VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Dotbankey A lot of fun.

BallWubba Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Kayden This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

krocheav At the close of this movie I half expected the name Roman Polanski might appear. Many of the under-explored themes and situations bring to mind vague occult aspects from several of his works. First and foremost is the promise of a ghostly re-appearance by the dead son of two French movie actors. They've received letters from their son following his suicide - instructing both to meet in Death Valley USA at specific times - where he will mysteriously reveal himself to them one last time (If not yet seen and you don't want to know anything about it there may be some minor spoilers following...) On the way to this event there are some bizarre happenings. The disturbing vision of a deformed girl in the middle of the night talking about death. A Wolf's (or Dog's) mutilated head in a bag, left in a toilet block. None of these situations are further explored - they just seem to happen for the sake of it. Cultists and film study groups will have a field day 'making-up' theories on the hidden deep and 'meaningful' messages.Gerard Depardieu and Isabelle Huppert give strong performances playing their own 'names sake's' and Cinematographer Christophe Offenstein bathes it in glossy images. The haunting minimalist music by Charles Avers is effective and it's disappointing to find the composer's name not included on this IMDb listing (trust this may be remedied). Director/Writer Guillaume Nicloux seems bent on being the replacement for Polanski and nearly bores the viewer to death with endlessly-long walking shots of his stars going somewhere or nowhere. Sometimes it's mildly compelling but ultimately empty.If you're into talkie supernatural themes or questions without answers you may find comfort here, otherwise be warned...

MartinHafer I love French films and have seen, perhaps, a couple thousand...which is definitely a lot for an American. So, I jumped at the chance to review "Valley of Love". After all, two actors who I have loved in many French movies star in this production, Isabelle Huppert and Gérard Depardieu and I was excited to see them again. Plus, sadly, too often actors in their golden years disappear from films...so it was wonderful to see folks in their 60s starring in a film. And, I must say, the film did not over-glamorize them...particularly Depardieu. He's definitely put on weight over the years and appears in boxer shorts during much of the film...a great way to say 'to hell with the world's obsession over weight, beauty and age'! Unfortunately, while I applaud the film for using these folks and de-glamorizing them, the script itself left me very, very cold.The film is set in Death Valley, California in November. The folks continually complain how oppressively hot it is there, but this is only during the awful summer months when temperatures soar well over 49 Celsius (120 Fahrenheit). Despite what the film says, Novembers are lovely there with average temperatures 25C/77F...and very never a day approaching 38/120. So, ignore this mistake in the film...this huge national park is not all that inhospitable in the Fall.Isabelle is staying at some resort...waiting. You aren't sure why but soon see that she'd joined by her -ex, Gérard. Slowly do you learn the very strange reason they are there. Apparently, six months earlier, their son killed himself...leaving a very strange letter for each of them. In the letter he promises that if they follow his itinerary exactly in November, he will briefly re-appear to them! This is very strange to say the least and it's pretty obvious that Gérard holds little stock in all this...though he did inexplicably agree to join Isabelle. Through much of their time together, the two are a miserable pair--rarely agreeing on anything and they are a rather crabby couple. It seems pretty obvious why they are no longer together and that they were lousy parents to their son.What follows is an odd and somewhat surreal film...and one that leaves the viewer very confused as to what really has occurred. The ending is incredibly vague and the entire film left me dissatisfied. I didn't mind the vague ending as much as I just felt like the film wasted some terrific talent and could have done so much more with the characters. Not a terrible film...but one that I really wanted to love and recommend but simply can't.

Reinier De Vlaam This is a strange movieA divorced couple gets letters from their son who committed suicide. When the son was 7 the mother left the family, never to see the son again and the father then put him in a boarding school, to see him rarely.They both get instructions to go to death valley and do some sight seeing together, then the son will appear to them once more he writes. This is however only a side element of the movie, the real thing is the interaction between the couple: The very huge Gerard Depardieu and the fragile Isabelle Huppert who came together on the screen 35 years ago, when they were still attractive, in the movie Loulou.The movie has some very memorable quotes that may or may not refer to the lives of the actorsGD: I have become fat IH: Well as long as you feel good GD: (irritated) do you think I feel good about itandGD: do you still love me IH: When you do not still love someone you were married to you never loved him anywayThe dull Americans with their fake smiles probably gives an idea how they think about Americans. The dead dog head in the toilet makes you wonder what the reference is.Al these moments make the movie very worthwhile, the reappearance of the son is only an excuse for the film. I found I wasn't so much wondering about if the son would really appear or not. I was much more fascinated by the odd moments, dialogs and the confrontation of the couple and how they have difficulty to talk about their personal problems.It is not a shockingly good movie but very fascinating

richard-1787 This is a very simple - in some ways - and sad movie. A long-divorced couple learn of the suicide of their son, with whom they have been out of contact for years. He sends them each a letter, asking them to spend a week together at different sites in Death Valley (yes, in the U.S.), with the promise that he will appear to one of them.They meet. They encounter a few dull Americans. They spend a lot of time out in the desert. Lots of old dirty laundry gets aired. The end makes no sense.When I was walking out of the theater in the small Breton town where I saw this movie - fewer that 10 people had showed up to see it -the usher told me that it was based on the story of the death of Gérard Depardieu's son, Guillaume, and that Guillaume had been his son by Isabelle Hupert. Not true. Guillaume was Depardieu's son by his first wife, Elisabeth, and he did not commit suicide. Nor, as far as I know, was he gay. So much for instant legend.What was good, indeed very good about this movie was the acting by the two principals. They are both first-rate actors, and they do wonders with what is often not first-rate dialogue.For what it's worth, it's also interesting to see them as they are now, with NO makeup or attempt to hide what time has done to two formerly very handsome/beautiful individuals. Depardieu has become downright enormous, and not in a good way. He looks downright pitiful in shorts.There is also some beautiful landscape shots of Death Valley.Not a movie I would see twice, at least in the theater. But not a movie to overlook, either.