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Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein, Serge Hazanavicius, Laurent Grevill, Frederic Pierrot ... see more see more... , Lise Segur , Jean-Claude Arnaud , Mouss Zouheyri , Souad Mouchrik , Catherine Hosmalin , Claire Johnston , Olivier Cruveiller , Nicole Dubois , Patrick Bordes , Alain Buron

Their relationship fractured when older sister Juliette is sentenced to 15 years in prison, two siblings wage an emotional battle to rebuild their relationship, overcome the secrets that keep them apa... read more read more...rt, and finally express the thoughts that have lain dormant for well over a decade. The moment Juliette was convicted, her parents declared that they wanted nothing to do with her. Now, after 15 years behind bars, Juliette is a free woman and in desperate need of a human connection. When Juliette's younger sister, Léa, is approached by a prison social worker and asked if she would be willing to provide her recently paroled sibling with a place to live, she doesn't hesitate to open her doors and share her home. But Léa is happily married with two adopted daughters, and her husband, Luc, is uneasy with the arrangement. Still, the house is large, the couple is used to having company, and the two young girls are thrilled to have a new aunt. As Juliette gets settled, Léa does her best to make her feel welcome. Likewise, Léa's colleague Michel and emigrant couple Samir and Kaïsha also offer to help Juliette readjust to life on the outside. Along the way, Juliette slowly begins to emerge from her shell and Léa realizes just how much she missed her sister. Perhaps if she can put aside her feelings of guilt long enough to truly understand her sister's plight, these two strangers can finally remember what it means to be family. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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85% liked it

21,657 ratings

Critics

89% liked it

122 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 57 min.

Directed by: Philippe Claudel

Release Date: October 24, 2008

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DVD Release Date: March 3, 2009

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Stats: 1,742 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,742)

  • danperry17
    March 25, 2012
    danperry17
    Kristin Scott Thomas puts this film on her back and carries it with her astounding performance as a long lost sister, returning to her family after incarceration for a crime that, sorry, I can't tell you before you watch the movie. The story keeps you watching based on one questi... read moreon: why? Everything you see, you don't know why it's happening, but as the story moves forward, you get new information that keeps you looking backward, assembling the events yourself. It's kind of like you're a member of the family as well, having little breakthroughs along the way. Some reviewers have called this manipulative, but I would say it's quite the opposite, a good story well told. It's an honest and original film that should not be missed.
  • Saxia
    November 8, 2011
    Saxia
    A quiet drama. After 15 years in prison, Juliette Fontaine comes back into the community. She has to reconnect with her sister, the world and more important; herself. One look in those empty sad eyes and you can't help but feel deeply moved; what happened to this woman, what is h... read moreer story? Kristin Scott Thomas was amazing.
  • sanjurosamurai
    February 6, 2011
    sanjurosamurai
    a powerful film with wonderful performances, a masterful screenplay, and near perfect direction by claudel. the final scene is absolutely masterful, evoking wonder at the beauty of creation as well as sympathy for the struggles of the characters at a level rarely achieved in fil... read morem. the themes in the film seem executed perfectly, and the subject matter unique enough that ive never seen a film quite like it. a great film.
  • flixsterman
    May 8, 2010
    flixsterman
    After 15 years in prison, Juliette is trying to put the pieces of her life back together. Il y a Longtemps que Je T'aime is less about redemption than it is about empathy and understanding. A stirring portrayal of parents and children and sacrifice.
  • dunmyer
    April 17, 2010
    dunmyer
    Philippe Claudel's debut film, "I've Loved You So Long," could have been great, but it's saturated with a bourgeois, PBS-type tone that drains most of the drama away. The story also has a tendentious, journalistic quality, being more a vehicle to raise questions about social issu... read morees than tell stories about actual people. It's too pat.

    When we meet the main character, played a bit too flatly and morosely by Kristin Scott Thomas, she is reconnecting with her sister. Little by little, startling details about her are revealed, such as that she was just recently released from prison.

