In contrast to other Lelouch films that I have seen this seems to be on a smaller scale; yes there is still the war and the resistance but it does not distract from the essence of the film.
It is the life of a married couple between four walls. There is comedy in the film, but the laughter is spiked with pity. Through force of habit the couple become the victims of their own routines. There is the broken fuse box, the tap with too much pressure, the window too hard to open and my favourite, the slippers in the lounge room. Washing teeth, grinding coffee, anniversaries... Repetition upon repetition is the sad reality, and this film becomes a tragedy.
Lelouch films the space very well. We spend most of our time in windowless rooms with old wall paper. It's a suffocating and stifling place. There is no grandiose sets or overseas romps as I would suspect in a Lelouch film, but instead a very subdued and enthralling unraveling of a confined space.
The married couple works well and they rightfully dominate most all of the screen time. Thankfully we are not exposed too much to their son or secondary characters.
I was just slightly disappointed with the sentimental ending, and the deprecation of the characters seemed contrived. The plot technique of returning to the couple every 10 years didn't work one hundred percent and this could have been done with more grace. Overall I loved how the mad little habits the couple developed carried on through the years. This film really shows Lelouch's outstanding observational power if anything else.
