is to be a Parisian. 
SOMEONE SOMEWHERE may not be for everyone, it is certainly not a romantic comedy, and is slightly uneventful for a movie that runs almost 2 hrs. But the performances are great and the comprehensive script juggles many of the film’s  important issues with relative ease. 
Focusing on what it is to be ready to accept true love than on the love affair itself, the film inspires optimism despite its melancholic nature. 

The film is a part of AF French Film Festival 2020.