A modestly satisfying tale of sisterly love weighed down by a history of family betrayal and mendacity.
I've Loved You So Long(Il y a longtemps que je t'aime)
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
France, Germany · 2008
Rated PG-13 · 1h 57m
Director Philippe Claudel
Starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein, Serge Hazanavicius, Claire Johnston
Genre Drama
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
Juliette Fontaine, a former doctor, is released from prison after fifteen years. Her younger sister, Léa, invites Juliette to stay with her family and Juliette struggles to interact with them and find her place in society after so long in prison. Slowly, the horrific secret of why Juliette was in prison comes to light.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
The New York Times by A.O. Scott
A revelation comes near the end that is both tremendously moving and a bit disappointing, in the way that the solutions to great mysteries frequently are. This turn does not diminish the accomplishment of Ms. Scott Thomas's deep, subtle and altogether stunning performance, but it does alter the scale of the movie, turning it into a more manageable, less existentially unsettling drama.
Writer/director Philippe Claudel knows just how to structure a character study of this sort, so that key elements and important secrets are revealed over time, piquing our interest. The film is almost like a novel or short story, so one's curiosity is satisfied slowly.
A movie that is utterly engrossing despite being, on the surface, about very little.
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
The movie's action largely takes place beneath the skin. The pace is slow but not glacial, yet Claudel demands patience. Ultimately, I've Loved You So Long is uplifting, although one might not expect that from the thematic material.
Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern
Philippe Claudel gives his heroine unusual depth, which Kristin Scott Thomas reveals with unusual passion.
New York Daily News by Joe Neumaier
Scott Thomas breathes more emotion into Juliette's affectless, haunted demeanor than most actors do with pages of dialogue.
Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan
Performances this strong and direction this sensitive make us simply grateful to have an emotional story we can sink our teeth into and enjoy.
The film deftly sketches a sibling relationship complicated by obligation, guilt, mistrust, and, not least, an abiding love.
Users who liked this film also liked
Inland Empire
An actress's perception of reality gets distorted as her life begins to mimic the movie she's shooting in a nightmarish and surreal way.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Poland, United States • 2006
- Director David Lynch
- Cast Laura Dern, Jeremy Irons, Justin Theroux, Karolina Gruszka, Krzysztof Majchrzak, Jan Hencz
- Genre Drama, Mystery, Thriller
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Persepolis
The downfall of the Iranian Shah is just the start of Marjane Satrapi's struggle for freedom and belonging.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, United States • 2007
- Director Marjane Satrapi
- Cast Chiara Mastroianni, Danielle Darrieux, Catherine Deneuve, Simon Abkarian, Gabrielle Lopes Benites, François Jerosme
- Genre Animation, Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Paris, Je T'Aime
(Paris, je t'aime)
A collection of 18 vignettes set in the mythic “City of Love.”
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Liechtenstein, Switzerland • 2006
- Director Daniela Thomas
- Cast Steve Buscemi, Natalie Portman, Willem Dafoe, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Axel Kiener, Julie Bataille
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, Spectrum On Demand, Crackle, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, VUDU Free, Freevee, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
The Wave
(Die Welle)
A high school teacher's unorthodox lesson on autocracy spirals out of control and causes students to turn against one another.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, France • 2008
- Director Dennis Gansel
- Cast Jürgen Vogel, Frederick Lau, Max Riemelt, Jennifer Ulrich, Christiane Paul, Elyas M'Barek
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, The Roku Channel
The First Day of the Rest of Your Life
(Le premier jour du reste de ta vie)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2008
- Director Rémi Bezançon
- Cast Jacques Gamblin, Zabou Breitman, Déborah François, Marc-André Grondin, Pio Marmaï, Roger Dumas
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Gozu
(極道恐怖大劇場 牛頭 GOZU)
When the target disappears, a murder mission turns into a bizarre adventure.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2003
- Director Takashi Miike
- Cast Yûta Sone, Show Aikawa, Kimika Yoshino, Shôhei Hino, Keiko Tomita, Harumi Sone
- Genre Comedy, Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
- Available on Screambox Amazon Channel
Whatever Lola wants
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada, France • 2007
- Director Nabil Ayouch
- Cast Laura Ramsey, Achmed Akkabi, Milia Ayache, Assaad Bouab
- Genre Drama
- Available on OVID, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, VUDU Free
Hachi: A Dog's Tale
A true story of faith, devotion and undying love.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 2009
- Director Lasse Hallström
- Cast Richard Gere, Joan Allen, Sarah Roemer, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Erick Avari, Robbie Sublett
- Genre Drama, Family
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Nicholas Nickleby
After his father's death, a young man seeks to save his family from his abusive uncle.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 2002
- Director Douglas McGrath
- Cast Charlie Hunnam, Nathan Lane, Jim Broadbent, Christopher Plummer, Jamie Bell, Anne Hathaway
- Genre Adventure, Drama, Action, Family
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, VIX , Hoopla
Leaving
(Partir)
Overwhelmed with passion, a woman in the South of France must decide if following her desires is worth losing everything.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2009
- Director Catherine Corsini
- Cast Kristin Scott Thomas, Sergi López, Yvan Attal, Bernard Blancan, Daisy Broom, Aladin Reibel
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on AMC+ Amazon Channel, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, YouTube
Stuart: A Life Backwards
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2007
- Director David Attwood
- Cast Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Nicola Duffett, Claire-Louise Cordwell, Edna Doré, Frank Mills
- Genre Drama
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max
Rust and Bone
(De rouille et d'os)
Catastrophe Is A Means For Growth.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Belgium • 2012
- Director Jacques Audiard
- Cast Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts, Bouli Lanners, Céline Sallette, Corinne Masiero, Mourad Frarema
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
The Lego Movie
The story of a nobody who saved everybody.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United States, Denmark, Australia • 2014
- Director Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
- Cast Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson
- Genre Animation, Family, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Plex, Freevee
Carol
Some people change your life forever.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 2015
- Director Todd Haynes
- Cast Rooney Mara, Cate Blanchett, Kyle Chandler, Sarah Paulson, Jake Lacy, John Magaro
- Genre Romance, Drama
- Available on Netflix, Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel , Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Paddington 2
It takes a bear to catch a thief.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, France, United States • 2017
- Director Paul King
- Cast Ben Whishaw, Michael Gambon, Imelda Staunton, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Samuel Joslin
- Genre Adventure, Comedy, Family
- Available on VIX , Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, The Roku Channel
Inflame
(Kaygı)
We Forget Everything, Except For Our Nightmares
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Turkey • 2017
- Director Ceylan Özgün Özçelik
- Cast Algı Eke, Özgür Çevik, Kadir Çermik, Boncuk Yilmaz, Selen Uçer, Taner Birsel
- Genre Thriller, Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Hoopla