Written and directed by Jacques Demy, L’Evenement le plus important depuis que l’homme sur la Lune (A Slightly Pregnant Man) is the story of a man who believes he is pregnant as he copes with what is happening to him where he seeks help from his fiancée. The film is a comedy that play into the idea of a man becoming pregnant. Starring Marcello Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve. L’Evenement le plus important depuis l’homme sur la Lune is a witty and delightful from Jacques Demy.
The film follows a man who is feeling ill where he goes to a doctor where it is believed that he is pregnant. That is pretty much the premise of the film as it play into the idea of a man becoming pregnant as it would create sensation around those who work with him or socialize with him where he would become this unlikely spokesman for pregnant men. Jacques Demy’s screenplay is straightforward as it play into the plight that Marco Mazetti (Marcello Mastroianni) endures as he feels ill during his job as a driving instructor as he takes his live-in girlfriend/hairstylist Irene de Fontenoy (Catherine Deneuve) and their son Lucas (Benjamin Legrand) to see Mirielle Mathieu only to leave the concert early. Through Irene’s advice to visit one of her clients in Dr. Delavigne (Micheline Presle), Marco’s unusual revelation comes to ahead as Dr. Delavigne turns to a colleague in Gerard Chaumont de Latour (Raymond Gerome) who believes something is happening as word gets out and Marco becomes an unlikely popular figure who would cause a sensation around the world.
Demy’s direction does have elements of style in the way it plays up the growing commercialism over Marco’s condition. Shot on location in Paris, Demy’s direction is straightforward in terms of the compositions he creates as it is about Marco coming to terms with this condition with Irene wondering about his health as she is also thinking about expanding her business to give their son a better life. While there are some wide shots of some of the locations in Paris including this massive billboard poster of Marco wearing overalls to sell pregnancy clothes, Demy emphasizes more on close-ups and medium shots to play into the interaction with characters. Particularly in Marco’s own routines in the people he would meet at a bar as well as the idea that the chicken a maid has cooked for him, Irene, and Lucas as given hormone injections which is a possible reason why he’s pregnant.
Demy’s approach to comedy and light-drama does showcase the element of satire that is prevalent during the film’s second half. Notably with Marco dealing with the new role as he sorts of accepts it thinking it would create some kind of equality for men and women as he is supportive of the idea for the latter. The third act showcases Demy’s approach to sensationalism as it relates to similar cases that Marco is experiencing as if there is this phenomenon that is occurring that could change the world. Yet, it also play into this idea that Marco’s own experience isn’t unique anymore where Demy add to this melancholia that does appear every now and then with Irene dealing with idea of just being alone with her son as well as not being married. Overall, Demy crafts a playful yet compelling film about a man becoming pregnant.
Cinematographer Andreas Winding does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as it is straightforward for many of the daytime interior/exterior scenes with some lighting for some of the scenes at night as well as a few rooms in the film. Editor Anne-Marie Cotret does terrific work with the editing as it is straightforward to play into the humor with a few montages and rhythmic cuts to play into its humor. Production designer Bernard Evein does amazing work with the look of the offices of the doctors and professors as well as the interiors of Irene’s salon and the ads that were created. Costume designer Gitt Magrini does fantastic work with the costumes with the stylish clothes that Irene wears as well as the clothes that Marco would wear during the course of his pregnancy. The film’s music by Michel Legrand is brilliant for its sumptuous orchestral score that play into humor and light-drama as well as string arrangements that are upbeat.
The film’s remarkable cast include some notable small roles from Mirielle Mathieu as herself, Benjamin Legrand as Marco and Irene’s son Lucas, Marisa Pavan as Marco’s ex-wife, Alice Sapritch as a famed theatre actress in Ramona Martinez who wants driving lessons from Marco, Claude Melki as Marco’s business partner, Micheline Dax as an old lady Marco is trying to teach, Raymond Gerome as the medical professor Gerard Chaumont de Latour who believes a medical breakthrough is happening, and Micheline Presle as Irene’s friend Dr. Delavigne who would be the first to examine Marco and make the discovery that he’s pregnant.
Catherine Deneuve is incredible as Irene as a hairstylist who runs a salon that is dealing with the news as she is someone who gets emotional in the idea of Marco becoming ill while dealing with the impact it would have for both herself and Marco. Finally, there’s Marcello Mastroianni in a tremendous performance as Marco Mazetti as an Italian driving instructor living in Paris who copes with this condition he’s having where he deals with what is happening to him and later accepting the role he’s given where it’s a performance that has Mastroianni be charming but also display some humility.
L’Evenement le plus important depuis l’homme sur la Lune is a marvelous film from Jacques Demy that features top-notch performances from Marcello Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve. Along with its gorgeous visuals, great supporting cast, and its witty take on sensationalism and commercialism on a man’s plight. It’s a film that play into the idea of a man becoming pregnant while thinking about the possibilities in how it would change humanity and society in a humorous manner. In the end, L’Evenement le plus important depuis l’homme sur la Lune is an incredible film from Jacques Demy.
Jacques Demy Films: (Lola (1961 film)) - Bay of Angels - The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - The Young Girls of Rochefort - Model Shop - Donkey Skin - (The Pied Piper (1972 film)) - (Lady Oscar) - (La Naissance du Jour) – Un chambre en ville - (Parking (1985 film)) - (Three Places for the 26th) - (Turning Table)
© thevoid99 2018
Written and directed by Jacques Demy, Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (The Young Girls of Rochefort) is the story of two sisters who hope to go to the big city when a fair arrives in their port town as they hope to find men and a chance to succeed. The film is a musical set in a small port town in France where it plays into two sisters trying to make it and escape their dreary world. Starring Catherine Deneuve, Francoise Dorleac, Jacques Perrin, Michel Piccoli, Danielle Darrieux, George Chakaris, Grover Dale, and Gene Kelly. Les Demoiselles de Rochefort is a splendid and enchanting film from Jacques Demy.
Set in the actual port town of Rochefort during the course of an entire weekend, the film is about a fair that is happening in the town where twin sisters hope to find their ideal men during the fair while hoping to go to Paris to pursue their own dreams. It’s a film that is about trying to find love but also deal with lost love and other complications with everyone getting ready for this fair that was to showcase a lot of things to the locals in Rochefort. Jacques Demy’s screenplay follows a lot of characters and their own pursuit for love with the twin sisters Delphine (Catherine Deneuve) and Solange (Francoise Dorleac) as the leads in the story as they’re two women who can sing and dance as they both want to go to Paris. Upon meeting the carnies Etienne (George Chakaris) and Bill (Grover Dale), they find a chance to get out of Rochefort even though their ideal figures of who their soul mates are just happen to be in the city. At the same time, there’s other characters who cope with love such as Delphine and Solange’s mother Yvonne (Danielle Darrieux) over a fiancée she left behind while a music shop owner in Simon Dame (Michel Piccoli) has just arrived to the town lamenting over someone he had lost as he befriends Solange.
Simon’s friendship with Solange would prompt him to call upon an old friend who could help her with her dreams of writing music in an American named Andrew Miller (Gene Kelly) as the two would meet but are unaware of who they really are. Another storyline involves a sailor named Maxence (Jacques Perrin) who is also a poet and painter as he is looking for his own ideal form of love through a painting he made as the woman in the painting looks a lot like Delphine though he’s never met her. There’s a lot that goes on yet Demy always find a way for these multiple stories with multiple characters to not overwhelm the narrative as he would write the lyrics and dialogue that would reveal a lot for all of these other storylines to make sense.
