Maybe (1999) User Reviews

maybe this film is the first let-down in Cédric Klapisch's filmography

[dbdumonteil · 7/10 · 5 May 2006]

Four films of the nineties: "Riens Du Tout" (1992), "Le Péril Jeune" (1994), "Chacun Cherche son Chat" (1996) and "un Air De Famille" (1996) were enough to secure Cédric Klapisch's place in the pantheon of the most important contemporary French filmmakers. The four quoted films sheltered his cinematographic trademark and his eclectic spirit, either it is a chronicle of youth in the seventies (Le Péril Jeune) or in the nineties (Chacun Cherche son Chat) or the adaptation of a play for the silver screen (un Air De Famille). His look also encompasses a bitter and ironic perception on a small group or a big society. Our present movie, "Peut-être" is the one which ends the nineties and had a rather stormy birth. The filmmaker had written the script from 1993 onwards (!) and was at one point disheartened because he didn't find a French producer likely to be interested in this offbeat story (you said it). So, Klapisch had to leave the matter in an American producer's hands who accepted to finance the plan. Thus "Peut-être" was shot and reached the French streets in November 1999.

At first sight, this curious film, a quirky mix of social comedy, science-fiction with a dash of philosophy and fantastic appears as an anomaly in Klapisch's production. Even from a commercial perspective if the movie worked well, many viewers were baffled by this unexpected change from the director of "un Air De Famille". Imagine a futurist and desert Paris which is covered with sand and in which there is no end of world or anything like that. There appears the first originality in this Klapisch's work. Unlike so many other sci-fi movies which presented a pessimistic, apocalyptic view of the future with a ton of special effects, Klapisch introduces a Paris where joy of living and shiny weather reign. Special effects are kept to the minimum. There is a peaceful, relaxed atmosphere. It's a shame that Klapisch doesn't exploit enough this impressive scenery. He unveils us only a few features of this world in which city and country seem to be blended and the viewer probably would have like to know more about this world and its inhabitants' way of life. That said, Klapisch offers tracks to make parallels between the two societies of the film and there's a quite blatant contrast between the futurist society who doesn't seem to know any social or economic turmoil and to a certain extent leads an archaic way of life, close to the Middle-Ages and Arthur's, still in prey to some scourges of this time like lack of job security.

So, Arthur (Romain Duris, Klapisch's protégé) is invited to a New Year's Eve party to celebrate the year 2000. His girlfriend Lucie would like a baby from him but he refuses. Through the ceiling of the toilets, he discovers a passage leading to this futurist Paris. There, he meets an old man Ako (Jean-Paul Belmondo) who affirms he is his son and that he wants to exist. Otherwise he will vanish into the air (I wonder if Klapisch didn't draw from "Back to the Future" (1985) by Robert Zemeckis for this part of the story). Arthur is still hesitant because his life is an unfulfilled one: a has a little lucrative job, is uncertain about his future and things are getting out of hand when Ako discovers the passage and interferes in the party.

There is a dash of fantastic in Klapisch's bizarre piece of work from the following tenet: the irruption of the irrational in the everyday life (Arthur's dsicovery of a futurist world and no attempt from the authors to decipher it, to try to explain it (we will never know how this world appeared). So, to fully embrace this story, the audience will have to leave aside any Cartesian reasoning which I admit is far from easy. Klapisch also served his work with a discerningly chosen music for the New Year's Eve and the futurist world. His camera work is also often painstaking. The cast includes the Klapisch's gang with familiar names and faces like Romain Duris of course but also Vincent Elbaz and Zinedine Soualem. There is also a veteran, Jean Paul Belmondo who dominates the cast. Duris is an endearing and talented actor but here, he doesn't really shine. Most of the time, he's overshadowed by Belmondo's acting. That said, given that Belmondo is supposed to be Duris' son and that the latter must breed so that he and his family can exist, it paves the way to hilarious sequences and Olivier Gourmet delivers this funny line :"one grabs him (Arthur), one obliges him to have sex with granny (Lucie) and that's it!" "Peut-être" isn't on a par with Klapisch's previous pieces of works. In spite of its plus sides, it's more a curio for Klapisch's fans and definitely not the first one to watch for the ones who wish to discover his films. The filmmaker will come back to more simple cinema with his next movie: "l'Auberge Espagnole" (2002).

NB: in Arthur's flat, there is a cover of Jean-Luc Godard's "Pierrot Le Fou" (1965). Is it an homage to Belmondo's career which was prolific? I know Klapisch is nutty about American cinema. Has he got a warm spot for the New Wave? Maybe...

