Regular Lovers

Veteran director Philippe Garrel’s poky black-and-white drama follows several young artists dealing with the aftermath of the May 1968 riots in Paris: sensitive poet François (played by the director’s son Louis, who starred in Bernardo Bertolucci’s far superior May ’68 film The Dreamers); his lover Lilie, an emotionally conflicted sculptress; and the wealthy Antoine, who numbs himself with opium. After throwing rocks and overturning a few cars in the streets, the de-politicized youths indulge in nearly three hours of ineffable, ubiquitous (and extremely boring) ennui. Despite some impressively stark photography and one sequence that makes brilliant use of the Kinks classic “This Time Tomorrow,” Regular Lovers only makes one wonder if there’s a French-language equivalent for “wank-job.”