La dernière folie de Claire Darling

I have been in love with Catherine Deneuve all my life. I cannot imagine why she got involved with this absolute rubbish movie. Sorry. The plot is absolutely infantile. The characters are even worse. I o would normally have switched off but I really tried to watch. Big mistake.

A film about yourself. You feel that scene by scene. A mother and her last day. A lot of stuffs in the yard. Her daughter. Dialogues, paintings, a priest and an exorcisation, beautiful cinematography, a ring and a clock. and a sort of poetry, too dark and bitter to define. Portrait of loneliness And, not the last, perfect embroidery of the performances of Catherine Deneuve and Chiara Mastroianni.

Perhaps because I'm somewhat depressed and have been for some time and probably will be for some time more, this film was perfect. In my early sixties I'm midway between the ages of the mother and the daughter so I obviously could relate. I was expecting it to be a slightly lighthearted romp through the journey of a mother and daughter as they grapple with the mother's onset of dementia. But actually it was a serious, poignant, eloquent and moving telling of a sad family story. The music was perfect and I was able to listen to it on my way home in the car thanks to Spotify. Loved it.

French cinema is a tad of an oxymoron. Self conscious artistry par excellence. Everything in French films is posturing. With the possible exception of Luc Besson's spectacular cinematography and framing, so overpowering the rest of the cinematic elements haven't got a chance to work on the viewer's consciousness. But not here. Look at me, I'm an aging movie star legend, I'm a female director doing women, themes as old as the hills, yeah, family life and aging are painful, but making a painful job of a movie doesn't mitigate the problem. I love movies that surprise and stretch my expectations, but French movies don't do that, and neither does this one. A dutiful exercise devoid of inspiration or surprise or anything natural and spontaneous. As exciting as a Friday afternoon history class. I'll pass, merci beaucoup!

I really enjoyed this movie without any sophistication. I have come to know 'oldies' who have lost their marbles or perhaps only some of them. Anyway many of us would come to agree that we have lost some sharpness with the passage of years. Here Clair Darling (Catherine Deneuve) portrait such condition, with the difference that she's 'filthy' rich yet very much in control of her affair even if she should not be! The plot wandered between actuality and past as so we may understand the event that unfold. And the ride is not always obvious as we'd like it to be . So it would be a good thing if one is, unlike her, holding his/ her mental faculties to the utmost to follow the trail appropriately! Still I think there will be questions to be answered when it's all over. I enjoyed, along with 3 others in the group, all the participating actors. And if you're a fan of antiquity you'll get plenty to love as well. I would not miss a a film with C Deneuve in it...I'm convinced my father did renovate period furniture for her . I'm surprised to be the first to review here and would advise to read elsewhere more concise and professional reviews if you want to know a little more about it.