Good movie, amazing soundtrack

[georgepf · 7/10 · 26 June 2001]

The movie is very good, although I wouldn't say brilliant. Jean-Paul Belmondo is a great actor (and a rather familiar face), and his presence alone contributes a lot to the overall impression the movie creates. The soundtrack, however, is simply out of this world. What Loic Dury (DJ Loik) and, I think, Magister Dixit, have created is nothing but a piece of art - it is by far the most amazing soundtrack I've ever heard. Really. I think the movie is more than worth watching if only to listen to it. And, yeah, it's good for your French language skills :)

so so

[etray · 6/10 · 6 September 2006]

The main character Arthur seems to have a walk through the all movie and doesn't seems to have expressed much real feeling except maybe in the very very end in front of Lucy naked. Still it was pretty funny how every member of the future family tries to convince Arthur to be a dad. The theme of Paris under sand is very original and well made: I loved the camels and the market place. The music is quite good. Well, still it's probably the kind of movie to watch without expecting to have depth: why does Ako start to destroy the flat at the party? Why does a young woman say Ako look like HER dad? why do we see the same young woman going home as we should expect some clue of it?

Entertaining, spectacular cinematography but overall quite disappointing.

[bobkas74 · 25 January 2006]

Arthur is not yet sure that he wants to become a father, but his girlfriend, Lucie, is desperately wants a child. On New Years Eve 1999, Arthur is forced to experience his future and see what the consequences will be like if he does not have children now. He meets his son, Ako who reveals the situation and what he must do. Transported to the year 2070 we expect to find the typical mise-en-scène for a sci-fi film, however, to our great surprise it appears that human life has taken several steps backward and Paris is now completely 'ensablé' - covered sand. There is no time-capsule either; a simple loft-hatch is the portal to a very different Paris. Images of Hausmann style rooftops just sticking above ground level and the Eiffel Tower behind sand dunes is very thought provoking. The costumes are more medieval than 21st century. Thus this film not deals with the issues of relationships and the fate of individuals it gives a shocking reminder of the possible effects of man's mishandling of the environment. It also makes us think of the personal decisions we make and how that can affect the lives of others. In terms of cinematography this film is also impressive with the use of various camera angles and shots and the special effects necessary to create such surreal scenes.

The beginning of the film is well contrived to trick the viewer for a few moments. Nevertheless, the plot remains quite uneventful after the first ten minutes and the ending is very predictable. The film tries to show too many scenes and characters and does not allow the main three characters to be developed fully. We struggle to see whether the film is mainly a thought-provoking sci-fi, comedy or romantic film. Apart from Arthur the degree to which he characters are not surprised by the events is absurd. Any romance between Arhur and Lucie is also marred by the interruptions of feeble sexual humour. The sound track in the film, however, is actually well constructed and employed to provide links between present and future times. The abrupt stops in music provide suspense for the viewer and the tracks are taken from both contemporary French and English language music.

Overall you will be disappointed by this film if you were expecting more than a light drama but it is still reasonably entertaining and a very original piece of cinema.

A fanciful, offbeat and thought provoking vision of the future.

[landrum-1 · 7/10 · 10 February 2007]

This is a surprisingly clever, sardonic and oddly charming science fiction film that manages to be engaging without the usual big budget special effects. The filmmaker instead achieves more witty, quasi-surrealistic results by moving the narrative forward with quirky unanticipated plot twists reminiscent of films such as "Being John Malkovich" (1999). Less is more -- entertaining, that is. Leave it to the French to create a disturbingly plausible future that envisions the outcome of a wasteful disregard of the planet, while simultaneously maintaining a touch of romantic energy and charm. Actor Jean Paul Belmondo looks great for his age and contributes some sage presence to the story. This is a nifty and imaginative French film that should have received a theatrical release in the U.S. for American art house cinema audiences but, alas, somehow never did. It's a surprisingly entertaining little gem of a movie.

Disappointing

[nplugd · 3/10 · 22 November 1999]

There's not that much to say in the end. One would have expect much more from a director who made way better movies in the past. It just seems like he did it without actually caring. The actors are doing their job (though Belmondo is far from amazing), but you just don't get hooked. In a word, it's boring. This is even more disappointing since I heard several time that this movie could be considered as a reaction to all the big American blockbusters, which are considered to be a threaten to the French exception by those who just can't admit they should turn to another job. I tell you, if that's the best reaction we're supposed to get, boy, I'm going to be really depressed soon...

Has got all a good film needs

[Calvin-26 · 9/10 · 22 November 1999]

Brilliant film. It's about a young couple going to a y2k party, she wants a baby there and then, he's not sure and through a little incident the chance is lost. He then accidentally finds a way into the future and encounters his son (Belmondo) who is starting to lose his leg because he's not made yet. The whole future family tries now with different methods to persuade him to change his mind or they are all lost. I say no more I saw it with english subtitles and missed probably some of the more in-jokes, but even though a thoroughly enjoyable experience. You have a film with a rather serious background ( reasons for having a baby or not, while thinking about the future), great actors ( have a look at the totally stoned brother), loads of enjoyable little sequences ( the beginning is great . I thougth first I was in the wrong movie; and then the next ten minutes relate very nicely to the title, pay attention to details there). The Paris in the sand is very well done with loads of details in the background. All in all if you have some French, go and see it.

