The Beat That My Heart Skipped

(aka "The Beat that My Heart Skipped' or 'De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté" )

directed by Jacques Audiard
France 2005

In tune with the theme of the film, ”The Beat that my Heart Skipped” is more a variation of James Toback’s 1978 “Fingers”, than a reversion or remake. While characters, situations and plot elements are shared, mood and tone are different, similar to the same melody being played in two different variations and styles.

Looking solely on “The Beat that my Heart Skipped”, it (still) is a stunning and intense character study of a man torn between two worlds, the one dominated by his father and crime, the other by his talent and passion for music.

In many ways, I prefer Audiard’s variation to the one by Toback. Its tone and mood is more erratic, more distracted, having a hard time focussing, which adds strength to the struggles of Thomas Seyr, who never seem to be able to focus, except when committing acts of violence or playing the piano. His mind is not only torn between these two worlds, but also between the legacy of his late mother, who played the piano, and his gangster father, who has grown old, as well as between working on a project with some friends and his own project of playing the piano.

The mise-en-scene by Audiard is also more free and fluid than Toback, as if it doesn’t have to make a point of each composition, but just record it. One can argue that Audiard’s variation is liberated from the formulaic Hollywood style, which forces us – the audience – to pay attention, rather than the mise-en-scene to force attention upon us.

With a stunning performance by Romain Duris as Thomas Seyr, “The Beat that my Heart Skipped” is a painful character study of a man who attempts to find not only himself but also his place in the world. Not to be missed.

Henrik Sylow

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Theatrical Release: February 17, 2005 (Berlin International Film Festival)

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DVD Review: Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL

Big thanks to Henrik Sylow for the Review!

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Artificial Eye Region 2 - PAL
Runtime	1:42:21
Video	1.82:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.39 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Audio	2.0 Dolby Digital Frensh, 5.1 Dolby Digital Frensh
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Artificial Eye Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.82:1 Edition Details: • Interviews • - Jacques Audiard (17:56) • - Jacques Audiard UK Exclusive (31:35) • - Tonino Benacquista (8:22) • - Alexandre Desplat (5:43) • 34 Deleted Scenes (24:44) • Rehearsal Footage (9:48) • Q&A London October 6th 2005 (49:09) • Original Theatrical Trailer (1:58) DVD Release Date: March 26, 2006 Double Amaray Chapters 16

Comments

A stunning transfer. Flawless, no artefacts, original colour palette. It simply looks beautiful.

Sound comes in either 2.0 Dolby Digital or 5.1 Dolby Digital, and here I prefer the 2.0, as it sounds more "focussed" than the surround.

Additional material consists of four quiet in-depth interviews in regards to film, material, source and thematics, some deleted scenes and an excellent Q&A.

- Henrik Sylow

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Subtitles - Captures resized from 1016 to 800