This is clearly the most somber and ambitious film directed and
written by Julie Delpy. (_The Countess_, about the infamous
Bathory who bathes herself in servant girls' blood, is pretty
brutal too, but psychologically it is no match for this one!)
Eschewing the comedy genre which she is so good at, _My Zoe_
gives Delpy the actress the tragic heroine role which she hasn't
played in some time. She is astonishing in it -- it is a shame
she did not win acting awards. The film is split into two
uneven parts; the first concerns her idyllic life with her
daughter and less-than-idyllic encounters with her ex-husband --
until an accident occurs. The second is the science fictionish
story where cloning occurs. I wonder if Delpy chose the title
_My Zoe_ to contrast with the amazon-produced _Zoe_ starring
Lea Seydoux, also about human cloning. The latter is directed
by a man and clones magically appear, antiseptic in the
extreme. The cloning in _My Zoe_ is in contrast messy
emotionally and physically, involving hormone injections,
multiple miscarriages, tears, despair. The structure of the
film invites comparison between the agony of losing a child
in the first part, and that the pain of failing to get
pregnant in the second. And that's why we should have more
woman writer-directors, that's what art should be about --
giving us new perspectivse. Women tend to be better directors
of actresses too. Gemma Arterton is superb as a grown-up
version of the sassy women she used to play; her presence
in the opening credits foreshadows her crucial choice that
decides the course of the film.

Let me address criticisms from others. (1) Delpy doesn't
act like a scientist: really? I have known at least 100
female PhD scientists and no two of them are alike. (2) The
male actor is "wooden": well you must really hate Ingmar
Bergman's films. I struggle to remember a single male
character in his films who is as lively as Dany Boon in
Delpy's _Lolo_. In fact he scenes between Delpy and her
ex are like Bergmansque marriage gladitorial combat; they
draw blood, but are now told from a woman's point of view.
And finally, (3) the film is not well written: I think the screenplay
is admirably challenging and brave. Like many European films
these days it has a novelistic structure, with two uneven parts
that barely intersect: Ondaatje's _Divisadero_ is the perfect
frame of reference. More American films should do this.

Above all, _My Zoe_ challenges us about bioethics (as some
has said). Delpy's character has given the most eloquent and
powerful argument for cloning ever. Why doesn't she get to
choose? In a week that a rogue state in the US has unilaterally
imposed its extremist, fundamentalist vision of Sharia Law
on its people and the U.S. Supreme Court has failed to protect
our freedom, the debates sparked by this film are more urgent
than ever.

(for A.)

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