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Ma saison préférée (1993)
Intelligent and complex family drama.
Berthe (Marthe Villalonga) an old woman who lives on a farm falls ill and thus goes to live with her daughter Emilie (Catherine Deneuve), a woman who gives the impression of calmness but seems dead to the world. Berthe resents the fake and cold relationship with her daughter. Emilie and her brother Antoine (Daniel Auteuil) are estranged; it has been 3 years since they parted. Berthe's situation causes Emilie to invite Antoine for Christmas. Memories come up and Antoine struggles with the intense feelings which are almost forbidden in nature that he secretly harbors for his sister.
Meanwhile, Emilie sees the empty shell of her household, which has been a façade for a long time, disintegrates. The loneliness which results causes her daughter Anne (Chiara Mastroianni) to find a friend and a sister-figure in Khadija (Carmen Chaplin), a young woman bitter and confused about her relationship with boys.
André Téchiné weaves a story about intense and painful complex family dynamics; the wide gap which exists between a parent and her children caused by modernity and class differences; and the painful ambiguous feelings siblings have for each other, including taboo incestuous feelings. On a smaller scale, he addresses the rough ways in which boys view girls and the power struggle that exist between them, especially in terms of sex.
The story itself is complex and takes unpredicted twists. Just when we think that Emillie and Antoine have resolved, at least for the moment, their tensions with each other, things take an unexpected turn which pulls back out each of their bitterness.
This makes the movie long. It is not for the impatient. However, for those who choose to stick to the end, it may prove a rewarding ride: the acting is spot-on and the actors blend perfectly with their roles. Catherine Deneuve is a genius playing Emilie, a woman cold and detached on the outside, but also with an undercurrent of vulnerability and an emotional core to her. The dialogue is brilliant and slowly, albeit confusingly revealing to us the way Emilie and Antoine see each other, which is rooted in a passionate childhood companionship. It is endearing to see Antoine, a brain surgeon, meticulously analyzing his sister and the relationship they have by linking it to his pet subject: the brain.
The only complain to this movie which I have is that the sub-plot (which revolves around the younger characters, namely Anne, Khadija and the dim-witted son who seems to force himself on the latter woman) seems to not be more thoroughly approached though still profound.
But otherwise, this is a great movie. André Téchiné has a knack for complex human dramas.
Indochine (1992)
Exquisite cinema.
(SPOILERS)
Regis Wargnier's Indochine is superb. The premise is simple enough: Eliane, a wealthy French landowner has an adopted Vietnamese daughter during French Indochina. Her life revolves her adored daughter and her extensive rubber plantation. Ultimately, they separate.
But what's complex is the relationship between Eliane and the people she controls (her workers, her child) which underlines the fraught relationship an empire has with her colonies. Eliane symbolizes the French empire while Camille symbolizes Indochina (which ultimately broke free from France). Eliane is both paternalistic and maternal, both cruel and kind at the same time, a privilege the empires have on their colonies. She protects a little boy, she whips a male worker for an offense - all this regarded by her as something maternal: a parent's love towards her child. She adores her plantation and runs it effectively and proudly.
At the same time, she passionately loves Camille who is very close to her; too passionately perhaps to the point of being controlling like she is with everything in her life. She tells Camille that there is no difference between races, that she (Eliane) is in fact Asian (as she was born in Indochina and has lived all her life there). But this is far from the truth. There is in fact an unequal relationship, of which Eliane enjoys the better end of the stick. The passionate tango which the mother and daughter performs at their Christmas party shows this. At first glance the dance is innocent. However, we see that Eliane whispers to Camille that she wants to be alone with her in a mountain chalet "like in the fairy tales". This parodies a heterosexual courting relationship and illustrates Eliane's masculinity (equated with the need to dominate) - not surprising as Eliane is thrust into the role of command usually linked to men and therefore enjoy the privileges accorded to men. This also illustrates the fact that despite their bond, there's no doubt that Eliane is linked to European privilege and that Camille is pampered, adored and doesn't stray far - France's exotic little pet.
But ultimately Indochina decides she no longer wants to be a pet. The turning point of the mother-daughter relationship starts when young and handsome Jean-Baptiste, a naval officer, enters the picture. Eliane's and Camille's tranquil life together is rocked. Eliane's usual cold and distant (and not to mention, secretive) approach to relationships is shattered when she actually falls for hims; the situation is made impossible when her daughter Camille also falls for Jean-Baptiste after being "saved" by him at a shooting. Jealous and hurt, Eliane orders him to be posted to the remote Con Dao islands. However, she underestimates Camille's will. Love-struck, Camille sets out cross country to go to Jean-Baptiste. Eliane and Camille's relationship as they knew it is never the same again.
