Leonardo DiCaprio plays 19th-century French poet Arthur Rimbaud as a latter-day street punk whose answer to every challenge is brash naughtiness. The 16-year-old Rimbaud shacks up with established poet Paul Verlaine, played by David Thewlis (NAKED). The two have a passionate, abusive
affair in which Verlaine's pregnant wife (Romane Bohringer) gets the worst of things; the title possibly refers to their judgment. Polish director Agnieska Holland (EUROPA, EUROPA) paid no mind to the actors' accents during casting, and the melange of British, French and American speech helps sink
a film that's already foundering under the weight of its pretentions.
Released:
1995
Rated:
R
Length:
110 mins