Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/5/09 w/ Additional Edits.
Directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien with a script written by Hsiao-Hsien and Francois Margolin, Le Voyage du Ballon Rouge tells the story of a young boy and his new Taiwanese film student/nanny who are enamored with the image of a red balloon. While the boy's mother is preoccupied with her work and squabbles with a neighbor, the boy and nanny find escape into the red balloon they see. Based on the 1956 short film Le Ballon Rouge (The Red Balloon) by Albert Lamorisse, the film is a tribute to Lamorisse's beloved short. Starring Juliette Binoche, Simon Iteanu, Fang Song, Hippolyte Girardot, and Louise Margolin. Le Voyage du Ballon Rouge is a good yet fascinating film from Hou Hsiao-Hsien.
Simon (Simon Iteanu) is walking around Paris as he's enchanted by a red balloon in the trees that flies around the city. A young Taiwanese film student named Song (Fang Song) is hired to be the new nanny for Simon as his mother Suzanne (Juliette Binoche) is running a puppet theater that is about to feature a Chinese play where she will perform all the voices. Yet, Suzanne is also dealing with her estranged ex-husband while her daughter Louise (Louise Margolin) is still in Brussels. The harried Suzanne is also having squabbles with her neighbor Marc (Hippolyte Girardot) who has been using her kitchen and things without her permission. With he and his girlfriend living in an apartment that used to belong with her mother, Suzanne is not happy about the living situation.
With Song taking care of Simon for Suzanne, Song and Simon bond over the red balloon they've been seeing as Song mentions the short film Le Ballon Rouge that she was inspired by for her short about red balloons. With Simon's help, they create a short with her hand-held digital camera. While Suzanne often comes home where a family between her, Song, and Simon is created, she is awaiting for Louise to return to Paris for her studies. Talking to a lawyer, she hopes to get rid of Marc but her ex-husband instead wants to make trouble for her as she's comforted by Simon and Song. Especially when Song transfers old family films into a CD as she is excited to see the short that Song has created while Simon remains mystified by the balloon he has been seeing.
Le Ballon Rouge was a simple thirty-minute film where it just told the story of a boy and the magical red balloon. Remaking that film would be a mistake but a homage to that film is a good idea, but not a great idea. Like Lamorisse's film, there's not much dialogue which can definitely work depending on the length of the film and the strength of the story. The problem that writers Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Francois Margolin does isn't the lack of dialogue but expanding a story that doesn't carry much weight. We have the story of a neglected little boy escaping through the image of a red balloon with help from his Taiwanese nanny who wants to make a short film about the balloon. We also have the story of the mother who is dealing with her occupied life with work, dealing with her ex-husband, and a neighbor/tenant who hadn't been paying his rent and such.
The problem with the film isn't just the fact that there's not much of a plot but there isn't much of a story to really be invested in. While a lot of it is probably due to Hsiao-Hsien's direction, the story tends to meander itself to the point that it loses interest until the balloon reappears to lift up a scene. The scenes involving the balloon is told simply with Hsiao-Hsien's camera as he follows the balloon and its shadow. Yet, it's something that simple and to the point that often carries a sense of interest and wonderment to the film. When the film focuses on the stories of Suzanne and her struggles, it doesn't carry much excitement in comparison to the story about the balloon or the boy's relationship with his nanny. Though the latter doesn't have much depth either but its relationship is still enjoyable to watch because of their interest in the balloon. Despite a lackluster story, Hsiao-Hsien's direction does carry some wonderful, awe-inspiring moments that is purely enjoyable to watch.
