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“Deftly woven... Rich distillation of
romances both sour and sweet…”
Lisa Nesselson, Daily Variety
Writer-director Valérie Mineto manages with
unstinting sardonic bravura
to comment on the evils of globalization and the decline of opportunity
and self-determination for modern youth — and much else — in
a love story as tempestuous as
that of "Broken Sky."
... A highly venturesome and
effective film.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
“Suspenseful, funny, touching,
sexy and painlessly pertinent…”
Lisa Nesselson, Daily Variety
"Compelling"
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times
"A beguiling comedy
from a Marxist-inflected thesis that is filled with characters
who rage against the machine with pessimism, optimism, and
naïveté—sometimes in rotation. "
Ernest Hardy, LA Weekly
“Utterly
refreshing……A date movie for [audiences] of every persuasion…”
Lisa Nesselson, Daily Variety
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Image+Nation
- Montreal
Blonde, svelte and successful science teacher Sonia (Aurelia Petit), is
devastated when her darkly charismatic lover Cheyenne (Mila Dekker)
abandons her after losing her job in journalism. Disillusioned
and unable to pay for rent and utilities, Cheyenne decides to live off
“the system,” and joins the misanthropic Edith in the
countryside. Shattered, Sonia distracts herself with bad girl
Beatrice (Guilaine Londez), and delectably sweet anarchist, Pierre
(French heart-throb Malik Zidi), but neither disrupt her chemically
erotic bond to Cheyenne – nor Cheyenne’s for Sonia. Miserable
over her closet colleague at work, Sonia drives off to retrieve
Cheyenne – with unexpected consequences. Valerie Minetto’s
ambitious first film explores the social realities of galloping
unemployment in contemporary France, and the pressure it exerts on
interpersonal relationships. An edgy script reminiscent of
mid-career Woody Allen is complemented by solid performances and
naturalistic cinematography. Minetto elegantly portrays how the systems
that sustain people also stifle them. As sexual passion and
political principle vie for pole position, she asks: Can love still
conquer all in the City of (dimming, it would seem) Lights? - BP
Variety
review
LOOKING FOR CHEYENNE
By LISA NESSELSON
An utterly refreshing look at work, love and politics centered on two
attractive young women who are nuts about each other, "Looking For
Cheyenne" is suspenseful, funny, touching, sexy and painlessly
pertinent. Rich distillation of romances both sour and sweet manages to
breathe new life into the question of whether one should play along
with "the system" or drop out of consumer society for a life of
self-reliance. A date movie for auds of every persuasion, this
sure-handed debut by writer-director Valerie Minetto is ready for fests
and niche distribs.
Pic is about love and longing in many of its permutations, and how
professional and financial setbacks can strain even true romance to
breaking point. That the central couple are two women is as
matter-of-fact as a Hollywood protagonist knowing how to drive a car or
fire a gun.
Feisty brunette Cheyenne (Mila Dekker) has been separated from her
blonde girlfriend, Sonia (Aurelia Petit), for 17 days and counting. A
well-liked high school science teacher, Sonia has a light touch in the
classroom.
Downsized from her journalism job and unable to find work, Cheyenne has
decided to live off the grid, unwilling to rely on handouts from the
government. For her, that means no electricity or running water,
candles for light, bicycle for transportation, discarded veggies for
food.
Sonia enjoys her work and has no interest in living off the land. But
both women are hurting bad -- and break the fourth wall to address the
audience in revealing ways. Pic asks how to go about compromising when
what each party desires -- besides the other party -- is so different.
To drown her sorrows, Sonia picks up appealing free-spirit Pierre
(Malik Zidi). He's instantly smitten, says he's not jealous and doesn't
mind if she's really a lesbian. Pierre's specialty is subversive flyers
and anarchist slogans which he disseminates for the sheer
thought-provoking joy.
A predatory well-to-do woman (Guilaine Londez), a cute student
convinced she has to drop out (Eleonore Michelin), a cynical
back-to-the-land advocate (Laurence Cote) and a friendly Russian
(Miglen Mirtchev) join the waltz of mix-'n'-match possibilities.
Dialogue is sharp, heartache is palpable and the critique of how
capitalist society just wants to chew you up and spit you out is deftly
woven into a new-fangled, old-fashioned love story. Although venture is
modest, Minetto knows how to direct actors and how to frame a shot for
maximum mileage. Thesps are spot-on. April 5, 2006
Kevin Thomas, Los
Angeles Times
Writer-director Valérie Mineto manages with unstinting sardonic
bravura to comment on the evils of globalization and the decline of
opportunity and self-determination for modern youth — and much else —
in a love story as tempestuous as that of "Broken Sky." Sonia
(Aurélia Petit), a popular Paris high school teacher striving to
make a contribution, and her lover Cheyenne (Mila Dekker), a
long-unemployed journalist, have split when Cheyenne renounces society
to live off the land. But their love and their effect upon each other
may prove to be unending. A highly venturesome and effective film.
Ernest Hardy, LA Weeklly
A justified lament about much of American queer cinema is that it has
stalled—or, post–New Queer Cinema— devolved into an adolescent stupor
of one-note queerness (coming out/prowling nightlife/facile
relationship comedies and dramas). The French, lesbian-centered Looking
for Cheyenne is grown-up fare. When Parisian journalist Cheyenne (Mila
Dekker) loses her job and can't find another after a year, her loss
triggers a fury at "the system" and the way it exploits and oppresses
common folk. First by circumstance, then by choice, she adopts a
Spartan way of life that includes turning her back on cars,
electricity, and the city itself—all of which alienates her girlfriend,
Sonia. "She decided to do without," says one character. "She turned it
into a philosophy." Director Valérie Minetto, working from a
screenplay she co-wrote with Cécile Vargaftig, has fashioned a
beguiling comedy from a Marxist-inflected thesis that is filled with
characters who rage against the machine with pessimism, optimism, and
naïveté—sometimes in rotation. The sprawling cast of
characters break the fourth wall to address the camera, and then
communicate with one another through dream and fantasy sequences. At
heart, the film is about the ways in which money-driven politics and
big business wreak havoc on everyday lives, with its great strength
being its casual positioning of a lesbian relationship as the nexus for
those conversations. And without a bit of saccharine, it makes the case
that human connection is the one true glitch in the matrix.
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