Demy’s direction is just intoxicating to watch in every sense of the word as it is shot on location in Rochefort where it is made to look like a real small town that has a lot more to offer. Shot on a 2:35:1 aspect ratio, Demy uses the widescreen format to his advantage not just in the wide shot where he captures so much coverage in the town but also in the scope of the dancing. Aided by choreographer Norman Meen, the dancing in the film definitely has a sense of movement that Demy would follow not just in wide and medium shots but also know when to cut and get it from another angle or for a close-up. Demy would use some tracking shots to follow some of the dancing while setting up moments from one part of a street to another to follow one character’s narrative into another where it all connects. Demy would also create simple moments for the non-musical scenes as it is more about the characters and what they would do where it would either set up a musical moment or something that would become a plot-point for a character. Even as its climax is at the fair where it is about these twin sisters finally reaching their dream to go to Paris and make something of themselves but also leave behind the idea that they might’ve never found their ideal figures of love. Overall, Demy creates a wondrous and majestic film about twin sisters trying to find love in their small port hometown.
Cinematographer Ghislain Cloquet does amazing work with the film’s colorful and gorgeous cinematography as much of the film is shot in the daytime where it captures the fullness and beauty of the colors as well as the locations with very few scenes shot at night that includes a dinner at Yvonne’s café. Editor Jean Hamon does excellent work with the editing as it does have elements of style but knows how to play with the rhythm of the music and in the dancing as it’s one of the film’s highlights. Production designer Bernard Evein and set decorator Louis Seuret do brilliant work with the set design from the look of Yvonne’s café as well as some of the staging in the fair and the music shop owned by Simon.
Costume designers Jacqueline Moreau and Marie-Claude Fouquet do fantastic work with the costumes as it adds to the film’s gorgeous visuals with its vibrant colors and how it play into the personality of the characters in the film. The sound work of Jacques Maumont is superb as it is very straightforward while capturing the atmosphere of the fair and some of the other local events. The film’s music by Michel Legrand is incredible as it is a highlight of the film with its playful score and the songs written with Demy as it says so much about the characters and helping to drive the story.
The film’s phenomenal cast include some notable small roles from Genevieve Thenier as Yvonne’s café waitress Josette, Pamela Hart and Leslie North as a couple of performers that dump Etienne and Bill for sailors, Patrick Jeantet as Yvonne’s youngest son Booboo, Rene Bazart as Yvonne’s father, Henri Cremieux as an old friend of Yvonne’s father who visits the café, and Jacques Riberolles as Delphine’s art gallery boyfriend Guillaume who is quite full of himself as the two break-up early in the film. Michel Piccoli is superb as Simon as a music shop owner who is an old friend of Andy as well as a mentor of sorts for Solange with her music as he also laments over love that he’s lost many years ago. Danielle Darrieux is fantastic as Yvonne as a café owner who also laments over a lover she left behind while coping with the fact that her daughters are leaving home to pursue their dreams as she’s the only person in the film that actually sings while everyone lip-syncs other people’s voices. Jacques Perrin is excellent as the sailor Maxence as a man who is trying to finish his service in the military while pursuing his own dreams as an artist where he hopes to find the woman he painted but never met.
George Chakaris and Grover Dale are brilliant in their respective roles as Etienne and Bill as two smooth-talking but kind carnies who try to woo Delphine and Solange while helping out Yvonne and other locals in the world of love. Gene Kelly is marvelous as Andrew Miller as an American friend of Simon who visits the small town as he gets a glimpse and falls for Solange while discovering a piece she wrote that she dropped upon their first meeting. Finally, there’s the duo of Catherine Deneuve and Francoise Dorleac in remarkable performances in their respective roles as Delphine and Solange. Deneuve and Dorleac, who are sisters in real-life, both provide a great sense of comic timing and charm as well as displaying their own vulnerabilities as women trying to find their ideal mates and their pursuit to follow their dreams in the big city despite leaving the one place they call home.
Les Demoiselles de Rochefort is a spectacular film from Jacques Demy. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous visuals, top-notch choreography, and sumptuous music. It’s a film that doesn’t just bear many elements into what makes the musical a joy to watch but it’s also backed by a universal and engaging story about finding love in a small portside town in France. In the end, Les Demoiselles de Rochefort is a tremendous film from Jacques Demy.
Jacques Demy Films: (Lola (1961 film)) - Bay of Angels - The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - Model Shop - Donkey Skin - (The Pied Piper (1972 film)) - A Slightly Pregnant Man - (Lady Oscar) - (La Naissance du Jour) – Une chambre en ville - (Parking (1985 film)) - (Three Places for the 26th) - (Turning Table)
© thevoid99 2017
Written and directed by Agnes Varda, L’univers de Jacques Demy (The World of Jacques Demy) is a documentary in which Varda pays tribute to her late husband through the films he made as well as his life. Featuring interviews with those that worked with him, the film is a look into one French cinema’s finest filmmakers. The result is a lively and touching portrait of one of the great filmmakers that ever lived.
Among the filmmakers who emerged during the era of the French New Wave, Jacques Demy was someone who didn’t fit in with that movement due to his love for American musicals and fantasy as he would cultivate a career that is considered one of the finest in cinema. Created in the span of two years, Agnes Varda creates not just a solemn tribute to her husband but would also interview some of his collaborators, fans of his work, and the actors that worked with him. Even as Varda goes into detail about his own life with the aid of their children, her sister-in-law, and old friends as well as the places he grew up in as the town would also pay tribute to the filmmaker.
Through various film clips and rare behind-the-scenes footage which would feature those anyone wouldn’t expect in a Demy film set like Jim Morrison at the set of Donkey Skin who would give Delphine Seyrig’s son his autograph. The actors such as Michel Piccoli, Jeanne Moreau, Catherine Deneuve, Dominique Sanda, Anouk Aimee, Jacques Perrin, Nino Castelnuovo talk about their experiences working with Demy and his films. Much of it show that they all have pleasant experiences with him where Deneuve recalled doing The Umbrellas of Cherbourg as the first time she felt she was working with a real filmmaker. Many of his films are covered including the ones that weren’t successful like Lady Oscar and Parking where clips of interviews by Demy talk about the way things are in the industry where not all of his films are successful.
The film also showcases Demy’s brief flirtation in Hollywood when he was making Model Shop as a sequel to Lola with Anouk Aimee where the original male lead was supposed to be an up-and-coming actor named Harrison Ford who is also interviewed where he talks about how much Demy and one of the film’s producer wanted him to be in the film. Instead, studios chose Gary Lockwood of 2001: A Space Odyssey for the role which Demy wasn’t happy with though the resulting film was something Demy thought was good but not great. With the aid of cinematographers Stephane Krausz, Peter Pilafian, and Georges Strouve, along with editor Marie-Josee Audiard and the sound work of Thierry Ferreux and Jean-Luc Rault-Cheynet, Varda chose a different approach to narrative where she goes for a more non-linear look into Demy’s life and work.
