Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (I've loved you for so long)

So what is this one about?
Netflix tells us,

After more than a decade apart, estranged sisters Juliette (Kristin Scott Thomas) and Lea (Elsa Zylberstein) try to rebuild their fractured relationship. But the task is hardly easy, considering Juliette's past. She's been in jail for 15 years -- for killing her own son. As she settles into small-town life with Lea's family, the locals can't help but talk. Philippe Claudel's feature film debut garnered him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.

oh ho, it is Oscar season folks, and lets understand that a lot of the movies I will be seeing soon are the big Oscar films of the year. (You know how the filmmakers are, releasing all their big guns at the same time)

And how much did I pay to watch?
Well, my mom paid, because she was dying to see it. So I paid zippo.

And what did I think?
Well, at first I thought I would fall asleep during the show, because I am notorious for falling asleep during films that are subtitled. But, I didn't. I watched the whole thing with rapt attention. Now, you have to believe me because I know it took a sickeningly long time to finally get this review up. But, it was good. Worth all that hype you're going to hear.

I watched the film for almost the entire time trying to dissect what the message of the film was. (In fact, with a lot of films I have been watching lately I have been trying to figure out their messages. I wonder what that means?) It was towards the very end that I figured it out. (Now, I am of course having a hard time remembering, since I waited nearly a month to write this...I'll have to write about other stuff while I try and think about it)

The acting was fantastic. French women are so beautiful. They aren't like American movie stars, but they are so effortlessly beautiful. Especially the actress who played the sister. But, lets face it, Kristen Scott Thomas will get some sort of award nomination for this. First, it is really great that she is a bilingual actress...BILINGUAL! She is great in French. Her portrayal of the just released prisoner was so layered and painful. She was just fabulous. She was self possessed and guarded, and you truly believed that she was the character she was playing. She was so wounded.

I think maybe the point of the film is that it says to not judge people because you can never possibly know what their reasons are for anything. I don't know that this was what I came to when I was watching the movie, but I am old, so I forget. There was this scene where KST told a new employer why she was in jail, and he didn't even listen. He immediately dismissed her, and then at the end we learn why she was actually in jail. And maybe it wasn't less reprehensible, but maybe it was. I guess the point it, what is supposed to help people? Acceptance, and forgiveness. And allowing people to just be who they are.

Or maybe that is just Christmas talking.

So what is the rating? (out of 10)
I will give I've Loved You For So Long a 7. It was good, but not especially good. But I bet it will do well this awards season.