"A middle-aged housewife’s desire, long before Desperate Housewives and so far away from its cynicism. Two desperate and tender films. From Jane Wyman to Brigitte Mira, from Rock Hudson to El Hedi ben Salem, from the United States to Germany, from the fifties to the seventies, a lesson in remaking."

"And speaking of which… (Jeffrey Eugenides nearly ruined him for me - cf. The Marriage Plot - but I’ll get over it.) What has become some sort of bullshit semiotic touchstone for asshole academics is in fact terrifying, pathetically human: he’s like a tender mathematician — perhaps more like Primo Levi — dissecting the holocaust that is Love."

"“This French writer was new to me; I found his novel in a hurry at the airport. It’s very funny, full of insight on being arrogant and getting old, and on being a servant who is generous of spirit. Humility, grumpiness, some tender love, and brutal violence. I will now investigate all of Garnier’s other books — there are about 60!”"

"I feel the performances are great and I love how it’s funny, it’s dramatic, but it’s also really, really honest. There’s some beautifully tender moments because it has that honesty. It was amazing to watch when I was younger. It’s amazing to watch now. Whenever that’s on HBO, I can’t not watch it. I just love the film. I love the film."