Cinematographer Mark Lee Ping Bing with additional work from Yorick Le Saux does create some wonderful shots of Paris in its daytime exteriors while it's the interior shots of Suzanne's apartment that is really enjoyable to watch. With the shading of red-yellow colors with a look of the apartment a mixture of colors, it has a gorgeous look to complement the Chinese play that Suzanne is working on. Editors Jean-Christophe Hym and Ching-Song Liao do some fascinating transition cuts to move one scene to another despite the fact that some shots run a little longer than they intended. Production designer Paul Fayard does excellent work with the film's look of Suzanne's home cropped with books and lots of things to represent her chaotic life. Sound mixer Chu Shih Yi and consultant Jean-Daniel Beccache do excellent work with the location sounds to create the atmosphere of Paris. The film's music is mostly piano-jazz pieces with selections from Le Ballon Rouge.
The casting is definitely inspired with small roles from Anna Sigalevitch as Simon's piano teacher and Louise Margolin as Simon's older sister Louise seen in flashbacks. Hippolyte Girardot is good as Marc, the neighbor who is the brunt of Suzanne's problems as he causes messes in her kitchen and refuses to pay the rent. Fang Song is very good as Song, the nanny and aspiring filmmaker who helps Simon by encouraging in his imagination while learning about the world of Paris. Simon Iteanu is excellent as Simon, the neglected little boy fascinated by the red balloon in which he shares his fascination with his nanny.
Finally, there's Juliette Binoche in an amazing performance as Suzanne. Despite the weakness of the script and lack of story, Binoche's performance is really the highlight of the film as she acts with such charisma and energy. Doing all the voice work in the puppet play scenes, Binoche displays talents that are beyond the capabilities of the average, Hollywood actress. Particularly mixing comedy and drama without going over-the-top or being too restraint. It's a performance that is phenomenal in every scene she's in despite the film's shortcomings.
Le Voyage du Ballon Rouge is a good film from Hou Hsiao-Hsien though fans of his other Asian work might feel a bit disappointed. Fans of Juliette Binoche will be glad to see the actress in another amazing performance that solidifies her as one of cinema's finest actresses. While it's more of a homage to Albert Lamorisse's classic short film Le Ballon Rouge, audiences might want something more though will give Hsiao-Hsien credit for making a worthy tribute. While Le Voyage du Ballon Rouge is a good film with not much to expect, it's more recommended to see Le Ballon Rouge first than Hsiao-Hsien's tribute film.
Hou Hsiao-Hsien Films: (Cute Girls) - (Cheerful Wind) - (The Green, Green Grass of Home) - (The Sandwich Man) - (The Boys from Fengkuei) - (A Summer at Grandpa's) - (A Time to Live, A Time to Die) - (Dust in the Wind) - (Daughter of the Nile) - (A City of Sadness) - (The Puppetmaster) - (Good Men, Good Women) - (Goodbye South, Goodbye) - Flowers of Shanghai - (Millennium Mambo) - (Cafe Lumiere) - (Three Times) - To Each His Own Cinema-The Electric Picture Princess House - (The Assassin (2015 film)
© thevoid99 2013
Based on Marcel Pagnol’s novel, Manon des Sources (Manon of the Spring) is the sequel to Jean de Florette in which the daughter of Jean de Florette seeks revenge for what happened to her father many years earlier as the Soubeyran land starts to become more valuable. Directed by Claude Berri and screenplay by Berri and Gerard Brach, the film explores the world of greed but also consequences in the fates of the Soubeyran as both Yves Montand and Daniel Autieul reprise their respective roles as Cesar and Ugolin Soubeyran. Also starring Emmanuelle Beart and Hippolyte Girardot. Manon des Sources is a complex yet compelling drama from Claude Berri.
More than a decade after buying the Florette land, Cesar and Ugolin Soubeyran are basking in their success over Ugolin’s carnation farm that has made them rich. With Cesar already growing old, he asks Ugolin to find a wife to that the Soubeyran empire can continue. While trekking around the hills, Ugolin catches a glimpse of Jean Cadoret’s daughter Manon (Emmanuelle Beart) who has become a goat herder as she lives with her Italian guardian Baptistine (Margarita Lozano). Ugolin tries to pursue yet Manon has become interested in the young schoolteacher Bernard Oliver (Hippolyte Girardot) who was in the hills collecting rocks. Ugolin makes an attempt to pursue Manon by professing his love to her but she refuses to respond.
