A Tout de Suite (Benoit Jacquot, 2004)

Set in 1975, A Tout de Suite (Right Now) details a lonely art student, Lili (although I never would have known the names if not for imdb, I don't think they're used ever in the film) who falls for a Moroccan man, Bada, she meets at a bar. The next day, he calls her in a panic; he tells her that he's in the middle of robbing a bank, but it's gone wrong and one of his friends is dead. She thinks it's a joke, but he soberly tells her to turn on the news, and that he'll call later. She does, and when he does call, she's ready to house Bada, his surviving friend, and the next day, when they need to leave the country, Lili decides to go with. They are joined by the second man's girlfriend, and go from France to Spain to Morocco to Greece. At first, Lili describes it as a holiday; they are carefree with lots of money, but soon, they start to have personality clashes and realize that the money they are spending can actually be tracked back to the bank. An even bigger catastrophe strikes Lili, and she needs to figure out her life for herself. Isild le Besco plays Lili for all the sensual, unsure, vivid young woman that she is. Some have criticized this film for being unrealistic because Lili goes off with the criminal Bada after only knowing him a few days, but I think it means that Lili wanted so desperately to change her life that she would do anything. Plus, she felt she had a deep connection with Bada (which I definitely think you can see), and wanted to feel something for someone and would go to great lengths to do that. Bada and Lili make a good couple, they seem to fit one another, and I applaud le Besco and Ouassini Embarek for making this unrealistic situation seem so real. The story is very slow, but, for the most part, pretty interesting, and the black and white photography is lush and yet almost documentary-like. I recommend this for those interested a story of love and crime that goes wrong, as well as to catch le Besco's performance, as she's one of France's up and coming actresses (I suspect she'll be a pretty big star in the future). 7/10 RIYL: Catherine Breillat

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