Worth the wait: Sandrine Bonnaire & Kevin Kline in Caroline Bottaro's QUEEN TO PLAY

A shoo-in to attract foreign film buffs who enjoy arthouse movies of the more mainstream variety, QUEEN TO PLAY  (Joueuse, in the original French), which will open this Friday after making its American debut two years ago at the Tribeca Film Festival, is a smart, small but intensely enjoyable movie -- one that I think would draw the kind of satisfied, word-of-mouth audience that made The Grocer's Son a surprise arthouse hit. 

It stars a fine actress -- one who is consistently popular with this particular audience -- Sandrine Bonnaire (Angel of Mine, Intimate Strangers, Vagabond, Her Name is Sabine) and our own Kevin Kline (doing his first full-out French-language role), with help from Jennifer Beals (looking gorgeous in a small but pivotal role) and French hunk Francis Renaud (The Code, Chrysalis), who brings great warmth and humanity to Bonnaire's confused husband. Written and directed by Caroline Bottaro (above, right), a newcomer who has previously directed only one 15-minute short, the movie deftly juggles intelligence and emotion, plot and theme, bringing everything home to rest in thoroughly winning fashion without, thankfully, overplaying anything.

Ms. Bonnaire, above, essays the role of Hélène, a cleaning lady capable of a good deal more than washing and wiping. (Another under-used cleaning woman named Seraphine walked away with that same year's Cesar for best film and best actress: Has France an untapped resource in its femmes de ménage?) One day, as Hélène cleans a room, the inhabitants of which are out on the terrace, she becomes fascinated while watching through windblown curtains as the pair plays chess. This fascination grows even more in the home of another of her clients (Professor Kröger, played by Kline) who also enjoys the game.

Chess has had a long, if checkered, history in cinema -- from a classic like The Seventh Seal to one of the worst movies ever to win a Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar (Dangerous Moves) to the somewhat obvious and disappointing Searching for Bobby Fischer and that pivotal scene in the original (and quite pretentious: the remake was so much more fun) Thomas Crown Affair. In the annals of chess-on-film, Queen to Play may be among the best, due to Ms Bottaro's ability to suggest an idea rather than bat us over the head with it. What draws Hélène to this game? It probably has to do with the way in which she, as a woman, can relate to her male partner while playing. This will come to effect her relationship with her husband, her client (Mr. Kline's professor) and finally some other important men. As I say, all of this is merely suggested, as is so much else in the movie. But mulling over Bottaro's many "suggestions" adds immensely to our pleasure.

Also at work here is an idea similar to what riveted audiences to that great movie Babe. Rather than watching a pig being told that he cannot do something for which he is clearly talented but lacks the canine qualifications, we see a woman begin to excel at a man's game -- and then pay for it. This, of course, sends out all sorts of feminist feelers (not to mention the issue of class: the couple's daughter brings this to the fore), but fortunately Ms Bottaro allows nothing to go too far. Her discretion graces everything from sex to terminal illness. She possesses a remarkable ability to give us just enough information and/or visuals; this, coupled to the European sensibility not to pry, allows certain moments to skirt sentimentality but quickly settle back into sense and strength.

Ms Bonnaire is just splendid: Her ability to hold so much inside (while making us aware of every scrap of it) is a joy to observe. She manages great acting with as few flourishes as anyone else performing today. Kline (shown two photos above) is gruff, bearded, and still as sexy and intelligent as ever. He ought to have had a better film career, but perhaps he will start working in French (or Italian? Spanish? Why not!). Beals (above) continues to enchant -- more now than back in those Flashdance days -- and I will look forward with great anticipation to seeing M. Renaud (shown below) again soon.

Until last evening, when I watched the film again, it had been two full years since I first saw it and wrote about it (that review, pretty much in its entirety, appears above).  I am happy to say that I feel as strongly now as I did then that this is an exceptional film.  The only things I should have mention earlier are the simply gorgeous scenery on view (the film takes place at seacoast/cliffside town that should get a lot of American tourists, post-viewing), with cinematography is by Jean-Claude Larrieu, and the lovely, never-intrusive musical score by Nicola Piovani.

Queen to Play, for which we owe a thank-you to its distributor Zeitgeist Films, opens this Friday, April 1, in New York City (Lincoln Plaza Cinema and the Angelika Film Center) and in Los Angeles area (at various sites), with a nationwide roll-out to follow. Click here for all playdates -- cities, dates and theaters -- across the country.

Birkin & Castellitto in Rivette's AROUND A SMALL MOUNTAIN opens at IFC Center

I'd say Jacques Rivette is lucky to have two stars as charismatic as Jane Birkin and Sergio Castellitto to help ground his new trifle AROUND A SMALL MOUNTAIN (36 vues du Pic Saint Loup). Despite its charming start (a cute-meet that works, opening the movie to its full plot potential) and a few scenes along the way that delight, his film continually threa-
tens and then finally does deflate, like a red balloon that has floated over one too many sharp turrets.

I'm not big on overly expository screenplays, but M. Rivette (shown at right) tends to err in the other direction, giving us a clue or two but refusing to go farther. We (like the character played by Castellitto) know something is wrong with our love interest and leading lady, but due to the refusal of the director and co-writer (with Pascal Bonitzer and Christine Laurent) to fess up (he won't even allow Ms Birkin's character to do so: She consistently refuses to communicate with a guy who clearly cares for her), we viewers remain too much in the dark.

Worse, when we finally do learn a few answers, they are so obvious and soap-opera-like that we can but shrug. Worst all all is how he has used a wonderful actress like Birkin (above, left, with Castellitto) forcing her to babble a long monologue -- one addressed to nobody (she's by herself, you see, in a circus tent) and somehow make it even remotely believable.  No actor should have to do this, but there she is, giving it her all.  The monologue offers clues to character and event that might better have been more artfully filtered throughout the screenplay, rather than foisted upon us in a single, undigestible lump that must have been a tad trying for the actress.  That would have taken some more work, however, and this film, being a "lark," well, there's no need.

TrustMovies admires (you may, too) Rivette's love of and delight in the small, down-on-its-luck circus and its performers that provide the background for the film.  There is charm to be found here, in the alternately silly/funny tricks and acts on display, but considering the amount of time spent in and around this one-ring show, the return-on-investment isn't much.  References and quotes abound, everyone from Shakespeare to Donald Rumsfeld gets his licks in, as does the past, lost love, current attraction and games of control.

The biggest treat, aside from the two stars, may be the gorgeous French mountain country, an example of which is shown at left. Eventually, though, the movie becomes for us viewers much like it has been for Castellitto's character. It's as though we've taken a vacation and spent some odd time with a group of people that appear to invite us in -- only to leave us out.

Less lengthy than any other of this fabled French filmmaker's work that I know (two hours is short for Rivette), the movie's 84-minute running time does help in reaching the conclusion more quickly.  I can't imagine any diehard fans missing the film, though, at this late date in his career (Rivette's 82), it probably will not bring him new converts.

Around a Small Mountain, from The Cinema Guild, opens this Friday, July 9, in New York City exclusively at the IFC Center.  You can find additional playdates, with cities and theaters, here.