On one day while herding the goats, Manon overhears a couple of villagers who reveal about their own guilt over knowing about the spring that could’ve helped Jean Cadoret years ago. Devastated by what she learned, Manon decides to seek revenge as one of her goats while herding has found the underground source for the village spring. In her act against the Soubeyran, Manon decides to dam the spring leading a water shortage as the town panics. After a church gathering where the whole town and Manon attends, the villagers admit their guilt over their treatment to Jean Cadoret as Manon publicly accuses the Soubeyrans over what they did to her father. Even worse is when a poacher finally reveals what he had seen years ago as it leads to an outcry of shame and guilt over all that had happened as the village learns some harsh truths.
In the aftermath of these revelations, Cesar deals with the shame he faces from the village as they hold a procession to get the water back. When an old friend of his in Delphine (Yvonne Gamy) returns to the village, she reveals to Cesar some news that would consume him with guilt as he tries to find redemption for his actions.
The film is an exploration on not just greed and deception but also guilt and redemption where it is all driven by an act of revenge over what happened in Jean de Florette. What the Soubeyrans did was cruel as they are hoping to become rich and be lauded by the village in hopes to make sure their name remains powerful and respected by the community. Even the villagers know about what really happened yet couldn’t admit to facing their guilt in front of Manon. When Manon learns about what really happened to her father, she is driven by revenge over her the loss of her father as she hopes to make the village and the Soubeyrans suffer for their actions. This would eventually cause some locals to finally confess their actions including a mysterious poacher who knew what really happened. Guilt finally emerges in the Soubeyrans as it would lead to not just tragedy but also revelations that goes beyond everything that Cesar Soubeyran had wanted.
The screenplay is more structured than its predecessor as well as being more engrossed in its themes. Notably as it revolves around guilt in the film’s second half where Ugolin finally admits to Manon about his actions and begs for forgiveness. There are no flashbacks in the story as it’s really isn’t needed in order to let the audience reflect on the events that had happened in the previous film. It’s through dialogue and character motivations that let the audience reflect on those past events. While the first half is more loose in its structure in order to establish the characters and what they’re doing, the second half is more dramatic where it reveals a lot about the past and Manon’s motivations. The third act doesn’t just contain elements of tragedy but also shocking revelations that would send Cesar Soubeyran to the edge as he becomes consumed with guilt and regret as he would make an attempt to redeem himself.
Claude Berri’s direction is entrancing for the compositions he creates as he definitely takes on some more stylish compositions to capture the beautiful locations in the hills and mountains. There’s also more intimate shots in scenes at the town and in some of the close-ups that Berri creates. Notably in moments such as the town meeting where there’s a lot of chaos goes on while the events after the meeting show a town just in a state of absolute panic. By the time the film reaches the third act, Berri goes into less stylish camera work to establish the sense of loss that is happening around Cesar as he deals with not just guilt but also the shocking news that he receives. Even with the film’s ending that is very poignant for all of the troubles and tribulations that happen as Cesar seeks redemption. Overall, Berri creates a fascinating yet mesmerizing portrait of guilt and redemption.
Cinematographer Bruno Nuytten does fantastic work with the colorful cinematography from the naturalistic look of the sunny locations to the array of lush lighting schemes for many of the film‘s nighttime interiors including the cave where Manon finds the underground spring source. Editors Herve de Luze and Genevieve Louveau do wonderful work with the editing by creating some nice rhythm for some of the film‘s suspenseful moments while using fade-outs to help flesh out the film‘s structure. Production designer Bernard Vezat does nice work with the set pieces such as the carnations garden that Ugolin has as well as the look of the underground spring source that Manon finds.
