Love Me If You Dare( French title:Jeux d'enfants— "Children's Games" in English) is a 2003 French film directed by Yann Samuell .

The film begins in a small town in Belgium, where a little girl, Sophie, is being bullied by other children. Only a bus driver and a boy, Julien, help her collect her books that the others have thrown into a puddle.

To cheer Sophie up, Julien gives her a small tin box, a gift from his fatally ill mother. Because it is important to him, he asks her to lend it back to him from time to time. As Julien wants the box back at the moment he gave it to her, Sophie demands proof of how important it is to him. Julien disengages the handbrake of the bus without hesitation, and the bus full of children rolls down a hill. Their game has begun: the box changes its owner after each completed dare.

Between the son of wealthy Belgian parents and the daughter of poor Polish immigrants a lasting friendship develops. As children they misbehave in school, wreak havoc on a wedding, and ask silly tasks of each other. As teenagers their lovers have to suffer because of their dares. Meanwhile, the two friends ignore any consequences or punishment during their game.

While they are always looking for the next kick, a love is slowly evolving between the protagonists. Not wanting to admit it, they divert their attention from it by even more extreme dares.

As young adults, Julien tells Sophie that he wants to get married, only later revealing that he means to someone else. The climax is reached when Sophie interrupts Julien's wedding, after which he is cast out by his father and Sophie nearly killed during another game. Julien returns to marry his wife, and Sophie declares that they will not see each other for ten years.

Ten years pass, and Julien is married with two children. Sophie has also married, her husband a famous soccer star. A successful Julien admits that he has not forgotten Sophie, though he assumes that she has forgotten him. On the night of Julien's tenth wedding anniversary, Sophie sends a message to him, indicating that the game is back on. Julien and Sophie meet for a brief moment in the midst of another dare, yet it is enough to remind Julien that their game is "better than life itself." After a dramatic accident, Julien and Sophie finally reunite, despite the protestations of their spouses.

The film has two alternate endings , which are shown consequently. In the first, Julien and Sophie decide as an ultimate dare to finally share their dream together, their "dream of an eternal love" – the pair embrace while they stand in a construction pit that is about to be filled with cement. The other ending has the now aged Julien and Sophie spending time together in a garden and carrying on playing their game with milder dares. However, the opening scene of the film (an overhead view of a building site and a pit filled with cement in which upper side Julien's tin box rests partly sunk) resurges, suggesting that the two friends actually did bury themselves in cement.

Cast

• Guillaume Canet – Julien Janvier
• Marion Cotillard – Sophie Kowalsky
• Thibault Verhaeghe – 8 year old Julien
• Joséphine Lebas-Joly – 8 year old Sophie
• Emmanuelle Grönvold – Julien's mother
• Gérard Watkins – Julien's father
• Gilles Lellouche – Sergei Nimov Nimovitch
• Julia Faure – Sophie's sister
• Laetizia Venezia – Christelle Louise Bouchard
• Élodie Navarre – Aurélie Miller
• Nathalie Nattier – 80-year-old Sophie
• Robert Willar – 80-year-old Julien
• Frédéric Geerts – Igor
• Manuela Sanchez – Teacher
• Philippe Drecq – School headmaster

Imagery

The film's visual style also reflects the setting: while Julien and Sophie are children, the world is slightly fuzzy, and everything is bright and colourful. As they grow older, the film becomes sharper, and the colour more realistic. In a hypothetical scene of the two as an elderly couple, the film again becomes fuzzy, but now has a definite sepia tint.

Soundtrack

The song " La Vie en Rose " permeates the film and dominates much of the soundtrack . Several distinct versions are used, including the Édith Piaf original, covers by Donna Summer , Louis Armstrong , the Brazilian A cappella group Trio Esperança, and French pop artist Zazie , as well as a handful of instrumental cuts. Coincidentally, Marion Cotillard went on to win an Oscar for her portrayal of Piaf in the filmLa Vie en Rose, also calledLa Môme. Additionally, Cotillard was subsequently cast inInception, a science-fiction thriller where Piaf's song, " Non, je ne regrette rien " plays a key role.

A piano arrangement, Ouverture by Philippe Rombi, can also be heard throughout the film.

Actors in real life

In real life Marion Cotillard currently lives with Guillaume Canet. Many reports say the couple prefers to live a simple lifestyle, and they are often spotted in cafes and shopping together in Paris . Neither star discusses their relationship with the media, although photos of the couple being affectionate regularly surface in the European tabloids. The two lovers are expecting their first baby in May 2011.

References