If you’re in the mood for a Parisian, melodramatic, and romantically unsatisfying drama, Just A Sigh (Le temps de l’aventure) may be just the film for you. It’s a quirky film that stars well-known French actress Emmanuelle Devos as Alix, a struggling actress who happens to meet a handsome man on her way to an audition. What begins as a flirty cat and mouse game eventually turns into a full-fledged affair, lasting only one afternoon, which cuts short a storybook ending we as an audience root for.
Alix is an unorganized, borderline “broke” actress hoping for her big break in the city of lights. Though she desperately needs a job, her focus begins to wain when she meets Doug (Gabriel Byrne) on the train to her audition. They part without getting each other’s names or numbers but reconnect a few hours later after Alix finds him in a group of funeral mourners. They strike up a conversation, again, slightly boring, but what gives this relationship any jolt of tension or intrigue is the fact that Alix has a boyfriend. However, that doesn’t seem to stop her as she follows Doug back to his hotel room where things heat up rather quickly. Cut to- Doug and Alix laying in bed wearing nothing but sheets while reality starts to slowly creep back into Alix’s mind.
It’s Francis Ha-esque characteristics and sprinklings of subtle humor make for enjoyable moments, but it’s not quite enough to overcome a weak script.
Unfortunately, that’s where the excitement stops. It’s unclear whether director Jérôme Bonnell expected the ending to be an emotional moment, but ultimately it falls flat, which can be attributed to sub-par screenwriting. This character-driven film is engaging thanks to the fantastic work of Emmanuelle Devos and Irishman Gabriel Byrne; their electricity is felt on screen and not exaggerated in the least. It’s a very realistic portrayal of infatuation, love, and loss. Considering the script, it’s a shame to think how powerful this film could have been if the story met the level of the performances.
Ultimately, Just a Sigh is a mediocre, “day-in-the-life” film that would have made an incredible short, as one gets the sense that this is far too stretched out to qualify as a solid feature-length film. It’s Francis Ha-esque characteristics and sprinklings of subtle humor make for enjoyable moments, but it’s not quite enough to overcome a weak script. At the end of the film, Just A Sigh leaves you with, simply that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSiBf6PNr2w
