Jane Heller

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

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Movie Night: "The Intouchables"

January 1, 2013

 

I’d been hearing a lot about this French film that’s based on the true story. Friends who’d seen it raved about it and audiences around the world have embraced it, but it still hasn’t been released widely in the U.S. Luckily, I was able to see the film tonight and what a treat.

A wealthy quadriplegic living in a Paris mansion and being attended to by an efficient team of staff members needs to hire a live-in caregiver. When a young Senegalese man shows up during the interview process fresh from serving time for robbery, he stuns everyone by announcing that he doesn’t want the job, just a signature on an application for government benefits. To his surprise he’s hired anyway, and so begins this comedy-drama of an odd couple who end up bringing out the best in each other.

The plot may sound predictable, but the performances are anything but. Both lead actors are terrific and, as the closing credits reveal, bear an uncanny resemblance to the real people they portray. Francois Cluzet as the rich man expresses a whole range of emotions with his eyes alone. And Omar Sy as the bad boy is flat-out fun to watch. I’d recommend “The Intouchables” to anyone looking for a heartwarming tale of two people who form a close bond despite coming from different worlds.

 

Filed Under: Mainly Jane, Movies Tagged With: Francois Cluzet, French films, Omar Sy, The Intouchables

Movie Night: "Amour"

November 24, 2012

Talk about a caregiver movie. This French film that opens in the U.S. next month is not an easy one to sit through, as beautifully told and brilliantly acted as it is. Starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, who was so memorable years ago in the romantic “A Man and a Woman,” and the gifted Emmanuelle Riva, it’s essentially a two-character story about a couple in their 80s who’ve suddenly been forced to face a medical crisis and test their love in ways they never imagined.

Music teachers who seem to have had a comfortable, cultured, happily married life together, she suffers a debilitating stroke that leaves her dependent on him. He has promised he will take care of her in their apartment, as opposed to hospitalizing her, and he does everything – I mean everything – he can to fulfill that promise.

The movie is heartbreaking and inspiring simultaneously. And it provokes debate. We saw it with friends, and immediately after the credits rolled the four of us launched into a discussion of living wills and pulling the plug and all sorts of ghoulish-but-necessary subjects people have to grapple with. One thing we all agreed on though: after sitting through two hours of “Amour,” we were so ready for a comedy.

 

Filed Under: Mainly Jane, Movies, Wellness Tagged With: Amour, caregiving, end of life, French films, Jean-Louis Trintingnant, marriage

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About Jane Heller

Jane Heller is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Her fourteen breezy, witty novels of romantic comedy and suspense are now entertaining millions of readers around the world, along with her two books of nonfiction.

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