...how a boy loves his girlfriend so much, thinks about her every day, yet leaves her for an eternity, knowing that it will break her heart, without thinking twice.
As if unaware of her suffering (though in fact he is), he talks about being with other girls (while still thinking about her). Yet love is just that, it's incomprehensible, and any attempt to explain, to rationalize it is a futile effort. It's easy to judge the character Sullivan as an irresponsible adolescent who just had it too good and went off to search for hardship in an attempt to ward off boredom (in English there's a word for people like him, I think it might be "jerk"). Yet one can't deny that he indeed loves Camille, probably as much as she loves him, if love can be measured, but just in an entirely different way. Just like what the two of them had come to terms with when they were reunited that the only thing they can agree on is that they always disagree, the ways they think, live, and even love, is the two polarizing ends of the spectrum. As viewers, it's easy to judge Sullivan, yet Camille never does. She takes him for who he is, she understands and accepts his actions as best as she could, while of course being unable to bear the emotions that any "normal" person would feel being dumped for no reason, out of nowhere, for an unknown period of time.
But maybe, just maybe, Sullivan just didn't know what to do with the kind of love they had for each other, when he himself didn't know who he was, what he wanted to do, what he wanted from life. Extremely selfish, yes. Despicable? Hardly. Everyone has the right to "discover" themselves on their own, yet still not lose the person they love. Of course that's not exactly how life works, and many young people in fact experience the same ending for their first love. When they were old enough to love, and too young to know what to do with it. Yet it is difficult to forget, once you have loved.
Yes, the movie is slow and nothing happens (that you weren't able to predict). If that's not your cup of tea, please go watch something exciting, because life sure isn't.
As if unaware of her suffering (though in fact he is), he talks about being with other girls (while still thinking about her). Yet love is just that, it's incomprehensible, and any attempt to explain, to rationalize it is a futile effort. It's easy to judge the character Sullivan as an irresponsible adolescent who just had it too good and went off to search for hardship in an attempt to ward off boredom (in English there's a word for people like him, I think it might be "jerk"). Yet one can't deny that he indeed loves Camille, probably as much as she loves him, if love can be measured, but just in an entirely different way. Just like what the two of them had come to terms with when they were reunited that the only thing they can agree on is that they always disagree, the ways they think, live, and even love, is the two polarizing ends of the spectrum. As viewers, it's easy to judge Sullivan, yet Camille never does. She takes him for who he is, she understands and accepts his actions as best as she could, while of course being unable to bear the emotions that any "normal" person would feel being dumped for no reason, out of nowhere, for an unknown period of time.
But maybe, just maybe, Sullivan just didn't know what to do with the kind of love they had for each other, when he himself didn't know who he was, what he wanted to do, what he wanted from life. Extremely selfish, yes. Despicable? Hardly. Everyone has the right to "discover" themselves on their own, yet still not lose the person they love. Of course that's not exactly how life works, and many young people in fact experience the same ending for their first love. When they were old enough to love, and too young to know what to do with it. Yet it is difficult to forget, once you have loved.
Yes, the movie is slow and nothing happens (that you weren't able to predict). If that's not your cup of tea, please go watch something exciting, because life sure isn't.