Les uns et les autres

I saw this on tv while living abroad, when it was presented over several nights. The first night was fantastic -- and I recommended it to others on that basis. Unfortunately, the stories as they played out subsequently failed, IMO, to live up to the first couple of hours. Still, there are some strong performances and interesting situations in this series set in Europe around WW2.

This movie starts off with great promise, especially for those with an interest in the performing arts. It is ambitious in scope, tying together three generations of several families centered around the devastating and tragic events of WWII. However, it proves overly ambitious, as the various stories end up trite and superficial, and didn't stand the test of time. I liked this movie when I first saw it in the theaters, and especially appreciated the great dancer Jorge Donn performing Maurice Bejart's Bolero in its entirety. I would say that is still the highlight of this movie (being a former dancer) but I have to say the other dance scenes reminded me of the bad 80's leg-warmer infested choreography of John Travolta's "Stayin' Alive". And what's up with the down and out Edith character who's washing windows at a dance studio one day, and ends up being a professional dancer the next, albeit not a very good one. Couldn't Jorge Donn tell the writers that a dancer needs more training than watching other dancers while washing windows??!! Also, the ending made you feel like you just watched an expensive commercial for Red Cross and UNICEF.

My wife recommended this, remembering it from when it was first in release. We watched it together - I howled and she cringed. Admittedly, the early sequences involving WWII were interesting. The rest of it appears like amateur night. Of course, I will never understand the "appeal" of Geraldine Chaplin, so I pass over her starring role. The film falls into a incoherent series of disconnected scenes supposedly pulled together in a stirring climax when all the different musicians unite for a performance of "Bolero" (!) to benefit UNICEF (!!). I now know why our world feels so much better than it used to... it was that UNICEF concert in Paris in 1980. Yeah! But... for a movie about musicians and the musical life - the director couldn't come up with a single really good song during the whole movie!?!?! Save yourself the trip!