Costume designer Sylvie Gautrelet does amazing work with the costumes from the more posh clothing the Soubeyran men wear to the more mountain dresses that Manon wears early in the film. Sound editors Dominique Hennequin and Maryline Monthieux do terrific work with the sound to capture the intimacy of the church scenes to the chaos in the town meeting. The film’s music by Jean-Claude Petit is lovely for its playful orchestral score that ranges from fun to more serious and darker arrangements along with the use of Giuseppe Verdi’s La forza del destino to help play to the sense of loss that Manon deals with.
The casting by Marie-Christine Lafosse is brilliant for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable small appearances from Elisabeth Depardieu in a cameo as Manon’s mother Aimee, Yvonne Gamy as Delphine, and Margarita Lozano as Manon’s Italian guardian Baptistine. Hippolyte Girardot is very good as the kind teacher Bernard who befriends Manon as he becomes the one true friend that she has in town. Emmanuelle Beart is tremendous as Manon as she displays a great sense of enthusiasm and heartbreak into her role as well as a great sense of physicality since she doesn’t have a lot of lines to say.
Daniel Autieul is superb as Ugolin as he displays a wonderful sense of humor to his performance in the film’s first half as well as a sense of humility in the second half. Finally, there’s Yves Montand in an incredible performance as Cesar Soubeyran as he displays a man trying to defend himself against the crimes he had done only to realize that he committed a much bigger crime that forces him to seek redemption where Montand displays something unforgettable in the film’s final moments.
Manon des Sources is a remarkable film from Claude Berri that features marvelous performances from Yves Montand, Daniel Autieul, and Emmanuelle Beart. The film definitely stands as an intriguing piece on revenge, guilt, and redemption while it makes for a great double-feature with its predecessor in Jean de Florette. In the end, Manon des Sources is a ravishing yet endearing film from Claude Berri.
Claude Berri Films: (The Chicken) - (The Two of Us) - (So Long, Stooge) - Jean de Florette - (Uranus) - (Germinal) - (Lucie Aubrac) - (Hunting and Gathering)
© thevoid99 2012
Directed by Arnaud Desplechin with a script co-written with Emmanuel Bourdieu. Un conte de Noel (A Christmas Tale) tells the story of a family with strained relationships towards one another to reunite for the holidays as they learn that their mother has leukemia. Upon this news, the children deal with their own issues as well as the fraught relationship they have towards their parents. Starring Catherine Deneuve, Mathieu Amalric,, Jean-Paul Roussillon, Anne Consigny, Melvil Poupaud, Emmanuelle Devos, Chiara Mastroianni, and Hippolyte Giradot. Un conte de Noel is a witty yet somber film from Arnaud Desplechin.
Junon Vuillard (Catherine Deneuve) has just received some terrifying news as she is suffering from a rare disease that can lead to leukemia. Her only chance to beat the disease is a bone-marrow transplant as her husband Abel (Jean-Paul Roussillon) is helping out. With the Christmas holiday approaching, Junon decides it’s time for the whole family to come together which will prove to be a difficult task. The eldest daughter Elizabeth (Anne Consigny) is having her own issues while her 16-year old son Paul (Emile Berling) is suffering from mental illness. With her husband Claude (Hippolyte Giradot) often at work and trying to help, Elizabeth’s youngest brother Ivan (Melvil Poupaud) makes a visit to help Paul out. Both siblings decide to go as Ivan has already sent his twin sons Basile and Baptiste (Thomas and Clement Obled) to their grandparents.
The only other sibling that hasn’t learned about Junon or anything is Henri (Mathieu Amalric). Having been through a lot of trouble while drinking a lot, he hasn’t seen his parents for six years. After losing a lot of money six years ago, Elizabeth paid off Henri’s debts with the condition that he mustn’t see his parents nor Elizabeth. Henri has kept his promise though the only family members he has contacted are Ivan and their cousin Simon (Laurent Capelluto). Simon is a painter who has had a hard time dealing with alcoholism while helping out with his uncle Abel’s fabric dyeing plant. Then one day, Paul decides to meet his uncle Henri revealing what’s happening to Junon as he asks him to attend the holidays.
