Vorsicht - Zerbrechlich!

Although the film was released in Germany with only one copy I believe that it is not only Rivette's best film and that does mean very much but also one of the best movies of the 90's. It's Rivette's most funny and most light film. The female characters and his look at Paris is even more wonderful than in his other movies. As in all of Rivette's film everything can happen and the film is indeed full of wonderful surprises. But mostly I admire Haut bas fragile for Rivette's sense of the possibilities of the cinema which has become a very rare thing in our days.

Superb! Excellent! Two-Thumbs Up! Gratifying! Captivating! Sumptuously Made!

That's still less than half of what I want to say for this film. I saw this film once in February, and completely fell in love with it. When it was shown in a cinema here again in October, I went to see it, doubting if my enjoyment would lessen in the second viewing when it loses all its unpredictability. But I found that my love for it grows even stronger. And I don't mind seeing it over and over again. For me, its running time seems like less than an hour. It makes time fly so quickly. Though a part of me think the film ends at the right point and at the right time, another part of me still yearns to see more of these characters. Nathalie Richard and Marianne Denicourt shines so brightly in this movie. Though I had seen a few films of Richard and Denicourt, it is this film that made me fall in love with them. From this film, I can see that Richard is very talented, and Denicourt is really alluring. I hope they will be very famous and I will have a chance to see many more of their works. Andre Marcon (Roland) is quite good too. As for Laurence Cote (Ida) and Bruno Todeschini, though they might be talented, their roles here are not of very pleasant, cheerful or likeable characters, and seem to require less range of expressive emotions than other characters. (Bruno is a lot more gorgeous in "Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train.") The choreography in this movie is my most favourite of all time. I have never seen any choreography like this before. I also like one irony in this film: Ninon wants to reveal a character's wrongdoing ,but his wrongdoing is in a way similar to her own. Songs here are very beautiful, and I'm quite impressed by Enzo Enzo. I really like the "shock therapy" scene, and an early scene in which Denicourt shows her unexpected strength is not only very comical, but also unforgettable to me.I think I would have a great fun if I could live my life in Rivette's universe, as Ninon, Louise, Celine, or Julie. Though "Celine and Julie Go Boating" is still my most favourite film by Rivette, I think "Haut bas fragile" deserves to be called one the 10 best films of the 1990's.

I'm not very familiar with Rivette, but I did enjoy the other two films I've seen by him (three, technically, counting his Joan of Arc movie as two). This one - I did not enjoy it. It's as purposeless and indifferent as Celine and Julie Go Boating, but nowhere near as enjoyable. It has a handful of enjoyable moments - mostly in its song and dance numbers (it's a musical - when Rivette feels like it). And the three stars, Nathalie Richard, Marianne Denicourt and Laurence Côte, are all quite cute. But, man, does this go absolutely nowhere for nearly three hours. I can only watch Richard dance around like a dope for two hours, tops. Anna Karina also has a small part. I feel like I deserve a trophy for getting through this - I felt like giving up 40 minutes in and I really wish I had.

Most of the reviews here either call it amazing or trash, either could be true.

I think Haut Bas Fragile has some redeeming qualities, notably the portrayal of 90s Paris, unique characters and interesting ways in which they are built in the audience's mind, and good artistic direction. If you're interested in a movie like that, I honestly recommend trying it, I thought it was interesting to see Rivette use a more modern setting, and as always, he uses setting well.

That said, I did not enjoy this movie. I thought the musical elements were thrown in without proper contexts, it's kind of a musical at times, but if you said that to someone, they'd become confused as they watch the first hour or so and see no sung musical numbers, and then even more confused when they suddenly start happening without explanation. The music was a weird mesh of 90s style music and older, more usual musical like songs, this could work, but didn't in this movie, in my opinion.

As well, there are a number of simply strange choices that don't seem to have deeper meaning, the dad's tape voice, the strange fling with the bodyguard, the aforementioned unexpected musical numbers, etc. These strange choices could've worked in a movie that was deigned around them, and Rivette is obviously capable of being surreal, but this just seems random more than surreal to me.

Also, while the movie is Rivette's normal great length, it doesn't develop the characters, mood, or ideas well; it seems to use time inefficiently.

I think the movie is interesting, but to me, it's more of a 'what if' kind of interest (what if Rivette made a more modern musical type movie while retaining his style, and the style of French new wave), rather than a 'I am interested by the plot' kind of interest.

Overall, I think if you want surreal but meaningful + female friendship, watch Celine & Julie, if you want multiple distinct and interesting characters that all contribute to an interesting plot, watch The Gang of Four, if you want to look at Paris, watch Le Pont du Nord, and if you want a musical, watch someone else. That said, if you like Rivette and have already seen much of his other work, give it a try, see if you like it.

One can see that the director really loves his actors, his work, and his audience. Perfect. The librarian girl subplot is so touching, especially the end! My only complain is "The voice of the father" - I understand, that it's supposed to sound "alienated", but it sounds completely unnatural, like it was just an imagination of Louise, or a tape playing. Anyway, this is a beautiful film. 10 stars.