Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

SincereFinest disgusting, overrated, pointless

Hulkeasexo it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Kirpianuscus it is a special film. for music, for story as a puzzle, for performance of Roland Duris who escapes from adultescence roles, and, sure, for its director vision. because it is only a confession about dream and about reality, need to escape from a circle for be yourself. brutal, violent and poetic. intense. and useful reflection of a state of soul and small things who define every day frustrations. the American cinema touch and the essence of French cinema - this could be the key of a beautiful film about a fight with precise target. and the motif for discover The Beat that my heart skipped as a kind of revelation about art. not new, not original but touching and profound. as sketch of a way to the truth. remembering French new wave, it is one of films who gives new perspectives about existence.

Bene Cumb In the Soviet era, a famous Estonian conductor emigrated to the West, and one of the reasons mentioned was that his bandsman were forced to help collective farmers in picking potatoes, stones, etc., i.e. carrying out rough jobs with delicate hands. This came into my mind when I saw the film in question, where a guy wishing to be a pianist is engaged in various punishing measures within real estate business... Anyway, it seemed odd, and made the plot rather fictitious than reliable. Moreover, there were several expected scenes and solutions, an arid ending, and the main idea of focusing on the relationship between father and son was not elaborated fully. Even good actors like Romain Duris and Niels Arestrup were unable to "save the day", the others were not catchy at all. Thus, particularly as for a French film, I regard De battre mon cœur s'est arrêté quite mediocre, and I am a bit surprised it has won a number of important awards; it is tricky to balance between harsh mobbing and sublime art in a short piece of work.

random_avenger Not all remakes are made in Hollywood; the industry works the other way round too. I haven't seen James Toback's 1978 film Fingers, but its French remake by Jacques Audiard surely works admirably. Tom (Romain Duris) is a shady young real estate broker who doesn't shy away from using violence to make sure his clients don't forget to pay their rents and other expenses. One day he meets the agent of his deceased concert pianist mother and is invited to an audition, as he has some musical talent himself. To prepare for the audition he takes lessons from a Chinese female pianist Miao Lin (Linh Dan Pham) and despite the language barrier, a wordless understanding develops between them. Combining the tough criminal career and the patience required for practicing music is difficult for Tom though, especially due to his unreliable father Robert (Niels Arestrup) who Tom often has to save from serious trouble involving dangerous criminals.Tom's restless wavering between the two careers is fascinating to follow, thanks to Duris' fidgeting performance full of danger and thinly buried anger. Even though he maintains a tough appearance, it is obvious that the audition means a lot to him, evoking memories from his mother even though we never get to see her on the screen. Niels Arestrup also captures the miserable aura surrounding the father and could have easily stolen the show from a less intense lead actor. Besides the acting, the overall directorial style is in tune with the story and masters both hectic urban scenes and the calmer moments at the piano in Miao Lin's apartment. The shocking but touching ending doesn't provide a simple conclusion to Tom's confusion, but suggests that he has learned that he cannot flee making the decision forever. All in all, the dramatically titled film succeeds in delivering a riveting experience and belongs among the better French film of recent years.

Framescourer With the huge success of his A Prophet as last year became this, it's worth a detour through Jacques Audiard's back catalogue. The cryptically titled The Beat My Heart Skipped concerns come of the same themes that made A Prophet a tense - and epic - cinematic tale. Romain Duris is a temperamental young wheeler-dealer in Parisian real estate, fluent, if not happy with the murky aspects of his trade. Serendipity produces a remarkable plot diversion: offered an audition by a former piano teacher, he begins lessons with a Chinese girl who speaks no French, and finds the process emancipates him from the tawdriness of his day-to-day.Naturally the drama builds as the civilising effect of his extracurricular pursuit and that very job come into conflict. I liked the way in which Audiard managed this though. I also liked the way in which he dealt with the pianism within the film. This is a notoriously tricky area, introducing music or sport, events which have their own inherent drama. The non-Francophone teacher is a brilliant conceit in this respect - since we do not understand the Chinese (non subtitles) the drama moves from dialogue about the piano to the physicality of the exchanges between the characters.Of course, so much more revolves about this - like El Djebena, much of the drama comes from expecting Thomas to drop one of the many balls he's juggling - women, providing alibis for adulterous friends, the fractious relationship with his passée-thug father. A nice selection of supporting roles, from the wonderful Niels Arestrup as said dead-beat papa to the echt Parisian beauty Aure Atika as Aline maintain the verisimilitude easily enough. This is Duris' picture though. He performs with such a convincing equivocation that there is no second- guessing the script and we feel sympathy even in his foolhardiness and violence. A very good, if (also characteristically) rather pessimistic film. 7/10