Main Cast: Juliette Binoche, Jean Reno, Sergi López
Release Year: 2002
Country: FR/UK
Run Time: 91 minutes
Plot
Two of the biggest stars of the French cinema bring their contrasting styles together in this lively romantic comedy. Rose (Juliette Binoche) is an emotional makeup artist who is hoping to get out of a bad relationship with her boyfriend, Sergio (Sergi Lopez), by leaving him in Paris and heading off to Mexico for a holiday. After losing her cell phone, Rose borrows one from Felix (Jean Reno), a somewhat stiff salesman with an interest in gourmet cooking, who is en route toMunich to attend a funeral. When both Rose and Felix find themselves grounded due to changes in flight scheduling and a transportation strike strands them at the airport, they end up sharing a room at a nearby hotel, where their contrasting personalities make the evening rough sledding for them both. As their unexpected stay wears on, will these opposites begin to attract? ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Veteran screenwriter Danièle Thompson re-teams with her son Christopher Thompson (following their first collaboration, La Bûche) for the talky romantic comedy Décalage Horaire. The elder Thompson crafts excellent dialogue for this character-driven trifle, with the two leading superstars sharing quirky moments together and making genuine comedy. Juliette Binoche makes a thoughtful glamour queen out of Rose, whose persistent makeup routine seems to double as a self-styled therapy session. The scruffy, baggy-eyed Jean Reno makes an uptight but ultimately sincere romantic lead in the gourmet chef Felix. Somehow their combined screen presence and intimate conversation makes up for the implausible meeting. Major Spanish film star Sergi Lopez also shows up in a cameo just to throw an abusive fit, but he leaves little impression. The unlikely friendship plot is cleverly if unbelievably conceived during the first half, but the inevitable romantic conclusion is way more happy than it needs to be. The strange placement of the much-used and melancholy Midnight Cowboy theme seems out of place as featured at the most frothy final act. For the most part, Décalage Horaire is harmless enough as a light, feel-good romantic comedy and nothing more. Stick around during the credits for an English-language recipe for Felix's veal mignonettes. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Jet Lag (French: Décalage Horaire) is a 2002 film starring Juliette Binoche and Jean Reno. It is the second film directed by Danièle Thompson, after the 1999 release La Bûche.
At Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, a French beautician (Juliette Binoche) on her way to a new job in Mexico accidentally meets a French cook (Jean Reno) who has been delayed on his way to Germany from his residence in the United States. Labor strikes, bad weather, and pure luck cause the two of them to share a room overnight at the airport Hilton hotel. Their initial mutual indifference and downright hostility evolves into romance and a reexamination of their lives.
Danièle Thompson originally wrote the script for Miramax Films in the early 1990s with Isabelle Adjani attached to star in an English language version.(source: allocine.fr)
Danièle Thompson obtained permission to film at Charles de Gaulle Airport prior to September 11, 2001. After the terrorist attacks permission was withdrawn. Thompson then obtained permission to use Lourdes Airport, but was not convinced that viewers would believe it was Charles de Gaulle Airport. Eventually she managed to gain 10 seconds access to Charles de Gaulle Airport. The rest was filmed on sets and in Libby Airport.
Décalage Horaire is the second collaboration of mother and son writing team Danièle Thompson & Christophe Thompson after the 1999 film La Bûche.
