“Why did you follow me?”

“I went and found you. It is very different.”

Is it Spring in Paris? It should be, although I think I heard the sound of thunder in the distance. No. That was the un vrai coup de foudre, the true thunderbolt of Gabriel Byrne and the opening of Le Temps de L’Aventure on Wednesday.

Emmanuelle Devos, his partner in this romantic story and an actor I have admired for a long time, has been representing the film, its director Jérôme Bonnell, and Mr. Byrne beautifully in the press, in radio interviews, and in online articles, and the reviews are beginning to pop up like spring flowers all over the place. Ok. I’m mixing metaphors and traipsing off on tangents here, but I am sure you will forgive me. Hearing what Ms. Devos has to say about Mr. Byrne will do this to a Byrneholic.

These reviews and interviews are all from the French press and are being shared in translation with us by fans, often without links. So I am providing some quotes here in the spirit of sharing the Spring Fever. I would not do this ordinarily, but since I do not speak French, I am dependent on those who do, particularly Angelle and Moondreamer, and I thank them!

In one interview, Emmanuelle Devos said this about Gabriel Byrne:

“All those scenes with GB , my heart was beating, beating, just like in those moments when one is falling in love.” (…) The interviewer asks : Is that the GB effect? ” Gabriel, he is handsome, he is handsome ” (yes she said it twice) “its unbelievable. He has an incredible presence. He has a romantic, mysterious nature. Like out of an Emily Bronte novel. He is shy and reserved, and I think that he was very scared of the love scenes. He did relax afterwards.” – April 10, Paris Normandie.fr (from a comment by Angelle at the Byrneholics website)

One review noted:

“Opposite Emmanuelle Devos, Gabriel Byrne is simply perfect, all restraint, elegance, grace.”  (from a comment by Angelle at the Byrneholics website)

And in another review:

“Gabriel Byrne pierces our hearts with his silent emotions, a furtive glance (you just have to see how the palette of feelings creeps across his face like a shadow at the start ! ) (…) We are moved by every breath they take.” (from a comment by Angelle at the Byrneholics website)

From the interview/review at Evene.fr Cinema noted below (citation and Google translation provided by Moondreamer in the Forum):

Interviewer: And to play in English, did it frighten you?

Ms. Devos: I have always had a lock with English. But I worked with a great coach, the one who takes care of Jean Dujardin. She is responsible for the two most dramatic cases of French cinema. And she has done wonders … Finally, I had fun playing in English, which is still the language of cinema. Some phrases in [the film], I think I would not have been able to pronounce them in French.

Interviewer: An example?

Ms. Devos: “I will have to go” sounds still much better and more romantic than “You really want me to go” … Our imagination is so built: in English, we immediately took to Scarlett O ‘ Hara (laughs). Still, I had the chips. In addition, my voice tends to rise in the treble when I speak English. So, Gabriel Byrne called me “My Little Mouse.”

Here is a video clip from the film (a brief snippet shot in the theater–many thanks to Marisa for finding this!):

Le Temps de l’Aventure from Anatomy of Movies on Vimeo

More reviews (in French):

“Le temps de l’aventure”  from Telerama.fr

Cinq choses à savoir sur Gabriel Byrne from L’Express

“Le temps de l’aventure” (2013) from Films De Lover

Emmanuelle Devos : « Dans le cinéma français, tout le monde se méfie de tout le monde » from Evene.fr Cinema

“Le Temps de l’aventure” pour Emmanuelle Devos et Gabriel Byrne : beau fixe from France.tv Culturebox [This article is no longer available on the Internet]

“Le Temps de l’aventure” : un couple, une rencontre, un film Le Monde (behind a paywall)

Here is my favorite Google Translation of a review for this film (from Le Parisien, see above–and I apologize to them, but this is priceless and wonderful–even in fractured English!):

What is it about your room? “Sacha Guitry once asked his young visitor. “This is a man who meets a woman,” replied the latter. Guitry then exclaims, “I know enough! “Bonnell Prize winner Jean Vigo in 2005 for” Clear eyes, “do not know maybe this anecdote, but it sticks perfectly to his fifth film,” Time for adventure, “which speaks fairness, decency and concern for what is beyond us.

