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maltatoday SUNDAY 18 FEBRUARY 2018 40 This Week THE labyrinth of love is a well- trodden trajectory for French storytelling, and veteran director Philippe Garrel has once again opted to mine this rich fount of human desire with his latest film, a Cannes Festival favourite and a low-key showcase of his ability to wring out complex emotions from a humble and direct dra- matic set-up. And the set-up is this: a di- vorced Parisian philosophy pro- fessor, Gilles (Eric Caravaca) has shacked up with a young and at- tractive student, Ariane (Louise Chevillotte) – who is his daugh- ter's age. But the relationship is only a few month's old when his daughter, Jeanne (Esther Garrel) tearfully returns to the home- stead after a heart-rending break- up with her boyfriend, Matéo (Paul Toucang). Despite the complex romantic situation at home, the girls do form a bond that starts to re- semble a strange variant of the mother-daughter dynamic. But as Gilles and Ariane's relation- ship runs its natural course and Jeanne slowly but surely recovers her lost confidence, the viability of this strange new domestic sit- uation starts to be put into doubt. Opting for a black-and-white palette more out of a desire for simplicity rather than retro showiness, Garrel similarly al- lows the story and his characters to do most of the talking. And talk they do – at length and to vary- ing degrees of earnestness and irony. Deciding to make Gilles a philosophy professor is espe- cially helpful in this regard, as it gives him the licence to expand upon key ideas relevant both to his unnerving new romance as well as his relationship with his daughter. As a result, it's a film that's largely devoid of sentimen- tality, but not without its heart and charm: perhaps therein lies the distinction between French treatments of romance and that of their Stateside counterparts. A semi-ironic voiceover provides a somewhat sobering overlay to what we're seeing, further def lat- ing the proceedings away from melodrama and into safer, more mature territory. Newcomer Chevillotte is affect- ing and effective as the fey beauty Ariane, capable of projecting the necessary statuesque power she initially wields, but whose de- fences are also revealed to be somewhat hollow once things get too knotted to handle. Esther Garrel, so touching as the put- upon summer girlfriend figure in Luca Guadagino's Call Me By Your Name, on the other hand, enjoys something of an opposite – if strangely parallel – journey. From total lachrymose vulner- ability, we see her crawl back into her own. A transformation that is the most enjoyable thing to wit- ness here, even amid all the WC- oriented erotic escapades that punctuate some of the film's key moments. This is hardly surprising, given how, in this film about fathers and daughters, one such duo forms a crucial part of the crea- tive team – the actress Esther being the daughter of director Philippe. The verdict Lover for a Day will almost certainly appeal to Francophone cinephiles, but it may even have a wider reach owing to its mildly risque premise and Garrel's el- egant storytelling. Aesthetically unassuming but emotionally resonant and performed by a trio of competent performers, this dramedy offers an olive branch to filmgoers tired of Hollywood cliches but who remain uncer- tain about which alternative path to set out on. IN CINEMAS TODAY Embassy Cinemas Valletta Tel: 21 227436, 21 245818 Fifty Shades Freed (18) 10:30, 13:55, 16:15, 18:40, 21:00 The Greatest Showman (PG) 13:35, 15:55, 18:15, 20:45 Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (12A) 16:05, 18:35, 21:10 12 Strong (15) 10:25, 14:15, 18:00, 20:45 Maze Runner: The Death Cure (12A) 10:20, 14:30, 17:45, 20:45 Valletta Living History (U) 10:00, 10:45, 11:30, 12:15, 13:00, 13:45, 14:30, 15:15 Eden Cinemas St Julian's Tel: 2371 0400 12 Strong (15) 11:30, 14:30, 18:00, 20:40, 23:25 Coco (PG) 11:50, 14:05, 16:20, 18:35 Darkest Hour (PG) 20:55, 23:30 Den Of Thieves (15) 14:30, 17:40, 20:30, 23:20 Fifty Shades Freed (18) 14:20, 16:35, 18:50, 21:15, 23:25 Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle (12A) 14:25, 18:05, 20:45, 23:20 Lover for a Day (12A) 16:15, 20:30 Phantom Thread (15) 14:25, 18:05, 20:45, 23:25 Tad The Lost Explorer And The Secret Of King Midas (U) 11:35, 14:15, 16:15, 18:20 The 15:17 to Paris 11:45, 14:10, 16:25, 18:35, 20:50, 23:05 The Commuter (15) 14:15, 16:30, 18:50, 22:45 The Greatest Showman (PG) 11:40, 14:05, 16:20, 18:40, 21:00 The Maze Runner (2D) 14:30, 18:05, 21:10 The Post (12A) 20:35, 23:10 Under The Tree 14:10, 18:15, 22:20 Empire Cinemas Bugibba Tel: 21 581787, 21 581909 The Greatest Showman (PG) 16:05, 21:00 Coco (PG) 11:05, 13:40, 15:55 The Commuter (15) 11:00, 13:35, 16:00, 18:25, 20:45 Maze Runner: The Death Cure (3D) (12A) 18:15, 21:10 Den of Thieves (15) 11:05, 14:00, 18:15, 21:05 The 15:17 to Paris (15) 11:05, 13:45, 16:05, 18:30, 20:45 12 Strong (15) 10:30, 13:15, 15:55, 18:35, 21:15 Tad the Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas (U) 11:45, 13:45, 18:30 Fifty Shades Freed (18) 10:45, 13:30, 16:00, 18:30, 21:00 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ TRUE ROMANCE ★ ★ ★ ★ LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT ★ ★ ★ HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE? ★ ★ LOVE YOU LONG TIME ★ FATAL ATTRACTION FILM By Teodor Reljic Tangled web of desire LOVER FOR A DAY (12A) ★ ★ ★ Louise Chevillotte (back) and Esther Garrel form an unlikely bond in this ingenious and charming French dramedy This dramedy about a father-daughter relationship in which both parties are either on the cusp or at the tail end of the romantic spectrum is about as "French" as they come... but no worse for it Daddy dearest: Garrel and Caravaca