Switch to Desktop Site  A royal bow for 'Kings and Queen'
'Kings and Queen' is a rich tale of familial reconciliations.
About these ads  The so-called queen in "Kings and Queen," the
most luminous European import so far this year, isn't a royal
highness. She's a working woman and single mom named Nora. The
so-called kings are the men who've populated her life, and some
of them are far from kingly.  One is a recent lover who killed
himself. Another is her second husband, Ismaël, a musician she
married after her first husband died. Ismaël is likeable, but
he's also a psychological mess.  It's to him that Nora must turn
when she learns her aging father's life is coming to an end,
raising concerns about the future security of Elias, her young
child.  Narratives with intertwined subplots are fashionable
nowadays. French filmmaker Arnaud Desplechin gives unusual unity
to his many-layered movie, though, crafting a sometimes
intricate story with diverse elements that dovetail just
beautifully in the closing scene,