It’s three hours long, in French, features stark high-contrast black and white cinematography, and was made and released in its native country three years ago. So why is Regular Lovers the arthouse sensation of New York right now?

Because it’s there. And it’s great. Working on a Rivettian scale of narrative sprawl but keeping his work so intensely personal, autobiographical, and winsomely romantic, Philippe Garrel’s Regular Lovers (2004) is his first film since the late 60s to get a US release. Singlehandedly, it would have redeemed 2006 as a year for cinema. But no matter - it stands as the first great US release of 2007. Following Francois (Louis Garrel) as he participates in the Night of the Barricades, dodges conscription, meets a girl and lives in a makeshift commune (the sprawling townhouse of a rich friend), it’s got this intimately personal sensibility to it - yes, much of it was based on Garrel the Elder’s experiences as a young revolutionary in May of 1968, and yes, casting his own son as his surrogate adds, but there’s this intimacy to the rich, textured camerawork and an entirely loving evocation of character - they dance (in an incredible sequence, to The Kinks’ “This Time Tomorrow”), they laze around smoking opium, they think about becoming more active in their revolution, but ultimately, they’re happy to simply not grow up.

And yeah, it’s long. It feels long - the film is sectioned into three distinct segments, given chapter headings, and edited elliptically, but without a lot cut out - the Night of the Barricades, the least narrative-oriented segment of the film, alone must last a reel and a half. Regular Lovers is so much more than the calculated titillation and unproductive nostalgia of The Dreamers - here, Garrel’s search into his own past gives a look at the character of youth in general. I’m so in love with this movie - I might just throw another three hours at it at some point in the next week…

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