davidguy Reviews

Dead Weight (2002)

O Mon Dieu, quelle catastrophe...

[3/10 · 14 April 2002]

This film is a new low point for French recent history of blockbusters... The story is about a pair trying to recover a winning lottery ticket. But it's not easy for the winner Moltès-Lanvin getting hold of a lottery ticket when you have to drag a goofy bloke (Francis-Benoit Poelvoorde) with you. I won't go into the (too) many incredible twists but the story unfolds in Paris, Bamako, Sahara desert... While the acting is all right, especially Belgian comic Poelvoorde, the scenario is way too far-fetched to be enjoyable. Gags are pretty un-funny as well, I'm afraid they will be downright stupid translated. The problem with some French productions in 2002 is that they want to copy US blockbusters but unfortunately the worst ones...

To summarise don't waste your money on thus turkey. 3/10 for Poelvorde!

8 Women (2002)

8 Women: 8 facets of womanhood which drive men crazy...

[10/10 · 8 February 2002]

Francois Ozon is a daring director who never leaves the audience indifferent... 8 Women can be seen as a mysoginist view of womanhood from the viewpoint of a gay director... However I for one saw this movie as great entertainment and excellent showpiece for France's leading screen divas.

8 Woman is a whodunnit not so far from Agatha Christie's 10 Petits Negres: 8 women each have enough reasons to kill the father, in-law, brother and master of the house. Of course I will not tell who killed the man and why, but it is not so important after all. Because 8 Women is first and foremost about womanhood: all facets of the woman exposed through the revelations, attitudes, manipulations of 8 different women: the girl, the blossoming young lady (Ledoyen), the femme fatale (fabulous Ardant), the femme repressed (hilarious Huppert), the bourgeoise (Deneuve), the old stepmother, the lesbian, the sexual and sexy maid (Beart).

This film is all about the cast performance. All women have their sing-a-song moment very apropos and funny. All actors deliver stunningly, especially Ardant, Deneuve and Beart. It is very lighthearted despite the somber revelations: bright colours, golden 50's nostalgic atmosphere, nice pop tunes with fun choreography.

It is great to see that French directors love their actresses whatever their age... Hollywood learn from this, we don't care much about Pamela Anderson or Jennifer Lopez-like babes... Honestly as a young French guy, the 50-something Fanny Ardant is the one who turned me on the most!

Wholeheartedly, 9.5/10

Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

So exquisite!

[9/10 · 27 November 2001]

Even if this is not the masterpiece of the year, it is still very very good entertainment! If you know BBC's Pride and Prejudice, well, this is just the modern version... Same twists and turns... And same very good lead thanks to Renee Zellweger. She is so amazing, so natural as a typical 30 something Brit. Same Mr D'Arcy - Colin Firth should put a copyright on the role as he so embodies D'Arcy. I have to admit that Hugh Grant excelling as the womaniser somehow steals Firth's thunder... Perfect date film of course: chick falling in love for the not-so-gorgeous but attractive man, funny, good music... If I may, 9/10.

Wasabi (2001)

No finesse, but still very entertaining...

[8/10 · 20 November 2001]

Wasabi is the perfect example of French genre films which are competing against Hollywood.

The plot is as thin as a Japanese cracker: former Secret Service agent Hubert (Jean Reno) goes to Japan to meet for the first time his hidden daughter after the death of his Japanese wife and has to protect her from yakuzas who want to recover $200 million. Hubert is helped in his task by a former colleague (Michel Muller, a French comic, so ugly yet so funny)... There are some inconsistencies in the plot but honestly who cares... Wasabi is super slick, with action sequences galore for us guys and some chick scenes (meeting the daughter, mourning the wife) to keep gals awake... Actually it is very much a family film, the theater I went to certainly was full of laughing-loud children. Jean Reno is as good as ever; he is the best in the world to play the tough outside, sensitive inside type of guy. Michel Muller as good as any Eddie Murphy... As to the depiction of Japan, I have lived 2 years in Tokyo, and believe me girls are just this frivolous... (but scenario is a bit hard on yakuza and police officers)

This might not be the French cinema you know in the US and elsewhere, but it is very much the trend in here: cinema as an entertainment, as opposed to a cultural product... I personally don't object to that, as long as we still have the choice with arthouse films...

A generous 8/10...

God Is Great and I'm Not (2001)

Audrey Tautou stars in a so-so comedy

[7/10 · 30 September 2001]

If Amelie had not been released prior to Dieu est Grand, this film would not have had the same exposure...

And it's no surprise. The plot is simple though entertaining; a young girl (Tautou) searches for spirituality in religion and love. Having gone through Catholicism, Buddhism, she meets a Jew (Edouard Baer) and falls in love for him and Judaism... Well, I understood it like this, and I don't think religion plays a great part anyway. It is just a pretext for funny scenes and as a way to show some depth to the character.

