French Cinema

[Great Gable]

Why would you quote an idiot from the responses at IMDB?  To me, film is a visual medium, primarily about images.  There are many movies in which story is just an excuse for imagery, so if it's visually interesting, I can enjoy the film, no matter how shallow the story.  Case in point:  Zhang Yimou's fantasy swordplay flicks.

Most movies, however, are largely about story.  And story starts and ends with character (except for the most superficial, which are about plot).  Interest in the characters, in their choices and consequences, in what drives them, shapes them, motivates them, and changes them, is anything but "shallow," regardless of what drooling 12-year-olds might think.  The depths are found in character and how your character responds to conflict.  And though Jules et Jim is largely about style--a very superficial thing--it is (like all of Truffaut's work) mostly about story, about how characters respond to their situations in life.

Good points LE. Personally, if I don't feel any empathy for any characters I will lose all interest in the film, no matter how stylish. If I don't care about the characters, as is the case for me and JEJ, I can see no reason to watch and I mentally switch off. The films that have most impact on me are the ones I can feel most empathy for - where they can make me imagine I am one of the characters - one of the reasons I hate Citizen Kane so much.

[Solitary Wanderer]

Breathing life into Simons thread again...



Wonderful sequel to Jean de Florette.

Next on my list is the double whammy of My Fathers Glory and My Mothers Castle 

[The new erato]

Care to elaborate what the Fathers Glory are doing to the Mothers Castle?

[71 dB]

French FILMS are so far superior than HOLLOW-wood "movies"

Keep in mind that most Hollywood movies are made ONLY to make money (=pure crap) while European movies have often artistical ambition behind them. The best "American" movies can compete (easily) with movies from any other part of the world.

IRREVERSIBLE is one gem of French cinema I admire. So are the the films of Jacques Tati.

[Great Gable]

Care to elaborate what the Fathers Glory are doing to the Mothers Castle?

Come back Frankie Howerd - all is forgiven!

[drogulus]

French FILMS are so far superior than HOLLOW-wood "movies"

     I don't think so, and certainly not if you're comparing the best against the best. The French industry is focussing on a different market. I might want more American films of the sort that were made in the '70s, when American films were as good as any in the world.

     Last night I saw American Gangster, a very good film which may some day be considered a classic by people who consider things. The Englishness of the director aside, this is Hollywood at its best, and that's pretty good. It has a very '70s feel to it, which reminds you of what American films were like then. The same can be said for Zodiac, where the subject matter and the period of the film seems to inspire the creators to a higher standard.

[Hector]

Keep in mind that most Hollywood movies are made ONLY to make money (=pure crap) while European movies have often artistical ambition behind them. The best "American" movies can compete (easily) with movies from any other part of the world.

IRREVERSIBLE is one gem of French cinema I admire. So are the the films of Jacques Tati.

Oh, dear, sorry to disallusion you but French films are made to make money.

We do not get to see a lot of the garbage that gets made in France just the occasional gem!

[Symphonien]

A great French film I saw recently: Le Battement d'ailes du Papillon.

It explores the concept of the butterfly effect (chaos theory) - i.e. how one seemingly insignificant event can cause a whole chain of consequences, and in the end of this movie enable a young man and woman to meet each other.

The director is a genius in the way he manages to interweave the lives of twenty different characters, yet keep it so that it all makes sense and is not too difficult to follow. That said, it easily stands up for repeated viewing.