Les belles manièresJean-Claude Guiguet’s Les belles manières (1978) is a beautiful film, but, more to the point, it is one that has taken beauty as its subject. Not content with merely exemplifying, or with setting itself the all-too-easy task of finding beauty in the world, it is a film about feeling beauty, about the effects and significance of an adored object, the whys and hows of it. The setting for this investigation is neither here nor there: a grande-bourgeois apartment enveloped in curtains, dark wood, and the comforting presence of family heirlooms, the precious as well as the worthless. It is a space resignedly past decadence, one which has dried out, but that has preserved some of the aroma of its past. A woman and her son live there. The son, overcome with apathy, has become an anchorite; in hopes of luring him out, and to lend an occasional hand with the housework,...
- 1/25/2016
- by Bingham Bryant
- MUBI
Chicago – Hats off to Cohen Media Group for unearthing yet another indispensable piece of cinema. Andre Téchiné, the brilliant French director perhaps best known for 1994’s “Wild Reeds,” united three great actresses to star in his ambitious, painstakingly researched 1979 portrait of the Brontë sisters who authored literary classics under male pseudonyms.
It’s ironic to see Isabelle Huppert cast in the role of the least well-known Brontë girl, Anne, considering that her screen career ended up being far more prosperous than those of her co-stars. Even at 26, Huppert has the piercing stare of a weary, time-worn soul, and her presence here is as hypnotic as ever. A mournful close-up in which her eyes close deeply upon reflection of an immediate tragedy is more achingly forlorn than the saddest of string orchestras.
Blu-ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Indeed, Téchiné’s film is a majestic ode to the sweet sorrow of melancholia. It’s startlingly...
It’s ironic to see Isabelle Huppert cast in the role of the least well-known Brontë girl, Anne, considering that her screen career ended up being far more prosperous than those of her co-stars. Even at 26, Huppert has the piercing stare of a weary, time-worn soul, and her presence here is as hypnotic as ever. A mournful close-up in which her eyes close deeply upon reflection of an immediate tragedy is more achingly forlorn than the saddest of string orchestras.
Blu-ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Indeed, Téchiné’s film is a majestic ode to the sweet sorrow of melancholia. It’s startlingly...
- 8/22/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.