''I Love You, I Love You Not'' is a 1996 American romantic drama film directed by Billy Hopkins and written (also the play) by

Wendy Kesselman Wendy Kesselman is an American playwright. Life Wendy Kesselman came to the Actors Theater of Louisville in 1980. She lives in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Awards She won the 1981 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, for ''My Sister in this House''. ...

Plot

The film is told through the stories of two women: Nana, a grandmother, and Daisy, her granddaughter. Daisy tells Nana of her strong and blossoming romance with a young man named Ethan and her problems at school because she is Jewish. Nana tells the story of her young life when she was sent to a

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...

and then a

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

. The

romantic love Romance or romantic love is a feeling of love for, or a strong attraction towards another person, and the courtship behaviors undertaken by an individual to express those overall feelings and resultant emotions. The ''Wiley Blackwell Ency ...

feelings she has for the boy are indeed strong and genuine, but the romantic love he has for her is questionable. Ethan lets his friends judge her from the outside, not for who she is on the inside. And when she turns out to not be like every other girl he breaks up with her. Daisy is sad so she goes and sees Nana and takes her anger out on her. She then runs away and tries to kill herself by walking in front of a moving train but she does not as her nana is there for her. At the end, she tries to see him again but he looks at her for a long time and walks away with his friends. She stands there; heartbroken, sad and crying, realizing that maybe it was not meant to be and she walks away happy.

Cast

* Jeanne Moreau as Nana *

Claire Danes Claire Catherine Danes (born April 12, 1979) is an American actress. She is the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2012, ''Time'' named her one of the 100 most influenti ...

as Daisy/Young Nana * Jude Law as Ethan * James Van Der Beek as Tony *Kris Park as Seth *Lauren Fox as Alsion *Emily Burkes-Nossiter as Jessica *Carrie Szlasa as Jane *

Julia Stiles Julia O'Hara Stiles (born March 28, 1981) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Stiles began acting at the age of 11 as part of New York's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. Her film debut was a small role in ''I'' ''Love Yo ...

as Young Nana's Friend *

Robert Sean Leonard Robert Lawrence Leonard (born February 28, 1969), known by his stage name Robert Sean Leonard, is an American actor. He is best known for playing Dr. James Wilson in the television series ''House'' (2004–2012) and Neil Perry in the film ''Dea ...

as Angel of Death *Frederick Neumann as School Principal *Peter F. Hopkins as Mr. Douglas *Jerry Tanklow as Mr. Gilman

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, it has a approval rating based on reviews, with an average score of .

External links

* * * 1996 films American romantic drama films English-language French films English-language German films Films about Jews and Judaism French romantic drama films German romantic drama films British romantic drama films Films about families Films about the aftermath of the Holocaust 1990s teen drama films Films set in Manhattan American films based on plays Films shot in New York (state) Films shot in Germany 1996 romantic drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films 1990s British films 1990s French films 1990s German films {{1990s-romantic-drama-film-stub