Now she's being released. Her younger sister Lea (Elsa Zylberstein) picks her up at the prison and drives Juliette back to her house. Juliette doesn't seem overjoyed at the prospect, but she has no where else to go. Lea is nervous and vainly tries to make small talk. It's awkward. Lea lives with her husband, Luc (Serge Hazanavicius), her two adopted Vietnamese daughters, and Luc's father, Pappy Paul (Jean-Claude Arnaud). Luc is uneasy about having Juliette in their house. Pappy Paul doesn't speak anymore, but he seems to understand what's going on around him.
Juliette has committed an unpardonable crime. Even though she's served her time in prison, her sentence isn't over. Everybody knows what she did, and few are willing to forget it, or let her forget either. The only one who really seems to understand is her parole officer. The rest are a 
mixed bag. Some try to understand, but don't. Some don't even try. Lea wants to understand, but Juliette is loathe to explain. She had very good reasons for doing what she did, but they're hard to reveal. They talk around her crime, never quite about it. Slowly, cautiously, Juliette unfolds. It's not easy. Fifteen years in prison have taught her to keep her guard up. Now everyone expects her to drop it. But how do you break a fifteen-year-old habit? Eventually the truth will come out, but it's painful, arduous, like an extended labor that gives birth a new life. In this case, the new life is Juliette's. Yet she carries with her the memory of the life she took. That burden will always be with her. But in the end, we're left feeling that she'll be all right carrying it. Especially since she's letting Lea help her.
mixed bag. Some try to understand, but don't. Some don't even try. Lea wants to understand, but Juliette is loathe to explain. She had very good reasons for doing what she did, but they're hard to reveal. They talk around her crime, never quite about it. Slowly, cautiously, Juliette unfolds. It's not easy. Fifteen years in prison have taught her to keep her guard up. Now everyone expects her to drop it. But how do you break a fifteen-year-old habit? Eventually the truth will come out, but it's painful, arduous, like an extended labor that gives birth a new life. In this case, the new life is Juliette's. Yet she carries with her the memory of the life she took. That burden will always be with her. But in the end, we're left feeling that she'll be all right carrying it. Especially since she's letting Lea help her.
I've Loved You So Long is a touching, heartbreaking movie. Like many French films, it doesn't 
follow the conventions of American cinema. This is a gentle film about the consequences of a violent act on the lives of the people involved. Just when you are expecting the loud scene that would occur in a stateside production, the film goes off down a quieter path. When the secrets are all revealed, there is forgiveness, which can sometimes be harder to deal with than blame. As the haunted Juliette suddenly thrown back into the world of the living, Kristen Scott-Thomas seems almost brittle. You think she will shatter at any moment. Don't worry though. She won't.
follow the conventions of American cinema. This is a gentle film about the consequences of a violent act on the lives of the people involved. Just when you are expecting the loud scene that would occur in a stateside production, the film goes off down a quieter path. When the secrets are all revealed, there is forgiveness, which can sometimes be harder to deal with than blame. As the haunted Juliette suddenly thrown back into the world of the living, Kristen Scott-Thomas seems almost brittle. You think she will shatter at any moment. Don't worry though. She won't.
I've Loved You So Long is rated PG-13 and is available either in French with English sub-titles or dubbed into English.
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