Great soundtrack, great direction

[nic-56 · 10/10 · 5 January 2000]

This film was a fantastic pre-Y2K film, with a fantastic soundtrack some top-notch actors and some wonderful effects. Peut-etre is a comedy/sci-fi that explores the flight of young adult couples in france. Basically this film is a lot of fun, but you will need a decent sense of humour to appreciate it.

Possibly Maybe Probably Love

[Roq Efeller · 27 November 2002]

*** Possible spoilers below ***

I don't know, if Cedric Klapisch have seen "Window to Paris" (1994), but the comparison strongly suggest itself: both main characters, Arthur and Sergei, travel through space-time by the means of corridors, garrets and windows. Artur makes a trip from contemporary Paris to ruinous Paris of future, where he meets his aged son, daughter and their families.

Possibly maybe this film could be a little bit better, if the director won't lose his temper right from the beginning. The movie started very energetically, with some great unusual scenes emerging from very usual situations, -- but, after the Arthur finds the window to future sand-covered Paris and talks to his descendants -- the storyline goes completely illogical and unreal, and I (sorry) can't believe in what is taking place no more.

"Peut-etre" is very nice, sentimental and funny, but it would vanish from your memory right after you'll leave the cinema hall.

original, good story, good acting, very entertaining

[elrafaradikal · 9/10 · 12 February 2007]

it takes place Dec 31st 1999, in Paris.its about a young fellow being pressured by his girl to bring a baby in to the world, and how he gets to go into the future thru some unorthodox method (pretty simple and original), how he meets his son, and grandkids, en so on, so that he can make a decision about parenting.

if you're a fan of art cinema, something different than you're usual box office hits, and you have some kind of different conception of what it means to see a movie, .. this is a very good one, don't expect super special effects, but its a good story, with good actors definitely worth seeing.

Surreal entertainment

[1Marieke · 5 April 2002]

This film is surprisingly good, if you let yourself be drawn in by it. Just sit back, relax and turn up the volume a bit, because the soundtrack is really brilliant: if you're a music lover, you'll love this strange tale with great musical timing....

May be explores the various possibilities of future and the importance of the god's law in it.

[ranadeep_20 · 9/10 · 7 October 2006]

i saw may be at a French film festival and was very impressed about the way in which the director has portrayed the importance of the "holy wedlock" and " blessed family" through the film. the message that i thought that the director wanted to portray is that now i this fast world, where all value systems are crumbling and people are finding themselves without a center in the postmodern world, the director tries to reinstate the importance of clinging on to the principles of love, responsibility and family. no one knows what will happen in future but come what may, the generations need to keep going on and the concept of "family" must live.

nice. and just profound

[Vincentiu · 26 June 2012]

funny. charming. time travel and advice for present. same Romain Duris. another Belmondo. a story about values, price of life, fears, roots of facts, role of present as brick of future and responsibilities. a SF, a comedy, a good occasion to make a lot of questions. and nostalgic crumbs. slices of Stars War, ingredients of travels in time, another story about 2000 year - expectations, parties and scenario - a love story and the search of way far from responsibilities. a profound drawing of society. few moralistic drops,easy style but seductive as a trip in yourself. in fact, only a little problem - what is answer to future situations ? how honest reasons are parts of our life ? a man. is it an isle ? is it a continent ? or just a seed.

# 04 : Exactly 12 years ago, back to the future in French (dvd)

[lamegabyte · 3 June 2019]

It was the first New Year's Day of the millennium and an old son disappearing tried to convince his young Dad to correct the time- line.

Well, you don't dream: it's indeed a French movie with a lot of good things: an old icon (Belmondo), my favorite French actress (Geraldine) and actor (Romain) together, under the direction of the most innovative of French filmmakers (Clapish). Unfortunately, the result is rather bad.

I don't know if it's deliberate or due to the lack of money but the movie is the all-time number one for hideous costumes and make-up: the 1999 party is bleak and the people from the future are bleaker! Compare Tatoine and you will have a brighter Tunisian landscape! Beyond, the story seems lost in sands because it's never emotional: It's a pity because there was a pit of good ideas: parenthood, Paris under sand, excavating the basement for antiques!

Ironically, the movie has become what it depicts: a small hope of unknown in a desert of French production (always about comedies or drama) but quickly drowned under a sandstorm