Les mots bleus

Alain Corneau has been occupying a steady surge in French cinema for more than thirty years now. Topnotch thrillers like "Police Python 357" (1976), "Série Noire" (1979), ambitious works with "Nocturne Indien" (1989) or "Stupeur et Tremblements" (2003) reveal his strong ability at film-making. "Le Prince Du Pacifique" (2000), unworthy of his directing skills is perhaps the nadir of his career.

"Stupeur et Tremblements" which was a triumph when it reached the streets signaled a new direction in Corneau's work. In this intimate film, a young woman (Sylvie Testud) was the main character and before he shot his work, stories of men were the filmmaker's specialty. "Les Mots Bleus" is an extension of Corneau's new direction in his career with once again a young woman as the main role. It was the opportunity for Corneau to work again with Testud after their fruitful alliance for "Stupeur et Tremblements" and also to deepen his set of themes partly revolving on communication.

Three characters are at the core of "Les Mots Bleus". Clara (Sylvie Testud), a mercurial, neurotic mother who after she saw her grandmother died before her eyes stopped to read and is afraid of words. Her daughter Anna who is deliberately dumb. To try to cure her, her mother takes her to an institution for dumb an deaf children run by Vincent (Sergi Lopez), a manager who behind his solid look reveals zones of fragility and is unable to have a lasting relation with a woman. The school methods bear fruit for little Anna who gains trust in herself although she still refuses to talk to Clara's disappointment. The latter is smitten with Vincent but is afraid to love her.

Relationships the three characters weave between them partly constitute the film's attraction. Of the threesome, Anna is perhaps the more mature one; Clara and Vincent in a way act like children. The former dreads words and can't face the world that surrounds her while the latter in his course amuses the children by aping animals (in one sequence he apes a gorilla). He's also unable to link a love affair with a woman. Bit by bit, they will become easier to get on with each other. Scenery is also a vital element, notably the shed on the beach, a refugee for comforting childhood memories or the institution, a refugee for deaf and dumb children who through drawings let express what's going on in their souls. Like in Jean-Pierre Sinapi's "Nationale 7" (2000) which took place in an institution too (for disabled people), the choice of a DV camera for the sequences in the institution give the film a documentary approach and a blue-tinted cinematography serves Corneau's ideas. All in all, the real subject of the film is Clara and her reluctance to discover words and love again.

"Les Mots Bleus" didn't have as much impact as its predecessor and its somewhat formulaic, slick master plan clouds its scale of masterwork in Corneau's filmography although there's nothing mawkish here. Corneau's fans may want to watch it but it's not a film to which you would want to return.

I watched Les Mots Bleus last night. I felt very much taken at times by the emotions triggered by a very intimate film making. Alain Corneau takes you very close to the characters and their feelings. And the acting is so perfectly nuanced, so delicate, and therefore closer to the truth. This is one quality that is extremely important in psychological movies such as this one. Sylvie Testud reminded me of Isabelle Huppert in La Dentellière. Same very sensitive acting. And it's interesting that I recently saw Stupeur et Tremblement, by the same director, and they are very different movies, something I really appreciate in a director, this ability to explore totally different type of story and in very different ways. Sergi López is also a great actor. He is so convincing, the way he delivers his father's story at the restaurant... it gave me goosebumps. And of course, let's not forget Anna, the center piece of the whole movie, beautifully interpreted by beautiful Camille Gauthier with this fascinating stare of hers... ouafff! Great acting, great movie making, go ahead, see it, it's definitely worth your time.

This film floored me. I sobbed throughout. There was something incredibly raw about it which triggered emotions inside which no other film has done. I caught this film at the cinema in France last year, and I can imagine that watching it depending on English subtitles to convey its sentiment would detract from your experience. The three main characters (the single mother of irrational, overblown emotions, the questionably mute daughter and her dedicated teacher) are confused and insecure, their haunting pasts preventing them from living fully. They don't fit in anywhere, but may fit in with each other.

For those of us who deal with characters like these, or ARE characters like these in everyday life, this film strikes a familiar chord which resonates deeply within and breaks up the balled-up frustration and sadness which resides deep within the psyche. The style of the cinematography and the lack of music combined with the excellent performances and script make this story and these people feel very real. To blow off the relationship which develops between the mother and the teacher as extraneous or unnecessary to the plot is a mistake; the high emotions ARE the plot and are expressed most effectively. Les Mots Bleus is a tearjerker in the purest sense of the word. Don't read into it or analyze it too much; let your emotions be controlled.