Indochine is a superb picture illustrating a mother's love and control towards her child, and how the dependent child must ultimately separate, a metaphor of the fact that all empires end.
Make no mistake that this is France's story of the empire she lost; in fact from the very start of the movie, we hear Eliane narrating the story. Even when Camille was running away through the countryside, it is through Eliane's lens that we see the voyage. We don't see her Communist training. The details are unknown to Eliane. Eliane is simply imposing her emotions and narration on what happened, just like an empire imposes and creates the stories of her colonies.
The story is told with a charismatic soundtrack and cinematography. The shots of the Vietnamese countryside and the famous Ha Long Bay simply take your breath away, alongside with the shots of the rubber plantation misty in the morning. Eliane's wardrobe is also a feast for the eyes.
Excellent performances from Catherine Deneuve and Linh Dam Pham, whose portrayal of their characters' outward restraint and control also successfully show us their turmoil and pain. Deneuve was truly deserving of her Oscar nomination and Cesar win (alongside with the Golden Globe). Indochine has become one of her celebrated latter-day works, and rightly so.
However, one point off for the movie taking too long to unfurl; there is a sub-plot involving Yvette, the wife of Eliane's French coolie, that I did not care to know about. But over-all, a superb film, greatly nostalgic, which at the end may leave you with a heavy, melancholic feeling.
Dancer in the Dark (2000)
Beautiful and tragic
(Spoilers in this review) Dancer in the Dark is a beautiful, sad film. Bjork gives her all to her performance. Catherine Deneuve, her costar once commented that Bjork couldn't act, she could only "be". And it is true, Bjork is literally Selma: fragile yet strong, childish, dreamy and heartbreaking. This performance was such an intense experience for Bjork, that she's sworn off acting, something very impressive, especially since Bjork never wanted to act in the first place.
Catherine Deneuve also gives a stellar performance as Kathy, Selma's loving best friend who assumes the role of her protector. Her acting is amazing in a sweet, subtle and understated way. Deneuve is stripped off her real-life glamor to portray a French immigrant factory worker, and she does it impressively. Selma's and Kathy's beautiful, close bond is one of the touching aspects to this film. For example, in one scene, Kathy sees Selma trying to navigate her way home by using the rail tracks to guide her footing. Saddened by this, Kathy almost lets out a cry and tries to muffle it. Another example is when they are at the cinema, watching a musical. Selma can barely make out what is happening on the screen, so Kathy takes her hand and traces the dance steps on it and proceeds to kiss it.
The film is unique, with the cinematography being one of the most obvious examples. It uses a lot of camera movements: right to left, distant-length to close-ups, all within seconds. Some people may see this as hectic, but I find it to be a great choice as it adds to the intimacy one feels towards the story and the characters.
Other actors give notable performances: David Morse, who play the police officer neighbor Bill, Peter Stormare as sweet and lovestruck Jeff, Vladica Kostic as Selma's son who is the premise of Selma's tragic fate, Cara Seymour as Bill's superficial wife, and most notable among the supporting cast, Siobhan Fallon who plays the empathic prison warden who offers unexpected tenderness towards Selma.
I have never been that fond of musicals, but Dancer in the Dark is an exception because song and dance do not dominate the whole movie, only in between ample space of plot. The musicals exist purely in Selma's head, who seek refuge in them when life gets hard, hence this prevents the film from being absurd.
The film ends tragically. Some people report it took them a few days to recover while some admit to leaving the cinema disgusted - they hate it because they feel emotionally manipulated. And there are people like me who felt that they were indeed emotionally manipulated, but love the movie anyway just because it is so very beautiful. And the beauty of it does not only exist in the acting, the cinematography, the songs, the plot, etc but also in the very message of this film: that we, as humans, are equally capable of kindness and cruelty.
Marie Antoinette (2006)
artistry orgasm
Marie Antoinette is simply stunning, stunning, stunning! It doesn't have a lot to tell, and facts-wise, you'd be better off reading the biography. But this movie is great as it delights the senses. I am usually very detached from the environment, but this piece of Sofia Coppola's jolted my senses. In a good way. The decor, the costumes (courtesy of Milena Cananero, the same lady who dressed up the cast of Life Aquatic), and the brilliant soundtrack (chosen specially by Sofia herself I'm pretty sure - the girl has good taste) and the beautiful cinematography (long gaze of the palace, close-up shots of big fat colorful pastries on china's, pretty cards, wine overflowing glasses, among others) all contribute to this artistic masterpiece. Not too mention the amazing acting by Kirsten Dunst. She doesn't explode dramatically like Jolie or act in the stoic way like Johansson, but rather she breathes life into her acting in little subtle moves & expressions, and this to me, is a work of genius. This movie is a work of genius. Caution: not for the cynical.