Director Jacques Rivette intimately captures the trifling, capricious nature of love in his film, Va Savoir. Do not, however, approach this film expecting a formulaic feel-good. A deliciously long-yet-light slice of French cinema, Va Savoir follows Camille (Jeanne Balibar), an actress curiously inquiring after a former beau, and Camille's lover, Ugo (Sergio Castellitto), a director searching for an unpublished Goldoni play. As the two pursue these independent interests, each begins to question the ho-hum predictability of the relationship. A delectable foray into the lackadaisical misadventures of romance ensues. The film aspires to something higher than a romance, with over-obvious actors working their surefire, laugh-track shticks. In portraying an ensemble of curiously complex characters, Rivette creates a work that reflects our own mildly unappreciative, slightly detached attitude toward the everyday. Despite the 150-minute runtime, the whimsical result is worth its lengthy percolation.
--Nancy Sun