While modesty Alix is an actress. It runs between Calais and Paris where she plays where she lives. Doug is English. It is because in France for burial. Train, and both eyes are found in the balance throughout their lives. Compass Alix panics. Doug that resists a bit before losing the north. Nothing is explained, much less explained in this film while modesty, self-seeking incandescent involved who loses wins with destiny.

In 2007, Bonnell had worked with the bomb sensual what Emmanuelle Devos, outsized actress Nathalie Baye, who shares the privilege of representing the charm of the French woman. Amusing detail, the film is called “I’m expecting someone.” This time, in this story that takes place over one day, nobody waits for nobody and that’s what is exciting. If “adventure time” is the romantic movie par excellence, it is because he transgresses this last poem Antoine Pol “the Passantes”, sung by Georges Brassens. And it touches more than just, not without humor, the beauty of a love story, a thunderbolt dangerously dreamed.

And now you know the origin of the title of this posting!

Poster shot provided by Byrneholics Paris Correspondent Aragarna!

Ms. Devos talks about Le Temps de l’Aventure in a radio interview.

And finally, here is  a more complete excerpt from the Paris Normandie.fr interview with Emmanuelle Devos (Warning: Google translation) [This article is no longer available on the Internet]:

Ms. Devos: “It is a cliché. Actors lie, it was Diderot put it in people’s heads. Absolutely not. Players, when they play, are closer to the truth. That the character of the situation … If it is not, it is a disaster. Of course, this is not our life, our history. It is still our words, our feelings. To tell you, when I was shooting this film, I thought the end of each decision: “I will die …” Because it put me in a state … I feared a heart attack. All the scenes with Gabriel Byrne, my heart beating, beating, as effectively when you fall in love with butterflies in the stomach. The feeling of love, something bigger than me grabbed me completely. ”

Interviewer: And the Gabriel Byrne Effect?

Ms. Devos: “Gabriel, he is beautiful, he is beautiful … it is unbelievable. He has an incredible presence. There’s something romantic, mysterious … He is from a novel by Emily Bronte. He is very shy, reserved, and I think he was very scared of kissing scenes. He relaxed after. ‘

Interviewer: It’s hard to come back to reality?

Ms. Devos: “Obviously, my mind was the difference. You do not become crazy to believe that this is our life. All actors have a double brain. There are those who let themselves go, going fully into the situation, and those that maintain control. Because when you cry, you’re overwhelmed with emotions, but there is still a camera that shoots you, a text to say, marks to follow … and it should still be super true. It’s a job.”

24 Comments

  1. Kim Serrahn

    I swear I do not know if I can watch this film from start to finish. It may take me a few days to get through it. Not because of jealousy but because of the passion that will flow from it. Will I be able to just sit and watch without feelings, I think not. What Miss Devos said about Mr.B. was so very true. Ms. Devos: “Gabriel, he is beautiful, he is beautiful … it is unbelievable. He has an incredible presence. There’s something romantic, mysterious … He is from a novel by Emily Bronte. “swoon”

  2. Well, I certainly haven’t got your problem. It’s on my agenda again on Monday….

  3. Cant wait until this is released on DVD or comes to Cinemas in the UK. Just a huge sigh as the waiting is awful !

  4. It is a shame that this movie is not in the theaters in all of Europe and in USA too, right now.
    But what can we do? I am in Norway now but 10.th May I will be in France. Hope the movie will be still in the theaters there then.

    It is a very good thing that Ms Devos liked Gabriel as much as we Byrneholics do. Because that obviously helped to create a great chemistry on the screen.

  5. Many reviewers have touted it as the best film so far this year, so it will likely be released theatrically in Europe. From what I have read, the film has a deep sensibility (it is after all told from the woman’s perspective at a pivotal moment in her life), hesitant sensuality, and sense of humour, that prevents it from descending into romantic cliche. It’s interesting to listen to clips and read MALE reviewers saying how moved they were at the end; that it is a simple story, with a quiet incandescence that reaches out tentatively and reveals our souls.

  6. May I suggest an alternative title for the film
    as in the French review ‘Coup de foudre’. I believe Gabriel Byrne has used it in his interviews in the past!
    I really like snapshot of Gabriel Byrne and Emmanuelle
    Devos.

