meitschi
Joined Aug 2000
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meitschi's rating
I have read many terrible reviews of this film and expected something bland and convoluted, but after a few minutes, the visuals and storytelling really drew me in. Yes, some parts of the dialog are quite cheesy or too obvious, and the combination of the stories of Manolo and Josemaria is far from perfect. But Joffé is a very visual filmmaker, and so he was able to achieve with his beautiful images (kudos to Gabriel Beristain for his stunning visuals!) what he wasn't perfectly able to do with his dialog: to impress and inspire.
It was especially interesting how delicately and plausibly Joffé handled many real-life events from St Josemaria's life - scenes that could have gone terribly wrong in less expert hands. He also payed a lot of attention to visual detail - for example, in the end titles, the photos of the actors that portrayed real-life people are combined with real photos of these people.
The less interesting storyline was that of Manolo, though the final revelations were nevertheless disturbing enough. (At the same time, the movie has an astonishing lack of both gore and even the slightest touch of sensuality in it - surprising for a film about war and a destructive passion... They probably didn't want to lose the PG-13 rating, did they? ;-))
I guess, it's a movie for open-minded people with a taste for old-school movie-making, grand drama and big moral questions.
It was especially interesting how delicately and plausibly Joffé handled many real-life events from St Josemaria's life - scenes that could have gone terribly wrong in less expert hands. He also payed a lot of attention to visual detail - for example, in the end titles, the photos of the actors that portrayed real-life people are combined with real photos of these people.
The less interesting storyline was that of Manolo, though the final revelations were nevertheless disturbing enough. (At the same time, the movie has an astonishing lack of both gore and even the slightest touch of sensuality in it - surprising for a film about war and a destructive passion... They probably didn't want to lose the PG-13 rating, did they? ;-))
I guess, it's a movie for open-minded people with a taste for old-school movie-making, grand drama and big moral questions.
Though made as early as 1931, this film still has cult status in Hungary and was voted last year by a group of critics one of the 12 best Hungarian films of the century.
Mrs. Schneider, the wife of Mr. Schneider, a nouveau riche, wants to have a real butler to bring some 'class' into her household. This butler, Hyppolit, who had served at a count's castle before, turns everything upside down in the house. He changes the whole furniture as well as Mr. and Mrs. Schneider's eating habits. Things get more complicated, when Terka, the young daughter of the Schneiders should be married to a friend of her father's she does not love - and Mr. Schneider becomes seduced by a night club dancer called Mimi...
Some lines of the film as well as its songs 'Pá, kis aranyom pá' (Bye, Sweetie, Bye Bye) and 'Köszönöm, hogy imádott' (Thank You for Adoring Me) are still widely quoted and known in Hungary. A must-see for fans of old-fashioned, light-hearted comedy!
Mrs. Schneider, the wife of Mr. Schneider, a nouveau riche, wants to have a real butler to bring some 'class' into her household. This butler, Hyppolit, who had served at a count's castle before, turns everything upside down in the house. He changes the whole furniture as well as Mr. and Mrs. Schneider's eating habits. Things get more complicated, when Terka, the young daughter of the Schneiders should be married to a friend of her father's she does not love - and Mr. Schneider becomes seduced by a night club dancer called Mimi...
Some lines of the film as well as its songs 'Pá, kis aranyom pá' (Bye, Sweetie, Bye Bye) and 'Köszönöm, hogy imádott' (Thank You for Adoring Me) are still widely quoted and known in Hungary. A must-see for fans of old-fashioned, light-hearted comedy!
As another reviewer before me, I also can't believe how badly people are writing about this film here. I adore Francois Ozon and I've seen all his feature-length films. This one seems quite different from the others (except, maybe, Sous le sable) and it's as low-key as Ozon could ever get, but it is still an excellently scripted and played film that makes one think.
I didn't consider the backwards structure to be gimmicky at all, it rather helped the viewer to better make out flaws early in the relationship. There is betrayal in each one of the episodes, starting with the last (chronologically the first) one. The film shows us that even little egoisms and uncharitable behavior can lead to grave consequences - in this case, to divorce. The woman, Marion, seems to be easily led anywhere, not having enough standing of her own, while the man, Gilles, seems to be egoistic, cowardly and sometimes just simply sex-crazed.
I think the structure rather helps us to understand the characters better, since we have already seen the consequences of their actions and attitudes. I didn't consider the large gaps between (and also in) the episodes to be a problem - they only acknowledge that the whole story can never be told because it is made up by every single moment between their first meeting and the last time they see each other. These episodes can only indicate what went wrong, they cannot explain - that would be too simplistic.
The actors were excellent, especially Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi. The way the looks of the main characters changed during the film (becoming more and more youthful and fresh as the story goes backwards), was also excellently done.
The parallel love stories (between Gilles's brother and his young lover, and between Marion's parents) shed some more light on the relationship between Marion and Gilles - also on what might have gone wrong.
This film should probably be required viewing for every couple wanting to get married... :-) Not in order to deter them, but rather to make them aware of the pitfalls of relationships and married life.
I didn't consider the backwards structure to be gimmicky at all, it rather helped the viewer to better make out flaws early in the relationship. There is betrayal in each one of the episodes, starting with the last (chronologically the first) one. The film shows us that even little egoisms and uncharitable behavior can lead to grave consequences - in this case, to divorce. The woman, Marion, seems to be easily led anywhere, not having enough standing of her own, while the man, Gilles, seems to be egoistic, cowardly and sometimes just simply sex-crazed.
I think the structure rather helps us to understand the characters better, since we have already seen the consequences of their actions and attitudes. I didn't consider the large gaps between (and also in) the episodes to be a problem - they only acknowledge that the whole story can never be told because it is made up by every single moment between their first meeting and the last time they see each other. These episodes can only indicate what went wrong, they cannot explain - that would be too simplistic.
The actors were excellent, especially Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi. The way the looks of the main characters changed during the film (becoming more and more youthful and fresh as the story goes backwards), was also excellently done.
The parallel love stories (between Gilles's brother and his young lover, and between Marion's parents) shed some more light on the relationship between Marion and Gilles - also on what might have gone wrong.
This film should probably be required viewing for every couple wanting to get married... :-) Not in order to deter them, but rather to make them aware of the pitfalls of relationships and married life.