Adding to the film’s whimsical tone are the music pieces by Michel Colombier and Michel Legrand who are both featured in the film as they talk about Demy’s approach to music. Much of the music that appears in the film is from Demy’s films as it adds to his love for music and what it means to him. Even as some fans of his films including some ordinary people know some of the songs by heart as the actors in those films would sing bits of these songs. It adds to the power of Demy’s influence and the impact he made in the world of films.
L’univers de Jacques Demy is a phenomenal film from Agnes Varda. It’s not just one of Varda’s finest documentaries but also a touching and exhilarating tribute to her late husband in Jacques Demy. Notably as it’s a film that displays some unique surprises about Demy and his work and how much he means to audiences all over the world. In the end, L’univers de Jacques Demy is a sensational film from Agnes Varda.
Agnes Varda Films: Diary of a Pregnant Woman - Du cote de la cote - La Pointe Courte - Cleo from 5 to 7 - Le Bonheur - (Les Creatures) – (Far from Vietnam) – (Lions Love) – (Daguerreotypes) – One Sings, the Other Doesn’t – (Murals Murals) – (Documenteur) - Vagabond - (Jane B. by Agnes V.) – ((Le Petit Amour) – (Jacquot de Nantes) – (The Young Girls Turn 25) – (One Hundred and One Nights) – The Gleaners & I - (The Gleaners & I: Two Years Later) – (Cinevardaphoto) – (Some Windows of Noirmoutier) - (The Beaches of Agnes) – (Faces Places) – (Varda by Agnes)
© thevoid99 2015
Based on the fairy tale by Charles Perrault, Peau d’Ane (Donkey Skin) is the story of a princess who goes into hiding after being asked by her father to marry him. Written for the screen and directed by Jacques Demy, the film is a whimsical musical-fantasy that plays into a princess who goes from riches-to-rags in order to do something for herself. Starring Catherine Deneuve, Jean Marais, Jacques Perrin, Micheline Presle, Fernand Ledoux, Henri Cremieux, Sacha Pitoeff, and Delphine Seyrig. Peau d’Ane is a charming and delightful film from Jacques Demy.
The film is a simple fairy tale where a king deals with the death of his wife where he makes a vow to marry a woman as beautiful as her in which he picks his own daughter much to her own horror as she goes into hiding wearing donkey skin as a robe and pretends to be a scullery maid. It’s a film that plays into the many elements that are expected in fairy tales but it is also very strange considering that hints ideas of incest. There, the princess (Catherine Deneuve) would try to find ways to not go through with this ordeal as she gets the help of her fairy godmother (Delphine Seyrig) where the results would be humiliating but also a moment that would prompt the princess to find herself. The film’s screenplay does follow a traditional structure that is expected in fairy tales but with some of the dialogue that is sung as well as hints of anachronisms that add to the film’s offbeat humor. Yet, it is largely a fantasy as there aren’t any rules in that genre as it is all about the princess trying to find her true love and happiness.
Jacques Demy’s direction is very intoxicating not just in its approach to imagery but also in how he presents the film as an offbeat fairy tale. From the lavish costumes and set designs to the way servants, animals, and other things look, the film is definitely pure fantasy as Demy creates something that is off-the-wall such as a donkey who defecates gold and jewels for his king. Much of Demy’s direction include a lot of medium and wide shots to play into the look of the kingdom and its many locations in the forests while having this strange mix of elegance and dreariness in the world that the princess would embark. Notably as there are scenes of pure fantasy as it relates to the character of Prince Charming (Jacques Perrin) who would encounter the princess unaware of her true identity. It would then play into elements of comedy and mayhem as well as things that can’t explain that is more in tune with the world of fantasy. Overall, Demy creates a sensational and exhilarating film about a princess who refuses to marry her father.
Cinematographer Ghislain Cloquet does brilliant work with the film‘s very rich and colorful photography with its vibrant usage of the Technicolor film stock as plays into the beauty of the locations and settings as well as some unique lighting to play into the element of fantasy that occurs in the film. Editor Anne-Marie Crotet does excellent work with the editing with its stylish usage of slow-motion and reverse edits as well as rhythmic cuts to play into the musical elements in the film. Production designer Jim Leon and art director Jacques Dugied do amazing work with the set design from the look of the castles and its rooms to the shabby hut that the princess would live in her disguise along with the colors of the different kingdoms.
Costume designers Augusto Pace and Gitt Magrini do fantastic work with the costumes from the design of the dresses as well as the clothes the men wear as it plays into the period of time where men wore tights and the women wore lavish gowns. The sound work of Andre Hervee is terrific for some of the sound effects in some of the magical moments as well as some of the moments that goes on in some of the celebrations and other quieter scenes. The film’s music by Michel Legrand is incredible for not just its playful orchestral score but also in the songs that are created for the film as it play into emotions of a few of its characters as well as the sense of hope that they long for as the music is a major highlight of the film.
The film’s marvelous cast includes notable small roles from Pierre Repp as the Red Queen’s messenger Thibauld, Sacha Pitoeff as prime minister for the blue kingdom, Louise Chevalier as the old woman who would give the princess the work she needs to do at the farm, Henri Cremieux as the red kingdom’s physician, Fernand Ledoux and Micheline Presle in their respective roles as the Red King and Queen, and Jean Servais as the voice of the film narrator’s who only appears for the film’s opening and closing sections. Jacques Perrin is excellent as Prince Charming as a young prince who encounters the Princess unaware of her true identity nor her disguise as he falls for her and tries to find out who she is.
Delphine Seyrig is fantastic as the Fairy Godmother who tries to help the Princess while doing things that would baffle the Princess as Seyrig brings a lot of charm to her role including some amazing entrances. Jean Marais is superb as the King as a man who is grief-stricken by the loss of his wife where he is convinced that the only way to save his kingdom is to marry his daughter unaware of how disgusting it is. Finally, there’s Catherine Deneuve in a phenomenal performance in the dual role as the Queen and as her daughter in the Princess where her role in the former is very brief while the latter has Deneuve do a lot more in terms of singing and dealing with her situation as she would provide some charm and humility to her performance as it’s one of Deneuve’s finest roles.
Peau d’Ane is a remarkable film from Jacques Demy. Armed with a great cast, sumptuous visuals, and delightful music, the film isn’t just a fascinating take on a French fairytale but also a film that manages to infuse a lot of quirks and ideas that subvert many of its expectations. In the end, Peau d’Ane is an exquisitely rich film from Jacques Demy.
Jacques Demy Films: (Lola (1961 film)) - Bay of Angels - The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - The Young Girls of Rochefort - Model Shop - (The Pied Piper (1972 film)) - A Slightly Pregnant Man - (Lady Oscar) - (La Naissance du Jour) - Une chambre en ville - (Parking (1985 film)) - (Three Places for the 26th) - Turning Table)
© thevoid99 2015
Based on Herman Melville’s Pierre: or, The Ambiguities, Pola X is the story of a novelist who meets a woman who claims to be his long-lost sister as they begin an incestuous affair. Directed by Leos Carax and screenplay by Carax and Jean-Pol Fargeau, the film is an exploration into the world of incest as well as family roots where a man ponders about his own identity and the secrets involving his family. Starring Guillaume Depardieu, Yekaterina Golubeva, Delphine Chuillot, and Catherine Deneuve. Pola X is an extremely dark yet exhilarating film from Leos Carax.