After writing a letter to Elizabeth, Henri reveals he will be going since he and Paul are the only family members who have the blood type needed for Junon’s bone-marrow transplant. Elizabeth dreads the day of Henri’s arrival as Ivan and his wife Sylvia (Chiara Mastroianni) arrive with Simon while Elizabeth arrives with Paul at the family home. With Henri expected to arrive on Christmas Eve, he instead appears two days early with his girlfriend Faunia (Emmanuelle Devos) in tow. His appearance has received mixed notices as Elizabeth remains cold towards him while Junon is aware that Henri hates her despite going along with the blood test.
With the days of Christmas and Christmas Eve approaching, everyone tries to get along though Henri doesn’t make it easy. Even to the point when a visiting Claude decides to beat him up and leave for a day. Even as Henri continues to drink while hide Paul’s medication with Paul becoming more nervous about being a donor and the idea that Henri might be his father. Faunia spends time with the family as she goes to a museum where she finds Junon where the two went shopping. When a friend of Abel’s mother Rosaimee (Francoise Bertin) visits for the holiday, she sees how much fun Henri and Ivan are having with fireworks while Simon is not involved as Sylvia notices. Rosaimee reveals that Simon holds a torch for Sylvia. Faunia leaves to be with her family though she had a good time despite all of the family drama that is happening.
On Christmas Eve, the tension between Elizabeth and Henri is still boiling though things remain calm during the dinner until Simon disappears following Midnight Mass. With Sylvia eventually finding him, Henri turns to Paul to help him calm down his fears as the family await the day of Junon’s surgery.
Most film about family gatherings during the Christmas holidays are often comical and at times, dramatic. This film however, is different because it revolves around lots of family tension when its matriarch is suffering from a life-threatening disease. Yet, the film opens with the tale of another member of the Vuillard family that isn’t seen. The eldest child Joseph who died at the age of six as he is the source of grief for Elizabeth as she fears death and the source of guilt for Henri. While Ivan wasn’t born when Joseph died, he is seen as the child that tries to be the mediator.
When they all get together, everything is tense though everyone is trying to get along. It’s a film about family and their dysfunctions with one person in Faunia being the outsider. While there’s a lot of drama and some moments of goofing off, it’s all about the possibility of spending the last Christmas with Junon as she faces her bone-marrow transplant from two family members. Both of which, are messes in different ways. The film’s screenplay does an excellent job in exploring the characters and their dysfunctions though it is flawed. Even as some of the characters and their actions aren’t defined clearly.
Arnaud Desplechin’s direction is truly hypnotic for the way he captures many of the film’s intimate yet troubling scenes. Particularly in the family drama where he can mix a scene of tension while inter-cutting it with something as innocent and comical. The humor is subtle while the drama is mostly underplayed except for some of the actions of Henri. Desplechin always keep the camera focused on what is happening and who the characters are looking at. Even as he gives characters a chance to break the fourth wall either to reveal parts of their home or serving as narrators about the letters they’ve written. The film’s opening begins with a funeral that is followed by a puppet-like play about the family and the loss of Joseph. Though the running time of 152-minutes seems like a stretch and the film lags in some places. Desplechin creates a solid yet provocative film about families during the holidays.
Cinematographer Eric Gautier brings a lush, colorful look to some of the film’s dream-like sequences and nighttime exteriors as it is shot on location in Roubaix. Most of the daytime scenes is shot with a mixture of light-blue and gray for the mood of winter with some sunlight shown. Gautier’s work is superb for its mood and dream-like textures for some of the film’s romantic or surreal moments from the perspective of Paul. Editor Laurence Briaud does some excellent work with the film’s stylized editing while maintaining a leisured pace for the film though it does lag in some parts of the film.