Parts of the film are extremely funny, revolving around religion (misunderstandings...) and family troubles (Catherine Jacob as the mom is astounding as usual). However the film drags a bit on the conversion to Judaism and loses the edge in the end completely.

All in all, entertaining, light, but certainly not unforgettable... People who loved Amelie (like myself) will like it for the wonderful Audrey Tautou: she makes the plot ticks by herself. Not to forget Edouard Baer -a renowned and funny TV presenter (he hosts the French Oscar ceremony)- who is charming and credible when he could have overplayed his part easily! My rate: 6-7/10

How I Killed My Father (2001)

Oedipus complex revisited the French way...

[8/10 · 22 September 2001]

The last opus of Anne Fontaine is a combination of two influences: Oedipus complex and Nettoyage A Sec (Fontaine's previous film).

What it takes from the Oedipus story is of course the conflictual relationship between Charles Berling (the son) and Michel Bouquet (the father), and how Berling tries to 'kill' his father to affirm his own identity. From Nettoyage A Sec, the film takes his structure: how a seemingly ideal couple (Berling and Regnier) copes with the unexpected intrusion of the father.

If it were just for the acting, How I killed my Father would deserve a 10. Bouquet and Berling share an astounding intimacy on screen which interestingly happened off the set as well (they wrote a book of thoughts together just after the shoot). Regnier is surprisingly convincing in the beautiful up-class wife; what a versatility after her role in the Dreamlife of Angels when she was a young insecure squatter. However there is no special twist in the storyline, like one which made Nettoyage A Sec so disturbing...

To sum up, a good acting piece which failed to deliver in the drama.

The Piano Teacher (2001)

A good start but a difficult end...

[8/10 · 14 September 2001]

Overall I found this film good: exceptional acting with disturbing scenes (some essential, some useless) and weak second half. CONTAINS SPOILERS The film is divided in 2 parts. I thought the first half of the Pianist was terrific. We meet Erika Kohut (wonderful Isabelle Huppert), a piano teacher, and get introduced to her world. She is single, struggling to find her space against an over-protective and borderline tyrannic mother. We understand that she has lost or has seldom experienced love as a physical+emotional chemistry: she protects herself by being sharp and offensive to people, releases her sexual tensions in sex-shops, as a voyeur, or in sadistic self-mutilations ... This first half is very clinical and builds an incredible tension in the film, almost unbearable.

Then comes Walter, a young, handsome and outgoing man (played superbly by Benoit Magimel). Though he gets to feel Erika's coldness in the beginning, he seduces her and slowly wreaks Erika's fortress. He loves her deeply but she needs him to fulfil her sadistic desires. Then when she is about to fall for him, he is disgusted by her world and in the end we discover that Erika is unable to love or feel at all (especially since Walter is portrayed as someone impossible not to love). This is the second half of the film, very touching as we see Erika's inability/inexperience to love lead her to self-destruction. This second half seemed less mastered by Haneke, and sometimes had non-credible (ie. too shocking) scenes which paradoxically lessened the drama.

Of course, this is a crude film at least in the French version: you see porn sequences from the sex shop, daring mutilation and sex scenes. The much talked-about fellatio scene between Magimel and Huppert was quite good I thought, and is central to understand Erika's sick relation to love. As to the actors, Huppert is marvelous all through the film, Magimel gets better and better up to perfection, and Girardot (the mother) is excellent.

Ridicule (1996)

Gem of subtlety

[9/10 · 6 September 2001]

I have seen this film recently on video after having missed it at the cinema and on TV. I knew it would be all about cruelty of words and superficiality of elites. Indeed, this film is a true gem, very well played, sharp and quick. It tells the story of a young provincial nobleman discovering the Versailles Court as he tries to get funding for his project. What he finds will lead the nobility to its brutal end 6 years later: futility, self-conceit, disinterest to the people's problems, superficiality of relationships (all of which still pervade it modern French elite, to some respects as was evident from revelations of Mitterrand's shameful reign). Of course the political message is important. But equally if not more important -or pleasurable- are the dialogues. French can be so brutal, insidious, cruel, tortured, witty when used a propos that I'm not sure the non-French speakers could get the most of the dialogues. Certainly the absolutely brilliant rhymes contest would be somehow lost in English subtitles. A very good 9/10 for this movie, and a bit less if you don't get the dialogues.

Amélie (2001)

Thank you JP Jeunet

[10/10 · 17 May 2001]

I feel so fortunate to have seen a film like Amelie, and can only wish that everyone out there will have the same chance soon! Not to spoil anything, Amelie is a feast for all senses: wonderful images, excellent music, witty and really funny story, with an aftertaste that stays well after the end. All characters are sublime, with special mentions to Audrey Tautou (so lovable and sensual), Mathieu Kassovitz (excellent in his sensitive and offbeat way) and Isabelle Nanty (hilarious)... Thank you so much Mr. Jeunet for sharing with us so much enthusiasm!