The film explores the life of a young novelist who once had a life of great promise, despite some of his family’s eccentricities, where he discovers that a woman he has been encountering could be his long-lost sister. This revelation would not only have him question about his identity but his entire life and work in general where he would live into a different lifestyle as he would encounter tragedies as well as despair. Adding to the complication of his life is his sister where the two engage into an incestuous affair that would become the centerpiece of his next novel. It’s a film that plays into a man who is about to have it all but the secrets about his own family life has him questioning what is real and what is fake while meeting this woman from the Balkans who lives a very feral lifestyle as he would move from this carefree yet idyllic lifestyle to something more dreary.
The film’s screenplay definitely takes the ideas of Herman Melville’s story as they would set it in contemporary France where the first act starts off with a look into the life of Pierre (Guillaume Depardieu) who lives in a lavish estate as he shares his inheritance with his mother Marie (Catherine Deneuve) where they have an offbeat relationship where he refers to her as his sister where it implies a bit of incest. Pierre is set to marry Lucie (Delphine Chuillot) as it would complete the idyllic life he leads until he believes he is followed by some strange woman whom he would finally meet on his way to meet Lucie one night as her name is Isabelle (Yekaterina Golubeva) who claims to be his long-lost sister. The second act would be about Pierre and Isabelle living a life that Isabelle knows as Pierre runs away from everything he once knew about as he would drift from place to place as they would eventually find a home in this shelter where artists and those on the fringe of society.
The script explores Pierre questioning the world he once lived in as the estate he lives with his mother would have places where he wonders about some of the rooms he’s never been in. In his first actual meeting with Isabelle, she would tell him through broken-French exactly who she is in this amazing monologue as it adds to the ambiguity of everything he tries to question. Once he would accept his fate in the film’s second act, he would be pushed away by his cousin Thibault (Laurent Lucas) who would later try to destroy him as Pierre is determined to create a new novel. Yet, aspects of his past would return to him in the third act where Lucie would join him as a troubled love triangle between him, Isabelle, and Lucie would complicate things. Especially as questions would emerge about his work in front of the public and the numerous tragedies that he would encounter.
Carax’s direction is definitely stylish in some respects but also has this balance of creating something that does feel very simplistic. Though the film starts off with this very strange montage of planes dropping bombs on cemeteries which is a very offbeat way to open the film as it showcases that not everything is as it seems. Even as the film starts off in a very calm and idyllic manner where everything feels like a world that a fool would want to leave as it’s shot near Normandy. Still, Carax would find ways to have elements of darkness and ambiguities lurking into the first act where Pierre’s first meeting with Isabelle would mark a major shift in the film’s tone. Especially where much of the film would be set in Paris but not in areas that usually defines the city but rather places that feels more like on the fringes.
The film would then become more stylish as the camera work such as some of the crane shots and set pieces become a bit more elaborate. Though there are stylish moments that Carax would present in the film’s first act in the motorcycle scenes. It becomes more apparent as the film progresses where it would include moments that are very dangerous and confrontational. Among them is a very explicit and un-simulated sex scene between Pierre and Isabelle as well as this very surreal dream sequence of the two making love into a river of blood. It would add to this sense of dark fantasy and despair the characters would live in as well as the continuing question of ambiguities and identity that Pierre would endure as it would lead to this very visceral climax. Overall, Carax creates a very unsettling and rapturous film about a man questioning his choices in life and who he is.
Cinematographer Eric Gautier does fantastic work with the film‘s cinematography from the lush yet colorful look of the posh locations in Normandy to the more grimy look of the streets of Paris with its low-key lights and de-saturated look to create something that feels more real and grimy. Editor Nelly Quettier does brilliant work with the film‘s stylish editing with its use of jump-cuts as well as fade-outs and such to create some dizzying montages and moments that would amp up the drama. Production designer Laurent Allaire and set decorator Regine Constant do excellent work with the set pieces from the look of the lavish estate that Pierre lived in to the factory-like home where he and Isabelle would live.
Costume designer Esther Waltz does nice work with the costumes as much of the clothes in the first act has everyone, except for Isabelle, wear white as it would become more ragged as the film progresses. The sound work of Jean-Pierre Laforce, Jean-Louis Ughetto, and Beatrice Wick is amazing for the way some of the mixing and textures sound such as the post-industrial music recorded in the factory as well as some of the film‘s eerie sound effects. The film’s music largely consists of score pieces by Scott Walker that is very ominous and chilling with its mixture of minimalist electronics and orchestral pieces while the soundtrack includes contributions by Smog, Sonic Youth, Fairuz, Nguyen Le, and M. Luobin Wang to play into the crazed world the characters live in.
The casting by Antoinette Boulat Outcast is excellent as it features some notable small roles from Samuel Dupuy as Lucie’s brother Fred, Dine Souli as a cab driver Pierre would argue with in the second act, Sarunas Bartas as leader of the factory home where Pierre and Isabelle would stay at, Miguel Yeco as the estate gamekeeper Augusto, Patachou as Pierre’s agent Marguerite, Petruta Catana as a feral gypsy friend of Isabelle in Razerka, and Mihaella Silaghi as Razerka’s daughter. Laurent Lucas is terrific as Pierre’s cousin Thibault who had feelings for Lucie as he would later isolate him and later try to create a schism over Pierre’s relationship with Isabelle. Delphine Chuillot is fantastic as Lucie as Pierre’s fiancée who is devoted to him as she would join him and Isabelle in their dreary world as she tries to deal with the decisions he would make in his life.
Catherine Deneuve is great as Pierre’s mother Marie as this very eccentric woman who wants to be referred to Pierre as his sister as she watches over his inheritance while becoming bewildered about this sudden decision to leave behind his idyllic life. Yekaterina Golubeva is amazing as Isabelle as this mysterious yet ragged woman who claims to be Pierre’s long-lost sister as she tries to tell him some truth as she is a woman with some great flaws but there’s something entrancing in Golubeva’s performance that makes Isabelle so interesting. Finally, there’s Guillaume Depardieu in a riveting performance as Pierre as this young novelist who goes from being the writer of his generation to being a man who descends into madness as he questions about his identity and choices in his life.
Pola X is a tremendously harrowing yet captivating film from Leos Carax. Armed with great performances from the late Guillaume Depardieu, the late Yekaterina Golubeva, and Catherine Deneuve as well as dazzling visuals. It’s a film that definitely takes the idea of incest and identity to massive extremes as it’s definitely not a film for the faint of heart. In the end, Pola X is a remarkable film from Leos Carax.
Leos Carax Films: Boy Meets Girl - Mauvais Sang - The Lovers on the Bridge - Tokyo!-Merde - Holy Motors - Annette - The Auteurs #36: Leos Carax
© thevoid99 2014
Based on the novel Waltz Into Darkness by William Irish, La sirene du Mississippi (Mississippi Mermaid) is the story about a tobacco planter who becomes engaged to a woman he never met yet corresponded with during his time at Reunion Island at the Indian Ocean. Written for the screen and directed by Francois Truffaut, the film is an exploration into love and identity where a man wonders if the woman he marries is the one he had been communicating with. Starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Catherine Deneuve. La sirene du Mississippi is a thrilling yet engaging film from Francois Truffaut.
