Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #58338 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-11-20
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: French
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 115 minutes

Special Features
4:3 Full Frame
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 5
French
Region 2
Dolby Digital 2.0 French
Dolby Digital 2.0
Scene Access
Theatrical Trailer
Director And Cast Filmographies
English

Synopsis
Director Gilles Mimouni's first feature film is a stylish suspense thriller that confounds the audience while presenting them with an extraordinary and elusive mystery. Vincent Cassel stars as Max, a former playboy who has decided to settle down by marrying his current love, Muriel. However, during a business trip, Max catches a glimpse of the great lost love of his life, reviving his wanderlust and sending him off on a chase of the elusive Lisa, whom he had overheard suggesting to a friend that her lover, Daniel, had killed someone for her. Soon, Max is trying to unravel the mystery behind the suspicious death of Daniel's wife, which he hopes will lead him closer to Lisa. Mimouni's deft direction and impeccable visual sense, along with his many nods to Alfred Hitchcock, make this a hugely enjoyable thriller.

From the Back Cover
Starring Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci, Romane Bohringer, Jean-Phillipe Ecoffey and Sandrine Kiberlain. L'Appartement is a stylish and sexy combination of love story and thriller in which one man is caught up in the passion driven fates of three beautiful women. Max, the romantic protagonist, is planning a marriage, investigating a murder, chasing after a lost love and getting bizarrely entangled with a mystery girl. Switching between time, women, chic cafes and beautiful Parisian apartments, Mimouni's film makes the most of its deliriously romantic setting whilst effortlessly unraveling an intricate and unpredictable plot which playfully ties its lovelorn characters up in knots as it races along to a heady conclusion.

Customer Reviews

Style, pace and beauty
This film is brilliant - in turns stylish, fast-moving, and intriguing. Even without Monica Bellucci, it would be excellent. The cheating Max, around whom the whole story revolves, is brilliantly played by Vincent Cassel. And the slightly golden hue, in which the film is shot almost throughout, gives it added elegance as well as an almost surreal texture.

But with Ms Bellucci, the film becomes almost mesmerising. For me, she is the film's pièce de résistance. Her Italian accent while speaking French, which lingers almost imperceptibly at the end of every word she utters, is simply delicious. This, combined with her stunning physical beauty (let's be honest here!), and a very believable character, make this film memorable and take it comfortably into 5 star territory.

This film will stay in your mind long after watching it. So my advice is: Go and buy it now!

A great love story
I caught this film on TV at midnight a few years back. I was tired and just about to go to bed. But after the title sequence (brilliant tune "It's the same") and the first minute, I was hooked. The film got better and better all the way to the end and the next day I was seeking out the video.

This is a great love story, with a brilliant intricate plot and excellent performances. Vincent Cassel (also brilliant in La Haine & Irreversible) is captivated by his impossibly beautiful co-star and wife, Monica Bellucci (Irreversible), simply walking down the street. He stalks her and ends up meeting her in a shoe shop. From there the journey is set, and a love affair takes place. The tragedy that then enfolds is brilliant and quite heartbreaking.

The chronology of the film is as complex as Pulp Fiction on first viewing and wonderful to follow knowingly on subsequent viewings. The beauty is in the portrayal of the simple twists of fate that occur in all our lives for the better or worse. Their simplicity sometimes has a farcical quality, and it is that which is quite tragic.

This is a film that you have to have, and yet again proves the mastery of French film-making over the rest of us. There is also the love story between myself and Monica Bellucci that first night I saw the film, but I'll keep that one to myself!

One of the finest films of the decade
One of the striking things about this film is just how confident the direction seems to be. There is no hesitation, no fear, just a fluent film leading smoothly from one situation. It's difficult to believe that it was the director's first film, but it certainly can't have hurt to have an experienced actor like Vincent Cassell taking the main role. Cassell is superb as a man who knows who he wants, but all too often settles for second best, having had his heart broken before.

The film follows him pursuing his old love (Monica Bellucci), but seemingly never able to quite get to her, and leaving in his wake (through no fault of his own) a trail of destruction behind himself and the other characters. The supporting cast is rock solid, and the story captivating. I watched this film and made it my mission in life to see all the films Cassell has ever made - he's really that good.

If you like French films, buy it. If you like love stories, buy it. If you like good acting, good direction, good editing, buy it. In short, unless you don't like foreign language films, buy it, and if you don't like them, what are you doing reading this? Buy it!