La fleur du mal

"La Fleur du Mal" (Flower of Evil) unfolded like a multi-layered nineteenth-century novel. There was a plot involving politics, a plot involving romance, and the deep family secrets that appear to have afflicted the characters in a multi-generational curse. One of the characters even refers to their lives as the equivalent of a novel by Emile Zola.

I appreciated the rich psychological levels of the characters and the fine performances under the direction of Claude Chabrol. The character of Aunt Line as played by Suzanne Flon was especially moving. There were effective emotional moments involving reverie and interior monologue that conveyed great depth of feeling. In American films, we would have been given generic "flashback" scenes. In the more subtle European film-making style, the performer conveyed the past through emotional expression.

Like so many of the great nineteenth-century novels where everyone seems to be marrying his or her cousin, so too in "La Fleur du Mal" one of the plot lines focuses on a young man and woman deeply in love, who realize that their bloodlines are too close for comfort. Some of the film's most intense scenes are those in which the couple seeks to understand their complex family ties.

Interestingly, this eclectic film is not without dark humor, including a truly bizarre sequence related to an accidental murder. Stylistically, this is a film experience with lush cinematography of the contemporary Bordeaux region, filled with sensitive compositional choices and careful set-ups. If the characters had been outfitted in nineteenth-century costumes, this really could have been a Zola novel.

After four years in USA, François Vasseur (Benoît Magimel) returns to France and his father Gérard Vasseur (Bernard Le Coq) welcomes him at the airport and brings François home. François meets his stepmother Anne Charpin-Vasseur (Nathalie Baye), his stepsister Michèle Charpin-Vasseur (Mélanie Doutey) and his Aunt Line (Suzanne Flon) that has prepared a lamprey for lunch. The family has secrets: François and Michèle are in love with each other; Aunt Line is haunted by her past; and the womanizer Gérard, who has a laboratory and a pharmacy, hates that Anne is running for the election for Mayor. When a leaflet exposes the despicable scandal of their family, Anne is afraid of how this will affect her electorate while Michèle and François believe that Gérard has written and distributed the pamphlet. After the election there is an unexpected death that will certainly affect the Charpin-Vasseur family.

"La Fleur du Mal", a.k.a. "The Flower of Evil", is a dark family drama about a family with many secrets, including an incestuous relationship and collaboration with the Nazis and a murder in World War II. The story is slowly developed with open conclusion, with another great direction of Claude Chabrol and magnificent performances, highlighting Suzanne Flon in the role of a very clever old woman. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Note: On 13 January 2025, I saw this film again.

The picture talks upon a bourgeois family formed by parents previously divorced (Bernard Le Coq and Natalie Baye) , sons (Benoit Maginel and Melanie Doutey) and grandmother (Suzanne Flon). Terrible secrets emerge and are creating a spiral of consequences until lead to a tragic final .

The movie is well directed by Claude Chabrol who's deemed to be a master in the suspense genre , besides is considered as an initiator of the new wave or nouvelle vague , this movement had got splendor during the 60s . It's habitual in Chabrol films to deal with particular issues, thus : Obsession , adulteries , assassinations , jealousy , treason and he makes a penetrating description of the middle bourgeois class . All those characters are well narrated in the film . The cast is excellent , Benoit Maginel is good , Melanie Doutey is beautiful and attractive . Natalie Baye and the veteran Suzanne Flonn are impressive. Cinematography by Eduardo Serra (Young of the earring pearl ) is nicely made although mostly developed at interior scenarios. The film will appeal to suspense fans and Claude Chabrol moviegoers. Rating : Above average. Well catching.

This is a 100% French movie possibly not ever intended for American viewers. However, being the francophile that I am, I dug up "Flower of Evil" at my local library and proceeded to view it with much anticipation. Nathalie Baye is one of my favorite French actresses.

The story moves along a little slow but the mood of the film is enticing and it leads you to believe that something dark is lurking just beneath the surface.

That dark stuff emerges later on in various subplots while the entire plot does thicken up a bit with good tension. I felt a bit let down when it came time for a climax but I wouldn't dismiss this film because of that, I really enjoyed the superb acting, fine character development, and otherwise gripping story, a characteristic of many French dramas. Maybe some of the subtlety was just lost on me, but I liked the fact that you're never sure who's good or bad, but you end up feeling for each character.

"La Fleur du Mal" is a film for serious film watchers and/or students of acting or drama, and not for mindless entertainment.

"Flower of Evil" tells of a French Bordeaux bourgeoisie family of three generations with a family tree like a Los Angeles freeway map and a history of evil doings which doesn't really have anything to do with anything. As this film rolls along with the la-de-da day-to-day business of the mother running for local civic office while the step-sibs falling in love and granny putters around the garden, one can only wonder what the hell, if anything, is being developed in this apparent nonstory. When the end credits roll unexpectedly one can only wonder what Chabrol had in mind and why it was never really brought into clarity of fruition at the end. A kind of moderately interesting floparoo, this subtitled French flick has plenty of talent but no story. (C+)