The film is a simple story set at Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar where a French tobacco plantation owner is set to marry a woman he never met yet only corresponded through letters. Upon meeting her, he is baffled by the fact that she looks nothing like the picture he had been carrying yet is still infatuated with her. When he receives a letter from her sister, his suspicions are raised as he learned that his money has been taken and his bride has disappeared. With the help of a private investigator, Louis Mahe (Jean-Paul Belmondo) travels to France to find the woman who claimed to be Julie Roussel (Catherine Deneuve) where their subsequent meeting would reveal some strange truths and such that would complicate things.
It’s a film that plays like a conventional thriller with lots of twists and turns but there’s an element to the story that makes it far more unique in the fact that it’s also a love story between this man and a woman who pretended to be another woman so she can steal his money. Even as the second act has Louis and Julie, whose real name turned out to be Marion Vergano, go on an adventure of their own while trying to avoid people who could be suspicious of them. Especially when it involves the presence of the private investigator Louis and Julie’s actual sister had hired where it creates lots of complications for Louis and Marion as the third act has the two bickering at each other with very little options of what to do. It all plays to the idea of love and how two people are brought together by dark circumstances only to come together in ways that is unexplained.
Francois Truffaut’s direction is very mesmerizing for not just the way he portrays Reunion Island as a place onto itself where it is very unique. It’s also in the fact that he creates a film that is filled with an array of style yet keeping true to the story. Much of it would feature film stock about the island as well as some offbeat pacing in the way Truffaut approaches the suspense. Especially as he is more concerned about the characters and Marion’s motivation into stealing from Louis where it reveals to be much more complicated than it actually is. Truffaut’s compositions and some of the scenes he creates are definitely lively such as a long shot set inside a car where Marion and Louis try to get some money only to realize that the police are at the hotel they were staying in.
The atmosphere that Truffaut creates at Reunion Island is very serene and exotic while the scenes set in France in cities like Lyon and Nice is far more chaotic considering that it’s a world that Louis hasn’t been to very much which is weird considering that he’s a modern guy that drives a nice car. Especially since he was a man of importance at Reunion Island while being this oddball in France where it’s a place that Marion can handle things. Things become more intense in terms of the suspense and drama in the third act as Truffaut would make things much more simpler into what Louis and Marion have to do but also the sense of internal conflict between the two where they despise each other but also love each other. Overall, Truffaut creates a very fascinating film about a man who marries a woman that steals his money but has also captured his heart.
Cinematographer Denys Clerval does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from the lush look of the scenes set at Reunion Island to the more vibrant yet colder look of France in its exteriors and interior scenes. Editor Agnes Guillemot does brilliant work with the editing in its emphasis on style from jump-cuts, montages, and such to play with the film‘s pacing as well as its approach to suspense. Production designer Claude Pignot does fantastic work with the look of the home that Louis lived in as well as some of the hotels and homes that he and Marion stayed in during their time in France.
The gorgeous dresses worn by Julie/Marion are made by Yves Saint-Laurent as they have a sense of style to the way Julie/Marion portray themselves throughout the film. The sound work of Rene Levert is terrific for the calm atmosphere of Reunion Island as well as the sense of chaos for the locations in France. The film’s music by Antoine Duhamel is superb for its orchestral-driven score that has some serene moments but also some eerie moments for the film’s suspense.
The film’s amazing cast includes some notable small performances from Marcel Berbetas as Louis’ friend/business advisor Jardine, Nelly Borgeaud as Julie’s sister Berthe who would arrive to the island and ask for the help of a private detective, and Michel Bouquet as the private detective Comolli who goes on the search to find out what really happened to Julie Roussel and who is the imposter. Finally, there’s the performances of Catherine Deneuve and Jean-Paul Belmondo in their respective roles as Julie Roussel/Marion Vergano and Louis Mahe as both of them are incredible. Deneuve has this entrancing sexuality and ferocity that makes her very unique in playing a woman who steals from a man she marries only to become conflicted. Belmondo is very restrained in his performance as a man who is aloof by what has happened to him but becomes aware of the fact that he still might be played. Deneuve and Belmondo are just remarkable to watch as they are really major highlights of the film.
La sirene du Mississippi is a ravishing film from Francois Truffaut that features top-notch performances from Jean-Paul Belmondo and Catherine Deneuve. While it’s a more genre-based film that most of Truffaut’s more unconventional films, it is still a fascinating piece for the way he approaches suspense as well as the complexities of love. In the end, La sirene du Mississippi is a phenomenal film from Francois Truffaut.
Francois Truffaut Films: The 400 Blows - Shoot the Piano Player - Jules & Jim - Antoine & Colette - The Soft Skin - Fahrenheit 451 - The Bride Wore Black - Stolen Kisses - The Wild Child - Bed and Board - Two English Girls - Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me - Day for Night - The Story of Adele H. - Small Change - The Man Who Loved Women - The Green Room - Love on the Run - The Last Metro - The Woman Next Door - Confidentially Yours
The Auteur #40: Francois Truffaut (Pt. 1) - (Pt. 2)
© thevoid99 2014
Based on the novel by Benito Perez Galdos, Tristana is the story of a young woman raised by a don as her adopted daughter and later his wife as she seeks to find her own voice upon meeting a young artist. Directed by Luis Bunuel and screenplay by Bunuel and Julio Alejandro, the film is an exploration into the life of a woman who tries to find her identity as an adult as she is played by Catherine Deneuve. Also starring Fernando Rey, Franco Nero, and Lola Gaos. Tristana is a chilling yet evocative film from Luis Bunuel.
The film is a simple story about a woman who is raised by a nobleman after the death of her mother as she grows to be his adopted daughter and later his wife. Yet, Tristana finds her life with Don Lope Garrido (Fernando Rey) suffocating as she seeks to find her own voice while Don Lope is unaware of a world that is changing where Tristana falls for the artist Horacio (Franco Nero) who would show her a world outside of the don yet she still needs him where she becomes ill some years later. It’s a film that explores a woman’s identity and her search to find herself. The film’s screenplay by Luis Bunuel and Julio Alejandro does have a unique structure where its first half is about Tristana as a woman in this relationship as she also is surrounded by the maid Saturna (Lola Gaos) and her deaf-mute son Saturno (Jesus Fernandez) as the latter has a crush on her.
Upon her meeting with Horacio, there’s something in the second half that seems to get lost in terms of its narrative where the second time Tristana and Horacio meet, they’re already having their affair. It’s obvious there’s some details that Bunuel and Alejandro cut out from the book to the script as well as the fact that there’s a lot of time-jumping which sort of confuses the story though it is set largely in 1920s Spain. The narrative does pick up steam in the third act where Horacio and Don Lope meet again where they’re careful around each other for Tristana but complications would emerge as it all plays to what Tristana wants to do. Especially as she’s a woman who had been pulled in many directions where she finds herself back in square one all over again.
