La gueule ouverte

This is a sad film with beautiful photography and some haunting music. It deals, graphically and unflinchingly, with the gradual death of a woman. Both the male characters (her husband and son) are portrayed as unsympathetic and incorrigible philanderers. The son (Philippe, played by Philippe Leotard) is married to a strikingly attractive woman (played by Nathalie Baye) yet he still cheats on her. Incidentally the cast list on IMDb seems to credit two different women as playing the part of Corinne, one of the women with whom Philippe goes to bed. The actress playing this part is in fact the strikingly attractive Marie-Blanche Dehaux, and she gives a good cameo performance. The film is an interesting reminder of the fashions in 1974, and is also a reminder of the casual racism and anti-immigrant prejudice which was apparently normal in rural France at that time.

This was appalling and irksome to watch.

It is very possible to be appalling and irksome, yet still either entertaining or interesting.

Barring these two bare minimums, an otherwise discomfiting film needs to be able to evoke emotion in the audience; to get us to care or sympathize with the characters.

Maurice Pialat did not do any of the above with this film. Difficult to even care about the dying woman, whom could be the victim by some perspectives. Victim of some tragic circumstances in her terminal illness, but perhaps as bad, in the form of her callous son and seemingly heartless, philandering and remorseless husband.

Realism is an admirable trait in any art production and storytelling, yes. Portraying death, dying, and complicated familial bonds with unsentimental, uncompromising raw honesty is indeed something to be applauded. But when the film is unable to successfully garner interest or investment, even in the form of cheap laughs or morbid fascination, this means little.

The film makes a noble attempt at redemption in the final moments, but it was too little, too late. Barely believable, after the characters acted the way they did for so long, with no sign of understanding the pain they were causing, nor any shame or intention to change. Quite a pity, because that penultimate tracking shot, zooming out of the family's now emptier than ever lives, could have made an A+ clip with a plaintive accompanying soundtrack!

I won't give anything away by saying this is about the reactions of the close relatives of a woman who is dying. It is a stunning, absorbing and beautiful study of these people, and I was totally entranced, I would have been happy for it to be twice as long. The emotions portrayed were so honest, with no hint of gloss or sentimentality. The human condition has never been better-portrayed.

This is not the greatest film by Pialat, but is still far better than most others of its time. It was his third feature, and the first set in his native Auvergne. Monique, a woman in middle age, is slowly dying of cancer, while her husband Roger tries to cope with his feelings of desperation by chasing women. The scene with the girl trying on the yellow pullover in Roger's store is marvelous: he feels her breasts while she seems not very upset over this, or amused either. Philippe is the only one of their children who is still around, and he seems to be following his father in philandering. His marriage with Nathalie will be a rocky one if he can't settle down. Nathalie herself is intelligent, maybe a bit too much for Philippe.

Pialat takes such chances when he shoots a scene: see the opening with Monique and Philippe at home listening to Mozart and talking about family matters; it goes on almost ten minutes, dangerously long you might think, yet Pialat and the actors bring it off beautifully. Hubert Deschamps settles into his part so well, he hardly seems to be acting at all. Same for Monique Melinand and Philippe Leotard; only Nathalie Baye seems a little self-conscious at times. Nestor Almendros was the cinematographer, he had already worked with Truffaut and Rohmer. Pialat wanted available light whenever possible: this accounts for the occasional muddy moment in the film. Is La gueule ouverte available as a Region 1 DVD yet?--if not, why not?

My Rating : 6/10

When death comes knocking at the door...

'The Mouth Agape' greatly reminds me of 'Cries and Whispers' and 'Amour' however it is more organic and real without the fancy aesthetics and settings.

Well-executed family drama with some great moments towards the end. Interesting to watch it for the immediate family's reactions.

Death is certain and unpleasant and 'The Mouth Agape' gives a serious treatment to the subject with realism minus all the cinematic embellishment (which is a good thing!).