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Vendredi soir (2002)
Emptiness
When I was 17, I was kind of fascinated by this kind of (typically french) movies. The absence of action in the story telling would reveal some hidden gem, some kind of unknown, deep, mysterious truth, about life and all the unexpected things that could happen. Like meeting someone one evening and then spending the night without knowing anything about each other, without even exchanging a few sentences. Yeah that would appear to be exciting, revolutionary, unusual, unconventional. Now, 36 years later, I've had a few strange encounters in my life (like anybody else, I guess), but then... so what? Nothing to make a fuss about, and certainly not a movie. These moments weren't any deeper or more significant than other events that proved to be far more ecstatic or painful. The absence of any meaningful dialog in a script doesn't make a movie more special or poetic by itself. These long close shots on the actor's eyes don't lead anywhere if the author has no intention, no other purpose but to please himself/herself. After I watched the whole movie, I was left with a feeling of emptiness, that is, the author's emptiness. This film is about nothing, but it tries to conceal that behind smart camera movements, little action and no story. It has nothing to say, but would make us believe it's nothingness reveals something about life. Well it doesn't.
Deux frères (2004)
A wonderful masterpiece
Two Brothers deserves so much more than what it got. To put it simply, I'd say it's one of the best movies I've seen these last years. Each time I see it, there are new details that I didn't pay attention to previously. The story is so carefully built up, it enfolds in a powerful, irresistible way: it's impossible not to feel a deep sympathy for these innocent cats. The young tigers are so incredibly sweet, you'd want to have one in your apartment and even in your bed, like Raoul. Reminds me when - as a little boy - I used to sleep with my cat in it's early years. Difficult not to cry when destiny strikes and the brothers get separated.
This movie looks like a rather simple fairy tale, but the feelings it triggers run so deep that it compares with the giants. Brilliant craftsmanship, great acting - including the tigers themselves -, stunning scenes and moments of great joy: how could this jewel be so underrated?
In one word: a wonderful work of art, and a sheer pleasure for the soul.
The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)
My favorite Panther
I think "Strikes Again" is the most accomplished of the series.
Clouseau's attempts to enter the castle are just impossible to describe: so hilarious I still laugh whenever I recall the scenes. Not to mention the short conversations with the hotel owner (including the now classic "That is not my dog"), and many many others. This movie's probably the best Peter Seller performance, I think. This guy was such a genius: his accent, his acting and his expressions are all unique and still alive.
I can't understand why anyone would want to make new Pink Panther movies now that Peter Sellers is gone.
Austerlitz (1960)
Sad thing
This movie is a huge disappointment. You'd expect the battle of Austerlitz to be the core subject as the title suggests, but it's not. Most of the movie is about the Napoleonic era before the battle, with a pseudo historic perspective. If you know just a little about history, you'll find yourself yawning most of the time, as Abel Gance tries to describe the situation for hours, through endless dialogs. Then when Napoleon is about to be crowned, you think: oh no, not another half hour just for that scene. Fortunately there's no coronation scene, but.. worse: it's told! You guess correctly: Gance didn't have the budget to do it. He might as well just skipped the whole episode.
By then you've waited more than 2 hours and still no battle in sight. At last the battle comes but what you see is a tragic waste. The tactics and whereabouts of the battle are not shown but told, and you can hardly understand what's going on. A cavalry charges from right to left (a couple hundred horses), and you assume it's the Austrian cavalry. Then you're told that they're defeated by the French, and you see the same guys charging from left to right (they don't even seem to have switched costumes). Parts of the battle were filmed in studio, with ridiculous painted backgrounds. The close combat scenes are unrealistic at best. Soldiers fall apparently for no reason, and if nobody told you about the outcome, you wouldn't know who won or lost. The last scene with the French Army singing the national anthem completes the cinematographic disaster.
All in all, you sit back with the feeling that this movie was conceived and shot in the early days of movie making, not in 1960: it's not a movie about Austerlitz, it's the pathetic attempt of an aging man trying to describe the glory of an emperor he admired. The result is a boring picture that doesn't even enhance our historic understanding of the Napoleon era (in spite of Gance's attempts to stick to some historic details).