Un crabe dans la tête

From reading the above comments, I imagine that most these people are so used to a "hollywood" movie structure that when they're presented with something that shifts away from that, they just can't make sense out of it. The characters are fully developed, and I think the protagonist, Alex, is extremely believable. He has sympathy towards people who might not deserve it and then he can't get a hold of himself when he's about to put one of his precious relationships at risk. So what? That's exactly how we behave in real life too.

The cinematography is awesome, the music is beautiful, the plot is extremely interesting. And all the characters are so...French-Canadian.... I think you have to be French to understand that those situations are not unrealistic.

That's why I like Canadian movies - they are different, and tell the story as it is, without trying to embelish situations or try to tie the knots for the viewer... they assume the viewer is intelligent enough to take his own conclusions. Well, not all of them anyway...

I worked as the festival coordinator for the Toronto Environmental Film festival in 2001 -- this was definitely the most powerful and entertaining piece to be shown on the screens. The audience response was very similar and I've watched it several more times over.

The characters, the conversations and the twists together form a genuine and intriguing film -- something we all could relate to and I truly believe some of the choice made are similar to reactions I would have in the same position.

This film is very human and very french - but worth every moment.

Please try it. Mitchell

This was a fine film and a good study of a benign narcissist. Alex has clearly suffered some major trauma, not just the recent witnessing of dead people trapped in a shipwreck under the Indian sea, but something primordial that we, and he, can only guess at. For this, despite his immaturity, he remains sympathetic. He is not the blowhard narcissist or manipulator, but rather the childlike one. He tries to make everyone love him, and in so doing, loses all their love. At the same time the film was ingenious in showing how those around him use his narcissistic vulnerability. They are attracted to his eternal youth, bring him into their lives, and spit him out when he is unable to follow through on their demands. In other words it takes two to tango. It is too simple to see the other characters as having been disappointed by an immature man. My heart really went out to this fragile man trying to negotiate the terrain of an emotionally tumultuous world. No wonder he wanted to flee to the dark and silent ocean bottom.

Un crabe dans la tête tells a good story and tells it well. The characters are acted well and convincingly and the camera work communicates atmosphere effectively. A few details (the Biosphere scene near the end?!) are weaker or confusing, but are easily forgiven. Like many films made by Montrealers (Maëlstrom, Eldorado, Un zoo la nuit ... among many others), this one also feels like real-life Montreal with just a little extra fantasy added. There's nothing untrue about the depiction of the city. (In contrast, a Hollywood production set here, such as The Score, looks and feels like Montreal as seen by tourists from the U.S.)

Alex's main characteristic - excess desire to please combined with an incapacity to say no - is ladled on a bit thickly. He does become frustrating and even annoying to watch by the middle of the film. But his behavior, in less extreme form, is not at all uncommon (at least among Canadian Gen-Xers!). The film will have well served its purpose if it incites us to recognize the tendency and snap out of it.

This is a very good film from Quebec. The acting was nice, it was a really understated drama but at the same time had really strange (in a good way) elements to it and it had something to say. Can't go into too many details without spilling the beans but it's a good story about a guy who's kind of a knob and who has a lot of trouble with relationships both with women and just friends in general.