    • Brilliant, Tess!! I agree. “Coup de foudre” would be a very appropriate title for this film!! And I’m glad you like the snapshot. I put them in a more colorful place because they looked so happy…

  7. In several interviews on radio Inter France Emmanuelle Devos makes some revealing statements about working with Gabriel Byrne. Some comments are amusing (like how she handled his shyness when it came to the love scenes); or show her trepidation and then awe for his approach to his craft (they use contrasting techniques which the director said really added an equilibrium to the piece and served their characters well). But at one point she pauses thoughtfully and concludes that she believes that he suffered while making the film, that it caused him some pain and angst…

    • Angelle, I really appreciate your sharing these interviews with us!

      Ouch. “Pain and angst.” Well, being creative is a complicated business, that is certain, and suffering is part of it, I guess. I have a feeling Mr. Byrne might say that about many roles in the past.

      Meanwhile, so happy that Ms. Devos is doing so much promotion for the film and that she seems to be open and vulnerable when talking about her own experience making the film. I have loved her comments about Gabriel!

  8. As expected, this picture has been prolongued a week. Maybe I’ll go watch a third time.

  9. In the French radio interview that you posted , at 18:51 there is an excerpt in English of Mr. Byrne’s character telling a story… Superb and touching interpretation. The director then explains how this scene shows how accepting they have become of one another – that the man is trying to make Alix , her character , not feel ashamed about pursuing him.

  10. Advogados em Guarulhos

    Great Gabriel Byrne!

  11. I don’t even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was great. I do not know who you are but definitely you’re going to a famous blogger if you
    aren’t already ;) Cheers!

  12. I just saw “Just Sigh” today at TriBeCa Film Festival and I’m just mad about it. Emmanuelle and Gabriel have the most wonderful chemistry that doesn’t require a lot of dialogue. The director did an amazing job showing Paris minus the cliche images we see in most French films. This is a very adult film that reminded me of “An Affair of Love” with Nathalie Baye and Sergei Lopez. Do see the film if it comes to your town.

    Gabriel Byrne is delicious in every way possible.

  13. Interesting blog from set of Just a Sigh by the film’s script assistant. In two parts but believe me , you want to read this one first… (English text follows French).

    http://polaroids-tournage.blogspot.fr/2013/05/conversation-avec-gabriel-byrne-part.html

  14. I was in France and I saw it there.
    Wonderful movie. Just have to love it.

    Norwegian Nora

  15. New clips of Gabriel Byrne for your viewing pleasure from Just a Sigh/ Le Temps de l’aventure

    http://www.canalplus.fr/c-cinema/pid3614-c-interviews-cinema.html?vid=850209

  16. I Prepared myself so I can comment deep in my heart I know I did…. I Rushed to read what she said about Gabriel the second I read it I swear That something inside me exploded the way how she Expressed her Feelings when she was with Gabriel I sure I’ll Faint just from her words to him I stopped reading when she Repeated he is beautiful Twice!!! and only what I can hear is my heart beating so fast you know in my View we can see Gabriel from Our screen and we said to ourselves “yes We can feel with everything as she was” but the Sadly fact is the only thing that we felt is maybe 5% Comparing with what she did actually felt when she was near him…Surprised with myself that I find some words to wrote Gabriel Deserve more,this essay Deserve more too, so I had to Finish it simply cuz I can’t keep Searching for words and my mind still Struggling with Devos words the end of December it will be very hot for me cuz finally I got the chance to watch it at least I know now how to going Through with This movie maybe..!!!

    • Many of us felt this way, Ra, when we first discovered how Emmanuelle Devos reacted to Gabriel and their shared filming experience! It was a confirmation of all that we had thought! And it made watching the film even more special, to realize that actors are human beings and have real feelings, even when “playing” a character. It is difficult for those of us who are not part of that world to understand it sometimes…

      When you have watched JUST A SIGH a time or two, read the essay I wrote in response to Gabriel’s work in the film: “The Doors of Heaven.” <3

  17. The movie indeed soon I will see it.!❤️ But where can I find the doors of Heaven essay?

  18. I always do the same way Couldn’t figure why it didn’t Appeared to me in my first searching but I did it Earlier today and worked with me Guess I was Wrong with something before….anyway thanks for the link too Stella you make it much easier right now… but as you know I didn’t see yet so I’ll stick to your Tip and read this essay after I watch the movie and that day would be tomorrow night❤️I’m super excited really can’t wait to watch it.!!!!!

    • The nice thing about this website is that the articles just wait for you patiently. So read it when you are ready. It will be here. :-) <3

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