jlobarcelona Daniele Thomson (gerard oury's daughter) is writing and directing a deja vu comedy, very very very slow and boring; you can guess what is going on from the start everything is so obvious! though two french stars(reno binoche) are trying to make their character genuine, their presence don't make a good story, you even wonder what sergi Lopez cameo's appearance is doing in this story?jean reno as a international business man is not very convincing and Juliette binoche plays as in a loreal commercial endorsement, after 20 minutes the intrigue is gone, and everything is just not believable if you like the plot you'd rather watch Philippe Lioret very good "airport" movie "Tombés du ciel" with jean rochefort

Galina "Décalage horaire" (2002) aka "Jet Lag" was the third film written/directed by Daniele Thompson that I've seen. It may not be as marvelous as La Bûche (1999), her directorial debut or charming and delightful as Fauteuils d'orchestre (2006), her latest film but it is definitely worth seeing for the wonderful acting by two fine French actors, Juliette Binoche and Jean Reno who both played against their types. Binoche does not appear often in the comedies and Reno is not well known as a romantic lead but they were pleasure to watch in the light romantic dramedy that takes place in the famous Paris Charles de Gaulle airport one long rainy night when all flights were grounded by weather and a baggage strike. Two strangers meet by chance, when Rose (Binoche) who had accidentally flushed her cell phone in a toilet, asks a perfect stranger, Felix (Reno), to use his phone. They are both professionally successful. He is a chef who made a fortune in the frozen-food business, and she has won a golden brush, the equivalent of Pulitzer Prize for the make-up artists. Their personal lives are the mess. Each has the problems, disappointments, unsatisfying or unfinished relationships by the time of their first encounter. She flees from her abusive boyfriend of 12 years (Sergio Lopes is memorably scary in a tiny cameo). He still can't recover from his previous relationship and suffers from anxiety attacks. Perhaps, 81 minutes is not enough to convince us that these two flawed and insecure individuals will overcome their past and live happily ever after but Binoche and Reno masterfully and elegantly created on the screen the possibility of love and readiness to accept it.

eddie-56 Please don't try to compare this to anything from Hollywood. They stopped making good movies a long time ago. Here in New Zealand we don't have a lot of contact with the French character but I have just had the pleasure of hosting a young French lady who is a top line hairdresser. While I was watching this movie I only had to close my eyes and I could see Cèline, my guest. In other hands this would have been a minor movie but in the hands of the two principals it was to say the least delightful. The story was very simple and at every turn I knew what was to come but in every way I was wrong. I have not seen very much of Luliette Binoche but now I'm a fan. In the beginning Jean Reno was a most unlikely partner but by the finish you could actually like him. Beilliant.

foal Movies are personal experiences. Jet Lag touched my emotions. If you're patient, you might be rewarded too. I say patient because it's a foreign film; unless you're fluent in the language, reading subtitles detracts from the performance. Rewarding because the acting is superb. Fortunately, the English language dubbing for the film was done by the lead actors themselves. So if you choose, you can watch Jean Reno and Juliette Binoche act out their parts, free from translation. The story itself is slight and critics found the Paris airport setting contrived. But the film's director, Daniele Thompson, sees loneliness in the crowds there. In an interview, she says, Life comes to a standstill in airports. People can become vulnerable in the forced cessation of familiar routines. The situation allows her to explore the romantic possibilities between total strangers. Enter Rose and Felix, a beautician and a chef become businessman. In the style common to romantic comedy, coincidences bring and keep them together. Here, the chance meetings serve a twofold purpose: to depict their differences and also allow each to catch inadvertently personal glimpses of the other's life. Like the most modern of men, Felix conducts his affairs over a cell phone. En route to a funeral in Munich, he's preoccupied with launching a new line of frozen food products. Rose is fragile, seeking a new life in Mexico and leave behind a man, who required her to abort their child. The story arc builds to a room service dinner in the Airport Hilton. *SPOILERS*SPOILERS*It's prickly. Simple disagreements over the food--mostly uneaten--become confrontations of character. When Felix inquiries about her sex life, Rose divines the meaning of his invitation to dine together. She voices the potential of the occasion. "Let's take advantage of this situation," she says. "We'll never meet again. So go ahead and ask me all the questions you're burning to ask." Felix does so then invites Rose to do the same. It gets personal. She takes her leave. By contrast, Felix has been taken utterly by surprise. Rose's fragility is matched by a simple strength of character. He rushes after, demanding to know her plans. "I'm going home," she says. Felix is infuriated, thinking she's retreating in confusion. He stops her. Gaining access to the hotel kitchen, he cooks fresh food for them both, while telling his life story. In the middle, he stops and asks, "Are you staying or going? What's the current trend?"The best stories have self-revelation about them. Here, total strangers make the most of an opportunity to engage in some soul searching, which under other circumstances they might well avoid. When their flights are finally called, they part company as people transformed by a shared experience. Each goes on to make a meaningful change in life. The performances make it all believable and I found it great fun to see people acting with an enlightened sense of themselves. It seems such a rare thing; neurosis is the order of the day. So I watched closely: engaged by the adult themes and fascinated by accomplished actors expressing subtle emotions in a romantic comedy. One of my favorites scenes occurs at the end in the Acapulco airport. Rose is met with a note, containing a cell phone PIN number. In one wordless moment, her face passes from puzzlement to epiphany as she realizes the only logical explanation. Others who've commented on this film note how lovingly a camera can dwell on Ms. Binoche. Beyond her beauty, there's a distinct emotional intelligence. In an interview, she notes Jet Lag was her first romantic comedy. "I took the opportunity as a gift, and every time I see Daniele, I thank her." Speaking personally, I've never seen her or Jean Reno so at ease with their clear abilities. And the bit players fulfill their roles too. Witness Felix' father, as initial curiosity in his face turns to longing when he recognizes his son standing in the driveway. The abundance of good acting in this films brings me back to the beginning. The performances must be seen to be believed. Subtitles necessarily distract. Put it this way, if the players can't act, the observer misses nothing; but if they can, missing the performance becomes a personal loss. *END SPOILERS*Just as movies are personal, so is music. If you're susceptible to the moods music makes, you'll also be rewarded by Jet Lag's score. Ms. Thompson's choices combine American material from W. C. Handy to John Barry and the original work of a fine French composer named Eric Serra. The music resonates, especially towards the end. Two of the pieces employ the harmonica to underscore the poignancy of separation and feelings unspoken between the man and woman. Finally there's the memorable music over the closing credits. The piece is titled Vas Adelante, by M. Serra, with lyrics written and sung by Clementine Celarie. I don't pretend to understand the words, but the song sure makes a joyous sound. If you end up as captivated by it as I, a CD of the film score (not the soundtrack) was distributed in England & France. It contains M. Serra's compositions including the end title theme.