
The theatre world is a familiar setting for the films of Rivette. In Va savoir, the characters, all quick-witted, well-read and cultured types, revolve around each other in a delightful potpourri of theatre, romance and theft. In the end, everything lands on its feet and they all get the partner they deserve, but before then, long filmer Rivette takes two and a half hours to dwell lightly on the vicissitudes around the six protagonists. Camille is an actress with an Italian c... (Full plot summary below)
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The theatre world is a familiar setting for the films of Rivette. In Va savoir, the characters, all quick-witted, well-read and cultured types, revolve around each other in a delightful potpourri of theatre, romance and theft. In the end, everything lands on its feet and they all get the partner they deserve, but before then, long filmer Rivette takes two and a half hours to dwell lightly on the vicissitudes around the six protagonists. Camille is an actress with an Italian company that is in Paris to perform a play by Pirandello, Come tu mi vuoi. Her boyfriend Ugo is the director and the company's most important actor. Both have a hidden agenda for their trip to Paris: Camille meets her ex Pierre, a professor of philosophy, while Ugo is secretly researching a supposedly lost play by Goldoni. In the archives, he is assisted by the charming student Do, who steals his heart. In turn, Do has a link with Pierre: her stepbrother, the playwright Arthur, namely steals an expensive ring from Pierre's wife Sonia. After many sophisticated conversations, secret rendezvous and references to Pirandello, events reach a hilarious climax when Pierre and Ugo challenge each other to an old-fashioned duel for life and death.
Leave your thoughts about Va Savoir (Who Knows?).
| Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittMagical movie, which has brilliant fun with the contrasts between film and theater, love and infatuation, reality and fantasy. |
| Village VoiceJ. HobermanVa Savoir has its own unhurried pace and unpredictable humor. This is the sort of comedy Robert Altman could only dream about. |
| VarietyDavid StrattonAn entrancing ensemble piece, directed with calm assurance, acted by a fine ensemble, and structured and scripted with wit and precision. |
| The New York TimesA.O. ScottIt's undeniably a trifle, but rarely is something like this done with such skill and, well, savoir-faire. |
| Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranThis masterful celebration starts off slowly, even uncertainly, giving no hint of the rich and elegant exploration of love, jealousy and animal attraction it will in all good time become. |
| Salon.comCharles TaylorNever less than witty, charming, accomplished. |
| New Times (L.A.)Andy KleinThe film could be subtitled "Six Characters in Search of an Ending:" When they find that ending, it is gently, delightfully uplifting. |
| L.A. WeeklyManohla DargisVa Savoir doesn't so much flow as wander, trailing off into drama one minute, slapstick the next; it tries your patience, but ever so gently, masterfully. |
| Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonIt may be the most serene and optimistic film Rivette has made in France. Yet even the art-house audience may undervalue it, miss the beauty, style and wit. |
| Boston GlobeJay CarrA vibrant, multicharacter film that entertains, disorients and enlightens. |