Heartbeats

Francis (Xavier Dolan) and Marie (Monia Chokri) are best friends. The two move confidently in Montreal's hipster scene - until they meet Nic (Niels Schneider). With his blond curls and sparkling eyes, the young man is not only unearthly beautiful, but also unattainably cool. In their amorous advances, Francis and Marie increasingly begin to outdo each other. Nic accepts all the attention and gifts, but otherwise remains unmoved. At night, the three of them sleep in the same bed without much happening. Then Nic suggests a trip to the country together... After his acclaimed directorial debut “I Killed my Mother”, the then 21-year-old Canadian “director prodigy” Xavier Dolan followed up with this adorable romantic triangle comedy “Heartbreaker” - and was immediately invited to the “Un certain regard” section of the Cannes Film Festival. “Heartbreaker” captures the audience's heart thanks to the captivating passion with which Dolan, as director, screenwriter, producer, editor, set designer and actor, has created this love triangle as a flow of unforgettable images and melancholy songs. Deep feelings of longing, hurt and hope, all the nouvelle vague quotes and an all-round beguiling elegance make “Herzensbrecher” a modern-nostalgic classic of queer cinema. “An enchanting pop jewel, a real treat.” (Le Monde) “With “Herzensbrecher”, Dolan remains true to this program and allows it to mature in an astonishing way: with pointed dialogues, visual capriccios and a truthfulness that goes straight to the heart of disappointed love. The trio (a modernized and inverted “Jules and Jim” constellation), which he follows in Montreal, creates a mysterious, ironically broken triad. He lends the Francis character, which he embodies himself, the traits of the shy, vulnerable in every fiber. Marie appears sharp-tongued, intelligent, devoted to the ultimate claims to absoluteness, and Nicolas proves to be a sophisticated seducer and reeling narcissist. The original title “Les amours imaginaires” says it all: the imaginary nature of love. The frequently used slow-motion shots serve to create space for the halo of imagination that surrounds the core of longing and emotion. In his essay “De l'amour”, Stendhal proclaimed that all love is imaginary - projection, phantasm, crystallization. [...] Love, around which everything in “Heartbreaker” revolves, is in the phase of most intense crystallization. It shines prismatically in the eyes of Marie and Francis. Love crystals that carve into the skin and shatter. What hurts most is jealousy, which is always the inevitable warning sign in a love triangle. [...] The most painful moments are the most poignant: when Francis and Marie go to the limits of self-abasement with their declarations of love. Merciless deconstruction of their coolness, which is then quoted again in a comedic way. There is a lot of smoking, reading books and quoting in this movie. Nothing takes place via cell phone or the Internet. Letters are written by hand and stamps are carefully selected. Wagner's Parsifal prelude underscores the infinity of longing and Dalida's “Bang-Bang” gives the flirts vibrant colors. Everything serves the preciousness and truthfulness of the feelings.” (Rainer Gansera, on: sueddeutsche.de)