Valley of Love | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

73% Tomatometer 56 Reviews 53% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings

A man (Gérard Depardieu) and his ex-wife (Isabelle Huppert) reunite in Death Valley, Calif., after they both receive a letter from their dead son.

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Valley of Love

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Critics Consensus

Powerful performances from Isabelle Huppert and Gérard Depardieu help Valley of Love compensate for the drift of a story that doesn't fully explore its intriguing themes.

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Critics Reviews

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Valley of Love | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Ed Potton Times (UK) It plays out like a Gallic version of The Trip, the sitcom starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, but with fewer gags. Rated: 3/5 Oct 10, 2016 Full Review Valley of Love | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Wendy Ide Observer (UK) The colour palette of bleached bone whites and brilliant blues, and the haunting music of Charles Ives add to the odd, mesmerising atmosphere. Rated: 4/5 Aug 14, 2016 Full Review Valley of Love | Rotten Tomatoes (3) David Jenkins Little White Lies Promises much, but ends up feeling strangely underpowered and insincere. Rated: 2/5 Aug 12, 2016 Full Review Valley of Love | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Vadim Rizov Filmmaker Magazine The movie builds to a surprisingly straightforward jab at the emotional solar plexus, which worked for me. Jan 18, 2023 Full Review Valley of Love | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Jane Freebury The Canberra Times (Australia) Valley of Love is a double treat. Aug 22, 2022 Full Review Valley of Love | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Lucía Ros Serra Espinof It tries to create a somewhat ghostly atmosphere that ends up not delving into the subject of loss and its confrontation. [Full Review in Spanish] May 14, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Une performance impressionnante de Depardieu qui nous rappelle ainsi qu'il est toujours l'acteur audacieux et polyvalent parfaitement a l'aise chez Moliere, Blier, Duras, sur scene avec Barbara, ÃÂ Hollywood ou plus recemment en Belgique dans Mammuth et Valley of Love. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Audience Member Almost an Huppert vs. Depardieu movie. It also happens to be a story about family, loss and love. It might lack some narrative depth but it still works as yet another example of the irresistible minimalism of French cinema. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member THE FRENCH ARE COMING, THE FRENCH ARE COMING: My take on the flims #Lolo, #ValleyofLove and #My Golden Days http://ow.ly/10jLjY Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Kinda' like Jim Jarmusch and Wim Wenders collaborating to re-make the Parent Trap. Slow, subtitled and at times excrutiating, in so many ways... but overall I couldn't take my eyes off it. Even when my girlfriend begged me to leave because she was so bored after the first 20 minutes. Full of stylized french "meaning". Subtle, complex, nuanced, symbolic. Kinda' a puzzle that requires you to put the pieces together. The sort of movie audiences don't like but critics do. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member The desperate search for the lost child, and as a corollary, for love as well. The desert is hot and dry, vast and mountainous and the physicalities of Huppert, with her bitterness and flame-coloured looks, and Depardieu who is monumental, reflect it exactly. The desert echoes their profound loneliness. The film portrays the loss that happens now so easily In the age of blocking, deleting, unfriending and the like, and even the resort only to skype for contact. The acting performances are sans pareil; you find out how naturalistic they are, because of how uncomfortable you feel, even when they are being humorous, which is often enough. The fantastic landscapes and the oppressive atmosphere pose a constant menace. You are carried along and surprised when it ends. For adults only, this is an item of classic proportions. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Audience Member cinegeek.de Manchmal lese ich den Plot eines Films und kann mir dann unmöglich vorstellen, dass ich mich damit anfreunden könnte. Die Ausgangssituation von Valley Of Love ist so ein Fall: Ein älteres Ehepaar, seit langem getrennt, verbringt auf Wunsch des verstorbenen Sohns eine Woche gemeinsam im Death Valley. Die Besetzung mit Gerard Depardieu und Isabelle Huppert tat ein Übriges, dass ich normalerweise Abstand genommen hätte. Und dann der schlimme Titel Valley Of Love! Wir hören Charles Ives The Unanswered Question, ein Stück, das wie für diesen Film komponiert erscheint. Es drückt das Geflecht aus offenen Fragen und Gefühlen aus, die nun im Todestal aufgeworfen werden. Huppert spielt Isabelle, deren Sohn sich umgebracht hat. Warum hat er das getan? Womöglich, weil sie sich schon früh von ihm abgewendet hatte? Ist er überhaupt tot? Der Sohn Michael schrieb vor seinem Selbstmord zwei Briefe. Einen an den Vater Gerard, einen an die Mutter Isabelle, mit der Anweisung, sich an einem bestimmten Datum im Death Valley einzufinden. Würden sie die Bitte erfüllen, erschiene er ihnen ein letztes Mal... Isabelle klammert sich an die Wiederkehr des Sohnes fast wahnhaft. Dem Vater sind solche Fragen fremd: Natürlich trügen sie die Verantwortung für den Tod des Sohnes, schliesslich hätten sie ihm auch das Leben geschenkt. The Unanswered Question legt verschiedene Ebenen übereinander, die miteinander klingen: Eine einzelne Trompete über dem Gewirr von Streichern. So ähnlich funktioniert der Film von Guillaume Nicloux, was vor allem dem Schauplatz des Death Valley geschuldet ist. Hier wird die Grenze zwischen Fiktion und Wirklichkeit porös. Isabelle hofft auf ein Wunder, Gerard stapft infach nur schwitzend auf und ab. Erleben wir gerade mit ihnen die Geister, die einen ein Leben lang nicht mehr loslassen? Habe ich dem Film Unrecht getan? mehr auf cinegeek.de Rated 2.5/5 Stars • Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

Guillaume Nicloux Director Isabelle Huppert Isabelle Gérard Depardieu Gérard Dan Warner Paul Aurélia Thierrée Femme couple Dionne Houle La vieille dame
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Synopsis A man (Gérard Depardieu) and his ex-wife (Isabelle Huppert) reunite in Death Valley, Calif., after they both receive a letter from their dead son.

Director
Guillaume Nicloux

Producer
Sylvie Pialat, Benoît Quainon

Screenwriter
Guillaume Nicloux

Distributor
Strand Releasing

Production Co
Les Films du Worso, DD Productions, Scope Pictures, France 3 Cinéma, LGM Productions

Genre
Drama

Original Language
English

Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 25, 2016, Limited

Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 14, 2016

Box Office (Gross USA)
$28.3K

Runtime
1h 32m

Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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