Va savoir (2001)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Jacques Rivette

Writers:

Pascal Bonitzer (scenario) &
Christine Laurent (scenario) ...

Release Date:

10 October 2001 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Quick-witted, well-read cultured types revolve around each other in a delightful potpourri of theatre, romanticism and theft.

Plot Keywords:

Paris | Love | Jealousy | Theater | Based On Play

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Jeanne Balibar	...	Camille B.
Marianne Basler	...	Sonia
Hélène de Fougerolles	...	Dominique 'Do'
Catherine Rouvel	...	Madame Desprez
Sergio Castellitto	...	Ugo
Jacques Bonnaffé	...	Pierre
Bruno Todeschini	...	Arthur
Claude Berri	...	Librarian
Attilio Cucari	...	Salter
Bettina Kee	...	Mop
Luciana Castellucci	...	Lena
Emanuele Vacca	...	Salesio
Arturo Armone Caruso	...	Bruno
Valeria Cavalli	...	Ines
Fausto Maria Sciarappa	...	Silvio

Also Known As:

Va Savoir (Who Knows?) (Australia) (USA)
(Chi lo sa?) (Italy)
Chi lo sa? (Italy) (alternative spelling)
Va savoir + (France) (director's cut)
Va savoir - Keiner weiß mehr (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief nudity.

Runtime:

France:154 min | France:220 min (director's cut) | Germany:154 min | Spain:157 min

Country:

France | Italy | Germany

Language:

French | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:6 | Netherlands:AL | Spain:13 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG-13 | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Pierre Grise Productions

Goofs:

Continuity: A child and a bicycle in the background disappears between shots in the park.

Quotes:

Sonia: How's the play going?
Cammille B.: All right.
Sonia: It's been awhile since you've been in Paris.
Cammille B.: Three years.
Sonia: It must seem strange.
Cammille B.: Yes. Your ring is beautiful.
Sonia: It's my engagement ring.
Cammille B.: With Pierre?
Sonia: No. My previous life. Another life. Very different.

Movie Connections:

References As You Desire Me (1932)

Soundtrack:

Senza Fine

Pirandello in Paris

A very well constructed movie with good actors and the fabulously charming Jeannne Balibar.

Paris is the theater for the gathering of these ex-young characters in quest of their love destiny and unsure of their choices, still young but already delving into their past.

Her past common life with Pierre still haunts Jeanne. She has to meet him again and in so doing she is gradually going to drive others away from their certainties. Who is going to end up with whom, the questions remains open until the end?

The dialogues are very precise and shrewd and the ending reminds of one of these Pièces de Boulevard (light comedy of manners). Décors and sets are just as elegant as the actors and their costumes.

Philistines will say it is just another French flick with no apparent purpose no clearcut between good and evil... Others may see the continuation of Desplechin's movie (Ma vie sexuelle...) and of Jean Eustache's "La maman et la putain". Yes it is a genre of its own, constructed like a XIXth century novel but with very contemporary attitudes and characters. So theatrically French indeed !