Extension du domaine de la lutte

It is true that in some ways it is a bleak film but in no way is it depressing. It's got a similar feel to Neil Labute's In The Company Of Men, ie very very funny, everything shot through with a healthy dose of black humour. The climax in the club and on the beach are some of the funniest and breathtaking scenes I've ever seen in a film. The dialogue is spot on. It did take a short while for me to get the measure of this but once I was in I was hooked. It's definitely worth sticking with. I haven't read the novel so I can't say how closely it sticks to Houellebecq's material but I have read his follow up Atomised and was pretty underwhelmed for the most part so maybe this is a good thing.

All in all see past the downbeat tone and get to the heart of a completely irrelevant man who is not afraid to show it.

Faithful adaptation of witty and interesting French novel about a cynical and depressed middle-aged software engineer (or something), relying heavily on first-person narration but none the worse for that. Downbeat (in a petit-bourgeois sort of way), philosophical and blackly humorous, the best way I could describe both the film and the novel is that it is something like a more intellectual Charles Bukowski (no disrespect to CB intended). Mordantly funny, but also a bleak analysis of social and sexual relations, the film's great achievement is that it reflects real life in such a recognisable way as to make you ask: why aren't other films like this? One of the rare examples of a good book making an equally good film.

Having commented a few times on the decline of recent French cinema it is always a pleasure to report the discovery of works that run counter to this trend, the films of Andre Techine for instance. Although not quite in the same league as Bresson or the best of Chabrol or Truffaut, his films are outstanding because of the compassion with which he depicts his characters, generally young men caught up in adversity. Philippe Harel has achieved something similar in "Extension du Domaine de la Lutte" with a somewhat older pair of working men who are trying to face up to the fact that life is proving a disappointment. "Our hero", as the unseen voice-over narrator refers to him, is a computer systems salesman who, nearing his forties, has had no luck in attracting feminine affection. He lives alone and is unhappy and unfulfilled in his work. The youthful promise and enthusiasm for life glimpsed only in boyhood photographs have been drained out of him and he has all but given up on finding a lasting relationship. His colleague with whom he is obliged to share a sales promotion tour approaches a similar sexual predicament in a different way. Shorter and uglier he has adopted a defence mechanism of bravado and the bonhomie of the blue joke teller. He refuses to retire into his shell to the extent of continually looking for conquests in nightclubs. These always end in rebuttal with tragedy the eventual inevitable outcome. "Our hero" on the other hand finds a different sort of defence mechanism in voluntarily committing himself to a mental institution when no longer able to cope with normal relationships at his workplace. The film's conclusion is open-ended in its suggestion that he might be on the verge of finding a relationship but it only hints at the possibility. Such an outcome is by no means certain. The director has elected to play the central role and a remarkable job he has made of it, balancing stoicism with self-pity most convincingly. That we are offered such a three-dimensional view of his character is largely due to the way Harel shares that most French device, the voice-over commentary, between two narrators, an unseen storyteller and the character himself. The alternation of the two voices illuminates the central character in a way that justifies this narrative device more effectively than I can remember from any other film.

Although very different, this is the type of film you may like if you appreciated Ghost World. The world is shown from an outsider's view who can't connect with people. It may not be on the same quality level and it has some freaky and disturbing shots at times but more often than not it hits right on the nail very firmly.

Some things depicted are grossly outdated even for a 1999 film like some of the clothing and the porn cinema. There are some brief pornographic images that could disturb some viewers. They didn't really bother me but seemed unnecessary although sex is an important topic of the film. It portrays life as a struggle that the main character refuses to waste his energy on. One is the masculine struggle for economical importance and dominance. The other is where the females have the power: sex. The gap between the haves and have-nots is much much bigger in the second department if you ask me (at least in western society) but there is an analogy between the two: they are both markets and humans have become products themselves in almost every way. It makes it hard to understand how people can stand life anymore. The main character is called "our hero" but the real hero is revealed in the end, struggling until the end, trying to make the best of it while the protagonist has given up on life.

Some things were disturbing, like when the protagonist recommends his colleague to kill a woman with a knife. It's not really convincing but explained as a way to gain power which is all what life seems to be about. Here, the characters become too much of a vehicle to carry ideas rather than real people. But mostly, the film is pretty real.

The female psychologist at the end also disturbed me, apparently she thought everybody who has no sex should either change that quickly or commit suicide, or at least has to stay absolutely miserable, as if nothing else matters in life than sex. If she applied her philosophy worldwide she'd be a mass murderer (for causing many suicides). Her beliefs might be more depressing than this film which is mostly funny in the first half and gets bleaker and sadder in the second, where tears get harder to suppress. The movie moved me in both ways and is good for that reason but also the sharp and keen insights on how the world worked...really I saw so many truths in this film, mostly the ones that were told by the main character. While he's clearly depressed his views are unfortunately too crystal clear and true for the film to be comfortable to watch. It hits you where it hurts which is exactly the intent of the writer Michel Houellebecq.

The main defect of the film is the reliance on voice overs. However the medium does add value by depicting precisely how things work in a discotheque for instance, or how things at work can be. There is also this dry humor at times that has to be timed, something that cannot be done in a book. Some typically French things also made me crack up, like waiting half a minute before nodding to the "garcon" that the wine is acceptable.

You will not relate to this movie if your (sex) life is fantastic and perfect and you don't understand depressed people or don't care about philosophy or psychology. Otherwise you have to see this movie!

There is a slight hint of optimism at the end as usual in Houellebecq's stories. It's just too bad I don't really love dancing!

A film about a bored, depressed fortysomething in nineties Paris with a total lack of a sex life, and his bleak, morose views on life and women. Despite his depression and loneliness, 'Our Hero' seems reluctant to do anything about his problems, unlike his business friend Tisserand, who at least tries to attract a partner - but is doomed to failure every time. Well directed, with an intriguing narrative structure, this is an interesting film even with it's almost constant downbeat, depressing tone.

6.5/10.