The direction of Luis Bunuel does have an element of style but is also very intimate for the way he portrays life of a woman in 1920s Spain. Notably as he is always has his camera fixed on Tristana as she is someone who feels lost as she needed Don Lope as he always been a father to her. The compositions are quite simple in the way Bunuel showcases Tristana’s world where there’s not a lot of colors in her world where it’s a mixture of dark colors with white as there’s very little vibrancy in the film’s look. Even as Bunuel would create some strange dream sequences to play into whatever fate Tristana has for her as there’s some melodrama that occurs as well as some eerie suspense towards the end as it plays to everything Tristana went through in her journey to find herself. Overall, Bunuel creates an extraordinary film about a woman’s search for her identity.
Cinematographer Jose F. Aguayo does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography to display the palette that Bunuel wants while using some low-key lights for the scenes set at night. Editor Pedro del Rey does amazing work with the editing with its sense of style that includes some montages for Tristana‘s nightmares. Production designer Enrique Alarcon and set decorators Luis Arguello and Rafael Borque do superb work with the set pieces to play into the period of locations and homes while Arguello and co-costume designer Rosa Garcia do wonderful work with the period costumes that include the dresses that Tristana wears. The sound work of Bernardo Fronzetti is terrific for some of the sound effects that occur in the film as well as some of the moments that play out on location.
The film’s brilliant cast include some notable small roles from Fernando Cebrian as Dr. Misquis, Antonio Casas as Don Lope’s friend Don Cosme, and Jesus Fernandez as Saturna’s deaf-mute, trouble-making son Saturno who always like to do crazy things. Lola Gaos is excellent as Don Lope’s maid Saturna who is this conscience of sorts in the film despite her frustrations toward her son as she also oversee everything that Tristana and Don Lope do. Franco Nero is terrific as Horacio as a young artist who falls for Tristana as he tries to give her a different life only to deal with Don Lope’s power. Fernando Rey is fantastic as Don Lope as this nobleman who loves and cares for Tristana but also has a sense of control for her as he needs her but also knows how much she needs him. Finally, there’s Catherine Deneuve in a sensational performance as the titular character as a young woman trying to find her identity while being pulled left and right over what to do while becoming disillusioned and lost over the decisions she’s made in her life.
Tristana is a marvelous film from Luis Bunuel that features a radiantly mesmerizing performance from Catherine Deneuve. Along with notable supporting work from Fernando Rey, Franco Nero, and Lola Gaos, it’s a film that explores the world of womanhood as well as a woman finding her identity. Though it is flawed, it is still an engaging film that features some of Bunuel’s surreal trademarks to display a woman trying to find herself. In the end, Tristana is a majestically rich film from Luis Bunuel.
Luis Bunuel Films: Un Chien Andalou - L’Age d’Or - Land Without Bread - (Gran Casino) - (The Great Madcap) - Los Olvidados - (Susana) - (La hija de engano) - (Mexican Bus Ride) - (A Woman Without Love) - (El Bruto) - (El) - (Illusion Travels by Streetcar) - (Wuthering Heights (1954 film)) - Robinson Crusoe (1954 film) - (The Criminal Lives of Archibaldo de la Cruz) - (El rio y la muerte) - (Cela S’apelle l’Aurore) - (Death in the Garden) - (Nazarin) - (La Fievre a El Pasao) - (The Young One) - Viridiana - The Exterminating Angel - Diary of a Chambermaid - Simon of the Desert - Belle de Jour - (The Milky Way) - The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie - (The Phantom of Liberty) - (That Obscure Object of Desire)
© thevoid99 2013
Based on the novel by Joseph Kessel, Belle de Jour is the story of a housewife who spends her afternoons as a prostitute while her husband is at work as she deals with her sexual desires. Directed by Luis Bunuel and screenplay by Bunuel and Jean-Claude Carriere, the film is an exploration into a woman trying to find sexual fulfillment as she’s not finding that in her marriage prompting her to take drastic actions. Starring Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, Francisco Rabal, and Michel Piccoli. Belle de Jour is a provocative yet entrancing film from Luis Bunuel.
The film explores the world of a bored housewife of a surgeon who decides to become a prostitute in the afternoons to fulfill her sexual desires. There, she encounters men who give her the sexual fulfillment she craves which would have an ironic effect in her relationship with her husband until she meets a troubled criminal who wants her. It’s a film that is largely told from the perspective of the protagonist Severine (Catherine Deneuve) who has these fantasies of being beaten and insulted yet has a hard time living that out in the real world as she is bored and aloof which confuses her husband Pierre (Jean Sorel) who often works. Yet, she is also quite cold to his friend Henri Husson (Michel Piccoli) who would mention about the brothel that one of Severine’s old friends used to work at which prompts the curious Severine to see what is there where she would find this strange balance of fantasy and reality.
The film’s screenplay by Luis Bunuel and Jean-Claude Carriere creates a unique story that is largely told from a woman’s perspective where it’s opening scene is where Severine and Pierre are riding in a carriage where Pierre demands the carriage drivers to beat her. It’s a very strange moment to open the film but the fact that it’s Severine’s fantasy makes it even stranger into why would this woman want to feel pleasure from being whipped by men and such? Pierre has no clue about Severine’s fantasies as he is also baffled by her reluctance to have sex with him but he respects her too much to not do anything against her will. Still, there is that question of maybe Severine wants Pierre to take action but it doesn’t happen where she also is also attracted to Husson in some respects though she also despises him greatly because of how flirtatious he can be.
The script is also intriguing in how Severine manages to be part of this world of sex where she works for this very stern brothel madam known as Madame Anais (Genevieve Page) who shows her the ropes of what to do. Under the name Belle de Jour, Severine would become one of class and intrigue to the clients she meets. Yet, it becomes more troubling in its third act with the arrival of a criminal named Hyppolite (Francisco Rabal) who is an old friend of Madame Anais as he is joined by his young protégé Marcel (Pierre Clementi) whose attraction to Severine is very unstable. Notably as it clashes with everything she wanted but also the stability that she craves for at home.
The direction of Luis Bunuel is very entrancing in the way he blurs the idea of fantasy and reality. Most notably with its opening sequence that seems real but it has an air of surrealism that is common with a lot of Bunuel’s work as there would be these scenes that are presented in some of the beautiful ways. Even as it has this degradation that makes it so strange where Husson throws mud at Severine in one scene while she’s tied up on a tree in another scene to showcase how extreme these fantasies of sadomasochism can be. Even where Severine finally gets to act in these fantasies where there is a sense of happiness that occurs where even the fantasies become more playful in some respects.
The compositions that Bunuel creates are mesmerizing in the way he puts his actors into a frame or how he maintains the idea of reality and fantasy colliding. Notably as some of the moments of reality where Severine interacts with the other prostitutes showcase an intimacy in some of these scenes as well as scenes between Severine and Pierre where it’s quite calm. Still, Bunuel does create some great scenes in these moments where he would also include moments of symbolism to suggest the fate that Severine might face. Most notably a sequence where Severine is hired to play the dead wife of a man in this elaborate yet strange funeral scene. Things get darker in the third act where her encounter with Marcel is one that is just chaotic as it also begins to blur the idea of reality and fantasy where Severine must make a choice. Overall, Bunuel creates a very fascinating and captivating film about a woman trying to find fulfillment in her sexual desires.
