The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005)
There is a space in which everything hangs in suspension. It is that, je ne sais pas, that limbic place where a barely perceptible yet exceedingly important change can occur.
The Beat My Heart Skipped (De Battre Mon Coeur S’est Arrete)is a testimonial to that event, where a window of possibility opens in an otherwise violent and unforgiving world. An impasse in expression becomes assuaged by the dexterity of Bach’s Toccata in E minor. “You wake up one morning and things have switched places.”
The story is fairly simple and straightforward. Romain Duris plays Tom, a 28-year old ruffian always on edge, with an artistic gift that will become his salvation from a life of crime inherited from his father. Miao-Lin (Linh-Dan Pham) will change the way in which he relates to music and women, despite the fact that they are from two different worlds and don’t speak the same language.
The film is Jacques Audiard’s remake of James Toback’s 1978 film, Fingers, with Harvey Keitel. Audiard is a director who likes to work from the premise that every element of the filmmaking process is always open to change, even when it’s not. The two films form an intimate ensemble, complimenting one another in reciprocal manner. Each has elements that add to the movement of the overall story. The quote concealed in the credits of Audiard’s film carries this dynamic sentiment: “To become…because it’s better than remembering.”
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Grading
- Story A-
- Acting A-
- Visuals A
- Originality/Innovation A-
- Enjoyability A
- Overall A-
- DVD Extras A
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