Such a frustrating disappointment

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

I saw this movie with my high school (I'm French, so I apologize if I make any languages mistakes), and really liked it. The actors really did a great job, and during the whole movie, their acting seemed really natural. The characters have very different points of view on the future and group life. Madeleine is trying to be self-sufficient in expectation of the apocalyptic future she believes in. To Arnaud, future means the end of the summer, and in the first part of the movie, his family takes the decisions for him. Even though, their love-story is believable, and Adèle Haenel and Kevin Azaïs made a great on-screen couple ! Also, the score is really lively and goes well with the movie. This movie is very different of most of the recent French movies, and it's a good thing if it worked, I hope it will stimulate others French directors to make different movies.A really good first long time feature for Thomas Cailley, and I encourage everyone to see "Love at first fight" ! To me, it doesn't deserve a 8 or more out of 10, but this is a different movie from what we are used to see. Sometimes, this movie is a comedy, or a rom com, but it also is a movie about the army and the survival in a wild place.

I enjoyed this film. I'm not a French speaker, but much preferred the original title to the translation which comes across as trite 'Love at First Fight', when it is a much more subtle film.The film begins in an off-beat manner, but its loose structure works well & the two leads are engaging. It's a romantic drama without being sentimental. I liked how the gender roles were reversed: Arnaud, a young carpenter, is sensitive & physically slight in contrast to the muscular, taciturn Madeleine, who frequently lashes out when frustrated. It reminded me of 'Betty Blue' about two very different people falling in love.Arnaud appears 'weak', timid & a conformist. The film begins with him working for the family business, following his father's death. The suggestion is that he is only too aware of his circumstances & not through choice (doing one's duty, being responsible, living day by day) in contrast to Madeleine who has dropped out of college.The two are brought together by the fight, & Arnaud's clear fascination for the oddball Madeleine.Ironically, it is Arnaud who prospers at the military boot camp (Second Act), where his quiet strength, caring nature & ability to work with others wins the confidence of the officers. Madeleine's brusque superiority & macho attitude alienates others instead. The army is, in fact, a substitute family unit & family sometimes means putting others before oneself.The major turning point in the film occurs when Madeleine lashes out at Arnaud during an orientation exercise (symbolic perhaps as she is losing her bearings) & he storms off & does not retaliate (unlike their first encounter).Lost in the forest, Arnaud reveals himself to be a bit of a quiet rebel , someone who masks his desperation. He has his own life philosophy (contrasting with Madeleine's doom-laden theories) which enables him to survive: that rebelling is pointless because sometimes there is nothing you can do (the coffin he built for his father & bureaucracy, the opening scene). This revelation breaks the ice between Madeleine & him so that she can lower her guard & reveal her emotional side.The off-beat nature of this film is frequently provided by the eccentric behaviour of the anti-heroine Madeleine, like the bizarre present she brings to Arnaud's mother.I liked how the end of the film (like a sci-fi film) drew together themes (Madeleine's belief in an impending Armageddon). It was original & believable.Excellent performances, Kevin Azais (reminiscent of Kevin McKidd in looks) captures both his quiet strength & vulnerability whilst Adele Haenel perhaps has a more challenging role. Madeleine appears 'one-note' but has to reveal inner confusion & insecurity. I thought the final scene was excellent. Madeleine is the one who appears 'shy', her posture says it all, the self-conscious way she stands as if no longer in control of what is happening to her: which is what being in love is. about.

A movie that the more frames I see the more I want it to end. I really do not know what he wants to tell me. I think that neither the actors nor the director know where they want to go. The main actor does not tell me anything and she falls pretty bad and the worst thing is that does not improve the situation over time, I can not empathize with them, so it is difficult that I like the movie. If what the director wanted was that the actors were not attractive, if he succeeded.There comes a time that also does not advance the story until it finally ends, the best of the film, is over.It has no direction, no tone, no planning, no where to go. The photograph, it seems that they were not very interested in this department either.

Arnaud is going to spend his summer working in the family business of making high quality sheds. Then they get a gig at the house of Madeleine's parents and he sort of falls for her.She is a feisty young woman who is waiting for the apocalypse and just wants to be ready to survive. This also involves her wanting to join the French Army and do all that gruelling training stuff that quite frankly would have me running the other way. The question for Arnaud is how far is he willing to go to win her – apparently ice cold – heart.This is a sort of comedy, as it has a few comedic moments, but what it really is, is an unconventional love story – as Morrissey wrote 'this one is different because it's us' – and as such it should be hard to empathise with them – yet by dint of chemistry it is quite the opposite. There is a vibrancy to the whole thing that sweeps you along with it.This is a warm, amusing film, with great direction and acting and you may even learn a few tips on survival – all in all a recommended watch.