Cinematographer Sascha Vierny does amazing work with the film‘s very colorful cinematography from the way the scenes in the forests look with its vibrant colors to some of the lighting schemes that is created in some of the film‘s interiors. Editor Louisette Hautecoeur does brilliant work with the editing where it is stylized with its jump-cuts and dissolves as it plays to some of the film‘s humor and strange moments. Production designer Robert Clavel does fantastic work with the look of the brothel that Severine works at as well as her lavish home that she and Pierre live in. The costumes of Helene Nourry is superb for its sense of style in the clothes that Severine wears that ranges from quaint and innocent to some of the sensual clothing she has to wear for work. The sound work of Rene Longuet is excellent for some of the effects that is created to play up that blur of fantasy and reality as well as in creating an atmosphere in some big scenes in the film.
The film’s incredible cast includes some notable small roles from Marguerite Muni as Madame Anais’ maid, Georges Marchal as a duke who hires Severine to come to his home, Macha Merill as Severine’s friend Renee, Francoise Fabian and Maria Latour as a couple of women who work for Madame Anais, and Francisco Rabal as the notorious yet cautious criminal Hyppolite. Pierre Clementi is excellent as the unpredictable and fierce Marcel who falls for Severine as she has everything he wants yet has a hard time not being with her. Genevieve Page is superb as Madame Anais as a woman who is stern but also very kind as she helps Severine figure out how to play her part while dealing with the fact that Severine is only working in afternoons. Michel Piccoli is great as Henri Husson as a man who is attracted to Severine no matter how much she despises him as he’s one full of charm and wit while he would be the one that would play a key role into ending Severine’s time as a prostitute.
Jean Sorel is terrific as Severine’s husband Pierre as he’s sort of this aloof yet kind surgeon who loves his wife but doesn’t know what she wants as he’s quite oblivious to her activities while being a much more brutal person in her fantasies. Finally, there’s Catherine Deneuve in a remarkable performance as Severine as this woman who sort of has this cold yet lost personality early in the film to someone who seems to enjoy being beaten and humiliated in her fantasies as it’s definitely one of Deneuve’s finest performances in her career where she shows a bit of skin but also shows something much more in this film.
Belle de Jour is a phenomenal film from Luis Bunuel that features a radiant performance from Catherine Deneuve. The film is certainly one of the most interesting takes on the world of sexual fantasies and sadomasochism as well as what a woman wants in her life as she is just simply trying to find herself. Most notably as it would also play into the idea of reality and fantasy in what a woman wants. In the end, Belle de Jour is a sensational film from Luis Bunuel.
Luis Bunuel Films: Un Chien Andalou - L’Age d’Or - Land Without Bread - (Gran Casino) - (The Great Madcap) - Los Olvidados - (Susana) - (La hija de engano) - (Mexican Bus Ride) - (A Woman Without Love) - (El Bruto) - (El) - (Illusion Travels by Streetcar) - (Wuthering Heights (1954 film)) - Robinson Crusoe (1954 film) - (The Criminal Lives of Archibaldo de la Cruz) - (El rio y la muerte) - (Cela S’apelle l’Aurore) - (Death in the Garden) - (Nazarin) - (La Fievre a El Pasao) - (The Young One) - Viridiana - The Exterminating Angel - Diary of a Chambermaid - Simon of the Desert - (The Milky Way) - Tristana - Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie - (The Phantom of Liberty) - (That Obscure Object of Desire)
© thevoid99 2013
Based on the novel by Whitley Strieber, The Hunger is the story about a doctor who finds herself in a strange love triangle involving vampires during her research on the world of aging. Directed by Tony Scott and screenplay by Ivan Davis, and Michael Thomas the film is a stylish take on the world of vampires as one of them tries to gain immortality forcing his lover to face the truth as she seeks a new lover. Starring Catherine Deneuve, Susan Sarandon, David Bowie, Cliff de Young, and Dan Hedaya. The Hunger is an entrancing yet hypnotic film from Tony Scott.
The film is about a vampire couple who had been living for three centuries as prey on those to feed on their appetite for blood. Upon learning about a woman’s research on aging and the idea of eternal life, one of the vampires is seeking to know more as he finds himself aging rapidly forcing his lover to think about getting a new one in the woman who had been working on this research. Yet, it’s a film that plays into the idea of eternal life as a man named John Blaylock (David Bowie) deals with his aging as he asks his lover Miriam (Catherine Deneuve) about the aging process as she had previous lovers who had fallen to the fate that he’s about to fall prey to. John turns to Sarah Roberts (Susan Sarandon) whose research on aging has him intrigued but she doesn’t believe that he’s aging until some time later as she attracts the attention of Miriam where she finds herself in a very strange situation.
The film’s screenplay does have this unique structure where the first act is about John and Miriam’s relationship as well as John dealing with his aging as he turns to Sarah for help based on her research. The second act is about Sarah meeting Miriam where the former becomes strangely obsessed with the latter which then leads to the relationship as Sarah is unaware of what Miriam really is. It all would play in this third act where Sarah is forced to deal with her symptoms as well as what she might become. Though its climax would play into Miriam’s claims that she would give Sarah eternal life and to love forever and ever as Sarah would make a decision. Its ending would unfortunately lose some of that emotional impact as well as create some confusion into the fate of its main characters as it is revealed that the ending was more enforced by the studio.
Tony Scott’s direction is definitely a major highlight of the film in not just the compositions that he creates but also infuse with a high degree of style. While it’s a style that isn’t for everyone, it does play into an atmosphere that is sort of Gothic in some respects where the film opens at a Goth disco where the legendary Goth band Bauhaus plays. Scott would infuse the film with some symbolism where the scene of John and Miriam killing their prey that is inter-cut with a lab monkey killing another as it would play into Sarah’s research. Scott’s direction also includes a few stylish flashbacks and some slow-motion action to play out some of the drama and terror that occurs. Even in a very stylish and sort of operatic love scene between Miriam and Sarah that does have this great element of beauty and horror. Despite its tacked-on ending, Scott manages to create a very ravishing yet exhilarating film about vampires and their desire for eternal life.
Cinematographer Stephen Goldenblatt does amazing work with the film‘s stylish photography with its array of shadows and shades to play with its lighting to convey a Gothic mood for the film in many of its interior scenes. Editor Pamela Power does excellent work with the editing as it very stylized with some jump-cuts and slow-motion cuts to play into some of its symbolism and suspense. Production designer Brian Morris, with set decorator Ann Mollo and art director Clinton Cavers, does fantastic work with the look of John and Miriam‘s posh New York City penthouse as well as the lab where Sarah works at.
Costume designer Milena Canonero does excellent work with the costumes from the period clothes that John and Miriam wore to Goth clothes of the time while a lot of the dresses that Miriam wears is from Yves St. Laurent. Special makeup work by Antony Clavet does brilliant work with the makeup to display John‘s rapid aging as he struggles with the fate he might play into. Sound editor Peter Pennell does superb work with the sound to create some unique effects on some of the dialogue as well as some textures to play out the suspense. The film’s music by Denny Jaeger and Michel Rubini is terrific for its chilling, electronic-based score to play out some of the drama while a lot of the music that is assembled by music supervisor Howard Blake features a wide array of classical and opera music from composers like Franz Schubert, Johann Sebastian Bach, Gregorio Allegri, Maurice Ravel, and Leos Delibes as well as some modern music from the Goth band Bauhaus and Iggy Pop.
