Les amants du Pont-Neuf

Fire, water, colors, movement – the rush of images corresponds to the dizziness of the amour fou between the homeless fire-eater Alex (Denis Lavant) and a painter named Michèle (Juliette Binoche), who is slowly going blind. For both of them, their place of refuge is Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in the city that is currently closed for renovation, a nocturnal asylum at the center of everything and cut off from it all in equal measure. Equal parts adventure film and love story with documentary-like footage and a fairy-tale ending, Carax’s film succeeds in looking right into two scarred souls in playfully impulsive, yet existential fashion. (mg)