Production designer Dan Bevan does a spectacular job with the look of the family home that is surrounded by pictures and all sorts of holiday stuff while maintaining a realness that families can relate to. Costume designer Nathalie Raoul does a wonderful job with the costumes from the ragged look of Henri to the more regal look that Junon has with her dresses. Sound editor Nicolas Cantin, along with mixers Sylvain Malbrant and Jean-Pierre Laforce, do some excellent work with the film’s sound to convey the atmosphere of the family home along with everything else outside of the home. Music composer Gregoire Hetzel brings a lovely, elegant score that is a mixture of plaintive yet soft orchestral pieces and a harpsichord track that is really wonderful. The rest of the film’s soundtrack is mostly filled with pop tunes and Xmas classics.
The cast is definitely wonderful with standouts from small appearances from Azize Kabouche as Elizabeth’s shrink and Samir Guesmi as Spatafora, a friend of the family that Ivan and Simon knew. Thomas and Clemente Obled are wonderfully charming as the twin boys Basile and Baptiste with their joyful innocence while Emile Berling is great as the mentally-troubled Paul who is seeking some comfort from his family while dealing with his mother’s melancholic mood. Hippolyte Giradot is excellent as Elizabeth’s husband Claude who despises Henri while he helps out Abel with the idea that Junon might live longer if she didn’t take the surgery immediately. Laurent Capelluto is very good as Simon, a quiet artist who drinks to soothe his own issues while carrying a torch for Sylvia. Emmanuelle Devos is also good as Faunia, Henri’s girlfriend who has a brief bond with Junon while trying to observe the chaos of Henri’s family.
Francoise Bertin is amazing in her small but memorable role as Rosaimee, an old friend of Abel’s mother who recalls the good days when Elizabeth, Henri, Ivan, and Simon were just kids. Chiara Mastroianni is brilliant as Sylvia, Ivan’s wife who is not liked by Junon though is willing to be the joyful mom as she plays a princess for her twin boys’ play while dealing with Simon’s own feelings for her. Melvil Poupaud is great as Ivan, the youngest child of the family who tries to help Paul while being a mediator between his siblings as he is also the most youthful and vibrant person in the family. Jean-Paul Roussillon is wonderful as Abel, the patriarch of the family who is trying to deal with all of the family drama as well as his wife Junon as he and Catherine Deneuve have a great yet understated chemistry.
Anne Consigny is superb as Elizabeth, Paul’s melancholic mother who still holds a grudge towards her younger brother Henri. Consigny’s performance is definitely marvelous to watch as someone trying to keep her cool while dealing with the idea that she might lose her mother sooner than she thought. Mathieu Amalric is amazing as Henri, the middle child who is an admitted fuck-up while trying to deal with his own issues. Amalric gives a performance that is both comical and dramatic where he can be charming but also play a dickhead. It’s definitely a fun performance to watch.
Finally, there’s the luminous Catherine Deneuve in a radiant performance as Junon. Deneuve’s performance shows a regality that isn’t seen very much in a lot of actors or actresses as Deneuve plays it calm and with such subtlety as a woman who is aware that she might die. Yet, she somehow accepts it somewhat along with the idea that she will be saved. It’s definitely a performance that is filled with class and dignity and who better to show than the legendary Catherine Deneuve.
Un conte de Noel is a superb yet enchanting film from Arnaud Desplechin featuring top-notch performances from Catherine Deneuve, Mathieu Amalric, and Anne Consigny. While some viewers might have a hard time understanding the characters along with how the French do Christmas. It is still a film that people could relate to though it doesn’t have the kind of slapstick humor that most American viewers could familiarize with. It’s definitely a film that truly captures the drama and hilarity of a family coming together for the holidays. In the end, Un conte de Noel is a remarkable film from Arnaud Desplechin.
© thevoid99 2010
