Under a Red Roof

Perhaps viewing these films was leftover anniversary and Valentine sentiment or a mere coincidence, I’m not quite certain.  Whatever the case, they are quite good, yet very different.  I hate for life to be boring.  The first, starring the lovely Vanessa Paradis (again, so soon?) as Adele  and the dapper Daniel Auteuil as Gabor.  Both are misfits, of sorts, Adele hopeless with men and love, and Gabor just plain unlucky.  They meet one night on a bridge in Paris, Gabor convincing the vulnerable Adele not to jump to her death.  As well, he has a proposition for her, to join him in his knife-throwing act.  She agrees, somewhat reluctantly, but knows she has nothing left to lose.  Their act, and the film on the whole, is sensual and erotic, despite their platonic relationship.  The pair is a massive hit, and they make money wherever they go, at small town fairs and big casinos alike – sharing a preternatural gift.  Everything goes south when Adele, lured by the illusion of love with a newlywed man, leaves Gabor, changing both of their luck, for it only exists in tandem.  A bewitchingly beautiful black and white (I love alliteration!) about love, trust, and the deepest of human connections.

Imagine if you could, at the ripe age of fourteen, know the precise moment you will meet the ONE and fall impossibly and forever in love.  All you need is a TiMER for $79.99, plus a monthly maintenance fee, inserted in your wrist (like having your ears pierced, but a little worse), and you will forgo the pain and inconvenience of all that wondering.  Splendid and so very Los Angeles, where the film takes place.  The only problem is that not everyone has a TiMER, leaving some singles to look desperately at theirs, like a stop watch waiting to be started.  This is the case for Oona, nearing her 30th birthday and feeling a bit desperate.  She really wants to meet the one, or at least know that he’s out there, somewhere.  Then she meets Mikey, a good-humored grocery store clerk with a TiMER set to go off in four months time.  Should she date him, even though she knows he’s not the one, or continue to get involved with TiMERless men, hoping they’ll be it?  She decides to go for it, despite her family’s initial disapproval, and, in the process, learns a bit about true love and serendipity.