    I cannot discuss any more of the story without revealing the plot surprises, so I'll just say that the big question hanging in the air throughout the film is how good people can do horrific things. Then some surprises at the tail end raise even more topical social issues. By the end, I felt like I was reading a feature story in the New York Times instead of watching a film.
  • aliceinpunderland
    March 28, 2010
    aliceinpunderland
    Kristin Scott Thomas is so utterly withdrawn and melancholic. She should've been nominated for an Oscar at least. I watched this film in segments on Netflix, so I can't quite tell if the script is good at withholding exposition or just emotionally manipulative. The children an... read mored the grandfather are darling. I was hoping for a less redemptive ending though.
  • dreamfaeries
    December 27, 2009
    dreamfaeries
    Saw the truth coming from a mile away but it was a really good movie. Very well acted and beautifully directed.
  • briandeguelle
    December 16, 2009
    briandeguelle
    A Smart and original movie with a powerful performance for Ms Thomas. She seems to be an even better actress now that she?s making movies in France. It?s a slow burning movie about a woman just released from prison after 15 years for killing her son but there is a mystery around ... read morethe reason why, she moves in with her sister and brother in law and daughters. It?s the ongoing struggle and coping with here new life and the re-attachment with her sister which is such an interesting watch. Not a movie for everyone but if you life stories about real people set in a real world then maybe this is a movie for you.
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    December 16, 2009
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "The worst prison is the death of one's child. You never get out of it."

    A woman struggles to interact with her family and find her place in society after spending fifteen years in prison.

    REVIEW
    ... read moreer>
    A well written and exceptionally well performed tale that explores the depths of acceptance. Kristin Scott Thomas plays Juliette, a woman returning to society after a fifteen year spell in jail. Mostly met with hostility, she is embraced by her sister Lea (Elsa Zylberstein) and treated with caution by her sister's husband and curious daughter (Lise Segur in an amazing performance). The film focuses on emotional details and provides us with a realistic cross-section of humanity. Reaction to Juliette is experienced via a variety of characters. Director Philipe Claudel makes intelligent choices in terms of what is revealed about Juliette; his style is an unobtrusive one that gives the performers plenty of room to move. Zylberstein and Thomas are great together, convincing us of their history and their private pain. The film doesn't wrap anything up for convenience; it reminds us that life is always gray. It is engaging cinema.
  • jjnxn
    December 2, 2009
    jjnxn
    Extraordinary performance by Kristin Scott Thomas in this deeply felt, very sad character study.

View All Il y a Longtemps que Je T'aime (I've Loved You So Long) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Rafer Guzman
January 16, 2009
Rafer Guzman, Newsday

In a few moments the British actress, playing a haunted woman named Juliette, will begin speaking French, but in these moments her face reveals more than any dialogue. Full Review

Roger Moore
January 9, 2009
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

In a profession that routinely casts aside leading ladies when they hit 40, it's a shame a great one had to take her act to France to remind us that actors, like wines, only improve with age. Full Review

Jonathan F. Richards
December 8, 2008
Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com

This is a thriller, though, in the sense that it is a thrill to watch Scott-Thomas give one of the finest performances of the year. Full Review

Randy Cordova
November 25, 2008
Randy Cordova, Arizona Republic

Despite its flaws, the movie pulls you in with its squarely realistic setting and subdued performances. Best of all is Thomas. Full Review

Christopher Orr
November 21, 2008
Christopher Orr, New Republic

[The] final twist undoes the film to some degree, [but] it cannot undo Scott Thomas's performance, one of the marvels of this, or any, cinematic year. Full Review

Amy Biancolli
November 21, 2008
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

Thomas gives it her all, uncorking every ounce of emotion she'd held in check, with Herculean restraint, over the better part of two hours. Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan
November 21, 2008
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

[An] exquisitely rendered story of reconciliation and redemption, which has something of a thriller's structure but is really all about relationships. Full Review

Colin Covert
November 20, 2008
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

I've Loved You So Long is about the repercussions of tragedy, the difficulty of being supportive, the need for patience in the face of despair. Without saying much, Scott Thomas carries the entire ent... Full Review

Steven Rea
November 14, 2008
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Kristin Scott Thomas gives a performance that is so chilling, so braced in pain that it's almost impossible to bear. Almost impossible, because, in fact, it's impossible not to behold this riveting pi... Full Review

Rick Groen
November 7, 2008
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

Without Kristin Scott Thomas, I've Loved You So Long would be a watchable but hardly a memorable movie. Full Review

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