Un crabe dans la tête

Definitely,this movie is surprising! Although the pace seems long at the beginning, we get into that movie impressively well. The cast and the characters' background is such well-developed. David La Haye is absolutely tremendous in that performance, and as great as French-Canadian viewers got used to see him in along the years. In response to some comments I read about this film, I'd only tell that this movie is based on the characters' psychology, and not the theme that represents each of them. Thus, this movie is of course not an arts movie. If you expect such, I understand you maybe don't like it.

Another great pride of Quebec's cinema! 8 out of 10!

I would take a film that has a great feel over a film with a great plot any day, which is not even the case here, because I would argue that the plot has more than enough to keep you interested. David LaHaye's utterly watchable performance is spot on and unlike any other you'll ever see -- and men don't usually get kudos from women for their portrayal of immature men. And if that wasn't enough, André Turpin, who directed and shot this, has a way of making films look like they're lit with light that's bounced off crystals -- there's this beautiful sheen you'd only expect to see in movies from the other side of the Atlantic. My favourite part is that even though it's got the makings of a serious drama, the dialogue is a smart and hilarious ode to the Québécois language that makes no apologies for not being from France. Quite honestly, my favourite Canadian film from the last 10 years.

This was a fine film and a good study of a benign narcissist. Alex has clearly suffered some major trauma, not just the recent witnessing of dead people trapped in a shipwreck under the Indian sea, but something primordial that we, and he, can only guess at. For this, despite his immaturity, he remains sympathetic. He is not the blowhard narcissist or manipulator, but rather the childlike one. He tries to make everyone love him, and in so doing, loses all their love. At the same time the film was ingenious in showing how those around him use his narcissistic vulnerability. They are attracted to his eternal youth, bring him into their lives, and spit him out when he is unable to follow through on their demands. In other words it takes two to tango. It is too simple to see the other characters as having been disappointed by an immature man. My heart really went out to this fragile man trying to negotiate the terrain of an emotionally tumultuous world. No wonder he wanted to flee to the dark and silent ocean bottom.

One could compare the scenario of "Un Crabe" the best with Dostoevski's novel, "The Idiot". We see our "hero" Alex, who we could regard as an idiot, but nevertheless, we see that he becomes the centrepiece in the scenario, just like Dostoevski's main character in "The Idiot". And all seem to need him very much, in their own special way.

His very best friend, Sam, welcomes him with open arms since he's so happy to have him back in his life. Another friend, Audrey, dares not to leave her flat and trusts him with her "business". And of course, the gallery director who says "je t'aime" to Alex. Need we mention as well that Alex sort of stopped his relationship with his "wife"?

We also see Alex make new friends, namely the cold and distant Marie; Sara (the girlfriend of Sam) with whom Alex gets on very well; Armando, the lonely rich kid who has nothing else better to do than to spend his fortune on drugs.

The scanario is very original and very well written. And like in Dostoevski's "The Idiot" we seem to ask ourselves, who is really the idiot here ... Alex or the society around him.

If you're in the mood to see a mainstream Hollywood film, with the basic Hollywood script of action, braindead violence and the cool happy end, this isn't the film for you. However, if you want to see something original and with much insight, you will enjoy your time spent watching this film.

Vive la differénce ;)

m.

The story of Alex (David La Haye) who craves for love and attention but, when it's getting too overwhelming, find refuge in the deepness of the sea. This contradiction is a the centre of the movie. A refreshing film with an original scenario, Un crabe dans la tête is fun to watch. But I would agree that there's a point to be made about how it's difficult to develop any feeling for the characters.

David La Haye is great in the main role. And the other characters are well performed by the rest of the cast. I liked Pascale Desrochers in the role of Audrey. She's also playing in the tv-series Virginie. That role seems to be a follow-up on the one she's playing in Un crabe dans la tête.

Out of 100, I gave it 82. That's good for *** out of ****.

Seen at home, in Toronto, on March 19th, 2004.