The film’s cast features some early cameos from John Pankow and Willem Dafoe as a couple of punks as well as Ann Magnuson and John Stephen Hill as a couple John and Miriam meet in the opening sequence that features Bauhaus. Other notable small roles include Dan Hedaya as a police investigator, Beth Ehlers as a tomboy violinist John and Miriam teach, and Cliff De Young as Sarah’s boyfriend Tom who becomes concerned about Sarah’s condition. Susan Sarandon is brilliant as Sarah Roberts as an age researcher who is eager to find a way to slow down the aging process while finding herself becoming attracted towards Miriam.
David Bowie is amazing as John Blaylock as a man struggling with his rapid-aging as he also realizes the fate that he might play that Miriam’s previous lovers have succumbed to. Finally, there’s Catherine Deneuve in a phenomenal performance as Miriam Blaylock as a woman who had lived a very long life as a vampire as she deals with John’s aging and possible fate while falling for Sarah as she seeks to take her as her new lover.
The Hunger is a marvelous film from Tony Scott thanks in part to its Gothic imagery, brooding soundtrack, and the performances of Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, and Susan Sarandon. While it’s not a perfect film that includes a pretty lame ending. It’s still a film that plays into the world of vampires that fans of vampire films can enjoy while it is very unapologetic in its emphasis on style over substance. In the end, The Hunger is a stellar yet mesmerizing film from Tony Scott.
Tony Scott Films: (One of the Missing) - (Loving Memory) - (Top Gun) - (Revenge) - (Days of Thunder) - (The Last Boy Scout) - True Romance - (Crimson Tide) - (The Fan) - (Enemy of the State) - (Spy Game) - (Man on Fire) - (Domino) - (Déjà Vu) - (The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009 film)) - (Unstoppable)
© thevoid99 2013
Written and directed by Jacques Demy, Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) is a musical-drama about a pregnant young woman who has to deal with a new life when her lover is away at war. With the dialogue sung, the film is a look into a young woman trying to deal with the new changes in her life. Starring Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo. Les Parapluies de Cherbourg is an evocative yet enchanting film from Jacques Demy.
The film explores the life of a young couple in Genevieve (Catherine Denueve) and Guy as they’re two young lovers living in the small town of Cherbourg as she works for her mother (Anne Vernon) at an umbrella shop while he is a mechanic who lives with his ailing aunt Elise (Mireille Perrey). When Guy is reported to join the military for Algerian War, the couple part ways as Genevieve tries to figure out what to do as to whether wait for Guy to return or to marry this charming young jeweler named Roland (Marc Michel). It’s a film that is about fates and the choices that people have to make in their life as it also explores ones that are uneasy. Even as both Genevieve and Guy have to deal the choices in their lives.
Jacques Demy’s script does have a traditional structure while the film is set from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. The first act is about Guy and Genevieve’s love affair that is quite lively though Genevieve’s mother disproves of the relationship until she meets Roland. The second act is about Genevieve living all alone with her mother as she waits for word on Guy while starting a relationship with Roland as she is also pregnant with Guy’s child. The third act is about Guy’s return to Cherbourg two years after his service as he deals with loss and changing times while wanting to figure out what to do with his life. Part of what helps the story play into the drama is the dialogue that helps carry the story where Demy plays into the dramatic stakes while adding bits of humor in the dialogue. It would all play to the fates of Genevieve and Guy and what would happen throughout the story.
Demy’s direction is very entrancing in not just the scope of the film but also in the way the scenes play into the romance and drama that occurs in the film. Since it’s a musical, most of the dialogue is sung for the film as it helps tell the story while Demy uses a lot of gazing long-shots to play into the emotions of the song that is happening. Some of which is lively and full of joy while some of it is also quite melancholic as it plays to Genevieve’s longing for Guy. Demy also uses some close-ups while knowing how to frame the actors in those close-ups against the background. The direction also has moments where there’s something happening in the background which contrasts to what is really happening in the scene that plays to Genevieve’s loss of her youth.
Many of the dramatic moments of the film is more loose as there’s no dance numbers where the actors are more concerned with just singing the song and trying to showcase the emotions of what is happening in the film. Notably in the third act in Guy’s return as he arrives at Cherbourg realizing that things have changed and he is ravaged by not just war but the loss that he’s facing. Still, Demy provides a lot of moments where Guy can find a way to move on the form of Madeleine (Ellen Farner) who had been taking care of his aunt. It’s a part of the third act where Guy can find a live without Madeleine but knows that he’ll never get over her. Overall, Demy creates a very tender yet majestic musical about love and youth.
Cinematographer Jean Rabier does amazing work with the film‘s lush cinematography that is filled with vibrant colors and many shots to play out the beauty of the location as well as some of the melancholia that is prevalent in the film. Editors Anne-Marie Cotret and Monique Teisseire do excellent work with the editing as it‘s mostly straightforward to play to the rhythm of the song as well as a few montages and fade-outs to help play out the sense of changes that is happening. Production designer Bernard Evein does fantastic work with the set pieces from the look of the umbrella shop to some of the places in the town of Cherbourg to showcase a world that is lively in the late 50s to something more quiet later on.
Costume designer Jacqueline Moreau does a brilliant job with the costumes as it plays to the film‘s vibrant color schemes as well as the tone of the story to complement the mood of the characters. The sound work of Francois Musy is terrific for its low-key sound as well as creating a natural mix for the singing in the film. The film’s music by Michel Legrand is incredible as it’s this nice mix of lush orchestral music for the ballads along with a few jazz pieces and upbeat stuff to play along to the dialogue that is sung in the film.
The film’s marvelous cast includes some notable small performances from Jean Champion as Guy’s old boss Aubin and Mireille Perrey as Guy’s very maternal Aunt Elise. Marc Michel is terrific as the very charming Roland Cassard while Ellen Farner is wonderful as Aunt Elise’s longtime caretaker Madeleine who always had feelings for Guy. Anne Vernon is amazing as Genevieve’s mother as a woman who wants the best for her daughter while dealing with some of the chaos in her daughter’s life. Nino Castelnuovo is excellent as Guy as a young man who wants to give Genevieve a nice life only to be forced to join the army to fight the Algerian war where he returns a lost man trying to find some meaning in his life. Finally, there’s Catherine Deneuve in a radiant performance as Genevieve as Deneuve brings a very sensitive yet enchanting performance as a young woman whose life is changed by war as she faces an uncertain future but also one that is offered that can help her as it’s one of Deneuve’s great performances.
Les Parapluies de Cherbourg is a remarkable film from Jacques Demy that features an incredible performance from Catherine Deneuve. The film isn’t just one of the great films of the French New Wave but also a musical that is truly original as well as exciting to showcase a world of loss and hope. It’s also a film that plays into the hopes of youth and the realism they face as adults as it’s told with such style. In the end, Les Parapluies de Cherbourg is a magnificent film from Jacques Demy.
Jacques Demy Films: (Lola (1961 film)) - Bay of Angels - The Young Girls of Rochefort - Model Shop - Donkey Skin - (The Pied Piper (1972 film)) - A Slightly Pregnant Man - (Lady Oscar) - (La Naissance du Jour) - Une chambre en ville - (Parking (1985 film)) - (Three Places for the 26th) - (Turning Table)
© thevoid99 2013
