I love this movie so much

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

A Disappointing Continuation

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

"Thomas In Love (Thomas est amoureux)" is one of the most creative imaginings of social life in the future I've seen since "Gattaca." So many sci fi movies are only technology oriented, while "Thomas" is about people. It entertainingly satirizes and compares the meaning and purposes of erotic video games, cyber/virtual sex and computer dating services with basic human relationships. The plot twists and turns so I'm not exactly sure which characters/institutions are manipulating whom to whose advantage and goals. The conceit of never seeing the face of the protagonist works ingeniously as you see all the action from his, and only his, perspective, specifically his computer terminal.When "Thomas" comes out in video, it could become a cult hit if it dubs the French-speaking Belgians; this is the first foreign film I've ever seen that I might be willing to watch dubbed on the small screen as reading the subtitles changes the video-vision sub-text.(originally written 8/19/01)

***caution: may contains SPOILERS*** "Thomas in Love" is an obscure, offbeat, but truly amazing and original film. There's probably a few reasons why it's so obscure; it's from Belgium (which isn't really famous for its films), it was released by a tiny independent company in North America, and it was unfairly handed an NC-17 rating. The main character, Thomas, is an agoraphobe who hasn't left his house or had anyone inside of his house for 8 years. The film is all about his day-to-day interaction through his "visiophone", including mother/son interaction, dating clubs, insurance agents, psychologists, and even an online prostitute service and cybersex! First of all, the film is told entirely from the first person point of view. We never see the main character, Thomas, at all. We only hear his voice. Since Thomas is agoraphobic, this unique narrative really lets us become his character and feel his illness, and all of the isolation, loneliness and heartache he is going through. The idea that the film takes place entirely from images on Thomas' "visiophone" (basically a futuristic combination of a computer, telephone and webcam) may sound a bit boring to some.. but the director keeps things interesting by giving us tons of unique visuals, snarky dialogue and a number of unpredictably interesting situations for us to follow. One interesting touch in particular is the video feedback of the people that Thomas communicates with; the video quality of each person's visiophone basically indicates their financial status, which I thought was a nice touch. The film is very evenly paced; the director opts to keep things short and sweet rather than dragging things out and going for excess. This keeps the film engrossing and ensures that there will not be any boring moments. He leaves a lot of things (especially the ending) wide open for us to think about. This film serves as many things... it's about a mental illness, but it is also a piece of social commentary about how the internet can possibly change the way we communicate even further than it already has.... not to mention, the possibilitlies it has for reclusive people. In a way, too, it is also like a futuristic sci-fi movie. Is this what the future will be like, with visiophones and cybersex suits and online prostitutes? It's a very thought-provoking film, probably best seen with a group of people as it will make for great discussion afterwards. If you are tired of the typical mental illness films (ie - ones that are overly dramatic, sentimental, completely with a supposedly "award calibre" performance complete with weird facial movements and fluttering speech) then you should really give "Thomas in Love" a rental. Don't be misled by the NC-17 rating and the beginning of the film; this is not a pornographic cartoon, and the "Sextoon" thing is only a small part in the overall film. The ratings board should be slapped hard in the face for giving this film that rating; it is quite bad that this quite innocent film has a harsher rating than films like "8MM" and "Hannibal". But, considering that Americans are afraid of sex, it's not surprising. Anyway, if you're looking for a truly unique and original film-going experience, I would highly recommend this film to you. It is a beautiful film that deserves to become a cult favorite.

Here are 5 reasons why one would like to see Renders' Thomas in Love: 1. As long as the film, you look at a computer screen without getting bored, it is fun. 2. If you are interested in the near future of computer technology, Thomas visualizes that for you. 3. If you are interested in psychology, Thomas is about the need for communication and love, of a human being. 4. Thomas questions the virtual part of our lives. 5. If you are interested in space, you will find some spaces in Thomas in different media.

I enjoyed this movie for a couple of reasons.Reminiscent of Paul Cox's "Lonely Hearts" it uses the love story format to illustrate the need for emotionally crippled people to connect. It also shows a future world of communications which rings very true because we are almost there. Unfortunately, the use of the first person camera ruins what could have been a truly great movie.The first person camera seems like a good cinematic idea but it is not. Instead of enhancing the viewer's emotional transference (which would be the goal), it detracts from it. The reason might be illustrated by the comments of a sensitive and attractive young lady I saw on a newsmagazine the other night. She had lost her sight and then recovered it. When asked what she had missed seeing most, her answer was immediate: "herself".Maybe someone in Hollywood will get a hold of this one and do it right.