Kings And Queen: A Melodramatic, Burlesque Comedic, French Gem!

If any of you worry that you don’t really know what your loved ones think of you, then this multi-layered, French film will confirm your worst fears, albeit in a sneaky way that is undeniably devastating. Kings and Queen (Rois et renne) is its name. Part melodrama/ part burlesque comedy as described by famed director and writer Arnaud Desplechin, it unleashes a combo of enigmatic French talent that bewitched this reviewer enough to not be terribly bothered by the unedited two hour and forty minute playing time.

Auteur Arnaud Desplechin says the title comes from a chess metaphor in a French poem, which is, "King without kingdom/ Queen without a scene/ Castle broken/ Bishop betrayed/ Fool as a brave man", but it’s probably more helpful to explain that the award-winning film involves (non-graphic) lovers who believe themselves kings and the beauty they all are in love with, though in various paroxysms of love, who conducts herself as a man-killing queen. Desplechin in the DVD interview with him notes that American movies usually focus on two or three people, but French ones like his explore more characters and their relationships.

Besides the three adult lovers, one of whom is dead, we have the incestuously-minded, pre-teen son, the dying father whose has been ‘seduced’ by his daughter, the three psychiatrists, the junkie lawyer, the suicidal woman, the b*tchy sisters, the heroic father and a few minor characters to round out this lovable state of affairs from Wellspring. I could really contort your brain by introducing each of these characters, but I will highlight the main stars of this parade who are played by veteran actors Mathieu Amalric as Ismael and Emmanuelle Devos as queenly Nora.

Nora works in an art gallery and when she discovers an old mythological painting, she buys it for her author father who she then visits. Soon the old man, embarrassed, admits to health problems and a doctor opens him up to find inoperable cancer. Nora is caught between caring for her father and her fatherless child who prefers her former boyfriend that just got forced into a psychiatric hospital by a Third-Party Request. I was very intrigued by her.

Ismael is that weird boyfriend who loves the boy as his own and he carefully considers adopting him. One of the best scenes in Kings and Queen is his long, very intriguing talk with the boy towards the end. It’s not what you would expect, nor did the boy, and yet it’s so honest and sensitive that you can’t help but love Ismael even more for it.

The other characters help to define these two characters, but not in the way Nora and Ismael would hope. Sometimes it’s exceptionally funny like with the psychiatrists, two of whom are women who wish to understand how women don’t have souls, according to a frustrated Ismael. Sometimes it’s very sobering when the dying father reveals his true feelings for Nora in a letter. The soundtrack, framing the film with an unplugged “Moon River,” eclectically ranges from electronica to klezmer to hip hop, featuring singer/songwriters Paul Weller and Randy Newman as well as classical to more poignantly reflect the characters' psyches.

Professional reviewer Roger Ebert sums it up with “by the end of the film, we’re a little stunned” to put it mildly. Then he calls it “mythic, tragic, chaotic, emotional decay” that Kings and Queen serves us ultimately. I’d say that kind of film, telling parallel stories that merge eventually, is more than a little stunning! Even though it ran pretty long, I had no problem being under its spell twice in a row.

If you need further persuasion in watching the movie, you may enjoy knowing that the legendary Catherine Deneuve plays a cool psychiatrist, Hypolytte Girardot the lawyer raiding the hospital’s pharmacy, Maurice Garrel the pain-ridden father and Jean-Paul Rossillon the other, more amusing father. All acting was a pleasure to watch.

The U.K. gives Kings and Queen a 15 and France a U while it’s unrated in the U.S. Bonus features include interviews with Desplechin, Amalric with Girardot, a psychiatrist and an attorney in France who interestingly comment on the plausibility of a number of scenes. One concerns posthumous marriage to give the baby the father’s name. The psychiatrist comments on how realistic the hospital and Ismael’s treatment was. I learned some things.

I know the movie’s length seems off-putting. It’s not for children or people needing a Hollywood-type, feel-good movie, but since I only peeled away one or two of the layers, I can promise you more thoughtful types much more to be charmed by.