In Praise of Love (Éloge de l'amour)

Color/B&W;, PG (mature themes, language), 98 min., VHS $59.95, DVD $29.95, French with English subtitles

DVD: no extras

Street: July 22, Prebook: June 25

First Run: L, Sept. 2002, <$1 mil.

Cast: Bruno Putzulu, Cécile Camp (Place Vendôme), Jean Davy (Balzac), Francoise Verny

NEW YORKER

Story Line: Edgar (Putzulu) is conducting interviews with people of different ages for his art project about the "four moments of love." He is eager to talk with a young woman (Camp) whom he first met two years before. At that time, the young lady's grandparents had sold exclusive rights to their World War II memories to an American firm called "Spielberg Associates."

Bottom Line: The most influential French filmmaker of the modern era came back into critical favor with this two-part exploration of love, aging, memory and the American urge to "buy up" historical sagas. The film is similar to the work Godard has been producing on film and video since the late '80s (translation: newcomers would be best served watching his earlier work first). Praise's central innovation is that its first section was shot using B&W; film stock, with the characters wandering through picturesque Parisian locales. Despite its visual beauty, this section is cerebral and harder to access emotionally. The second, flashback section was shot on video and transferred to film, thus creating a range of oversaturated colors. The characters in this part are sympathetic and three-dimensional, making Godard's jibes against Spielberg and other American chroniclers of history all the more pointed. This two-part strategy results in a complex, challenging film that grows richer with repeated viewings. Godard's name should cause foreign movie fans to rent, but the film should also be pushed to viewers who enjoy such younger directors as Olivier Assayas (Irma Vep) and Lars Von Trier. --Ed Grant

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