I saw "La fleur du mal" at the San Sebastian Film Festival last september. Certainly, this last Chabrol film isn't a great movie, though it's not an awful movie either. One has the feeling while watching it (and after having it watched)that it is all filmed with too much distance, too cold, no emotions whatsoever. Chabrol's study of a french, provincial, upper-bourgeousie family, that is rotten to its roots (they are all a bunch of hypocrites), lacks of passion, interest (you have seen this story many times on film) and, in my opinion, of humor and sarcasm. But I insist, its not a terrible movie(with ticket prices so high nowadays, at least here in spain, sometimes you just have to get mad while watching some movies lately); its just too long, too conventional and too plain.
Reviews
3 Reviews
Visible Secret
(2001)
Funny...unintentionally
21 June 2002
Well, I saw this movie during the last San Sebastian Film Festival. The reaction to it was...let's say as funny as the movie unintetionally is. It happened that they showed a copy with terribly wrong spanish subtitles. They seemed to be a translation from chinese to english and then to spanish. It was all confusing, the genders were switched (girls appeared as boys and boys as girls), and my friends and I remember great lines... but because they were so absurd. All in all not a good movie, but if they ever show it on tv, and you have nothing to do, and if you want to laugh (again, not so much with the movie) then go ahead, "Visible secret" is your film.
And Your Mother Too
(2001)
A great movie
1 October 2001
I have just come back from the International Film Festival in San Sebastian (Spain), where I had the chance to see this wonderful film, and there's no doubt that it was one of the best ones seen there.
It is a funny, intelligent movie; I can only recommend it. However, viewers in the US will probably not be able to see the entire movie, as its explicit (not really that explicit, but I guess for US censors they are) sex scenes will be "soften" (I couldnt think why you should do it, really). And also, part of its funniness (however you say this) rests on the mexican spanish (which is slightly different from our castillian spanish) and how mexicans express themselves, so non-spanish-speakers may not find it as amusing; but then maybe they will, I dont know.
Great film, great actors, and most of all, a great script. So, if you are wondering if you should watch it, dont doubt, go right away!
It is a funny, intelligent movie; I can only recommend it. However, viewers in the US will probably not be able to see the entire movie, as its explicit (not really that explicit, but I guess for US censors they are) sex scenes will be "soften" (I couldnt think why you should do it, really). And also, part of its funniness (however you say this) rests on the mexican spanish (which is slightly different from our castillian spanish) and how mexicans express themselves, so non-spanish-speakers may not find it as amusing; but then maybe they will, I dont know.
Great film, great actors, and most of all, a great script. So, if you are wondering if you should watch it, dont doubt, go right away!
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