By Staci Layne Wilson
@StaciWilson

Beginning in the early 90s and unfolding over the next two decades, the French-language feature Eden is divided into two parts: “Paradise Garage” and “Lost in Music.” The film follows Paul (Félix de Givry), a teenager ensconced in the underground long before it was cool to be nerdy. Rave parties dominate popular culture, but Paul is drawn to the slower, more soulful rhythms of Chicago’s garage house music.

He forms a DJ collective and calls it Cheers, after the American television series. It’s “New York garage with a Parisian twist,” in the words of a radio host who interviews the members of Cheers early on in their career. In a parallel storyline, two of Paul’s friends form Daft Punk. They float throughout the movie, and of course eventually win huge worldwide success. Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (Arnaud Azoulay) and Thomas Bangalter (Vincent Lacoste) are portrayed in an interesting, if too brief, way. While Cheers wobbles under the radar, Paul and his wannabe posse plunge into an ephemeral nightlife of sex, drugs, and mish-mash music.

American actress Greta Gerwig plays Julia, the love of Paul’s life. The one who got away. Leaving him with nothing but a letter and a goodbye, he tries to forget her – but he can’t. When he goes to America on tour years later, he looks her up. He finds her married, and heavily pregnant.

Director Mia Hansen-Løve co-wrote the screenplay with her brother, Sven, who was a DJ for 20 years before becoming a writer. The cinematographer Denis Lenoir colorfully captures club scenes in radiant reds, blues, and greens, which illustrate the almost opiate allure that the melded music holds for the central characters in Eden. The tunes, and the spinning equipment, are wholly accurate and sure to stir a lot of nostalgia for those who remember the early days of DJ glory.

It’s a gorgeously made movie and I wanted to like it, but Eden is far too long to sustain interest in a story that’s so complex, unfocused and meandering. (If you’re looking for a really great French film with a DJ as its central character, I highly recommend Café De Flore.)

131 Minutes
Not Rated

Find out more about Eden at its official site.

EDEN Movie Review – Insert Record Scratch Here