Film Review #6- Les Aventures Extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec

Goodness, it's been a while. I do apologise, but the start of year 13 has been rather hectic. Never mind, I'm back with a new film review, so never fear!

Yesterday was the first Monday of the course "French Cinema Now" which me and my mum are doing over the next 9 (I think?) weeks. It includes two film screenings, and the first was yesterday.

"Les Aventures Extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec", directed by Luc Besson, is an adventure film, which tells the tale of Adèle Blanc-Sec, who is basically a female early twentieth century Indiana Jones. Before I begin, the first thing I need to say to you is: do not take this film seriously. There is no way on earth that this can be compared to French films such as "Amélie" or "Jean de Florette", but why would you? You wouldn't compare a modern, teenage film like "Twilight" to an old classic like "Casablanca" because they're so different, and they're meant to be different. This film is a "Twilight" kind of film- it's fun and exciting, but doesn't mean an awful lot.

(If you thought that I was kidding before, look to your left and you will see a picture of Adèle Blanc-Sec riding a pterodactyl.)

This film is set in 1911, mainly in Paris. Adèle, a beautiful young author, is on a mission to find Ancient Egypt's greatest doctor, in order to bring him back to life with the help of her scientist friend, Espérandieu. This is all in the hope of saving her sister, who is barely alive after a rather gruesome tennis accident involving a hatpin through her skull. However, things don't quite go to plan when Adèle returns to Paris with the mummified doctor and discovers that Espérandieu has been sentenced to death after bringing to life a real, 135 million- year-old pterodactyl.

I found the combination of a historical setting and fantasy and adventure genres rather interesting, but slightly odd. In a strange way, however, it worked... I'm not sure why though, because looking back on it, I have a feeling that it shouldn't have worked. Having said that, the mummies may have taken it a step too far (especially as the CGI wasn't the greatest).

The film reminded me of the book series "A Series of Unfortunate Events" by Lemony Snicket. I thought it was almost Gothic, especially the scene in which the tennis accident is shown, and just the idea of an old ornate hatpin embedded in someone's skull, and I've always thought that "A Series of Unfortunate Events" has elements of the Gothic style in it.

One thing I found interesting when I picked up the notes on the film afterwards was that it was adapted from a comic book by Jacques Tardi. It sounds like an excellent Christmas present idea, if you ask me!

As far as star ratings are concerned, I can't decide. I'd personally give this one:

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

But that's because of how much I enjoyed it. The actual quality of the film would be worth about

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Go and see it if you're a fan of adventure films and Indiana Jones, though. It was enjoyable. And perhaps there was a hint of a sequel at the end? If so, I will most definitely be going to watch that.

Caitlin

Film Review #5- Beautiful Lies

This review will be a quick one- it's 9:45pm and I'm going on holiday tomorrow morning (having said that, I want to do it now rather than in a week's time when I will have forgotten everything).

'Beautiful Lies' is a rom-com about a young woman, Emilie (played by Audrey Tautou) who recieves an anonymous love letter from the electrician who works at her hair and beauty salon, Jean. She decides to copy this letter and send it to her mother, who is still trying to recover from separating with her husband four years ago, to "bring her back to life". However, as is to be expected in any romantic comedy, all does not go as Emilie planned.

Ever since I watched 'Amelie' for the first time, I have been a fan of Audrey Tautou, so I was really looking forward to seeing this film. I have to say, it did live up to my expectations. It was incredibly funny, and the plot was good as well- it wasn't too obvious what was going to happen (well, you always know the ending in these sort of films, but what was going to happen in the middle wasn't obvious from the start).

The characters were very well played-  I especially liked Jean, who at first is very quiet and polite, but becomes annoying and rude throughout the film. Another character I liked was Paulette, who worked with Emilie. Even though she was quite a minor character, I thought that her awkwardness and her facial expressions were hilarious.

I wish I could write more, but I don't have any more time- I might add to this review when I get back from holiday (if I can remember anything!).

Anyway, overall, it was a good, lighthearted comedy, which I would recommend to anyone who loves to laugh and doesn't like to look too far into the 'meaning' of a film. Basically, it's good fun, and if you expect any more than that, you'll be disappointed.

I'll give this film another
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Caitlin

P.S. Going to the Dordogne tomorrow! I'll be making a daily vlog, but I won't be able to post them until I get back so I'll be gone for a week.
Also, I have more exciting news- I'm going to a course of French cinema with my mum in September, which is at the Phoenix in Leicester. I'm so excited!

Film Review #4- Incendies

Yesterday, me and my mum went to watch Incendies at the cinema. I hadn't read the synopsis for this so I didn't really know what to expect.

Directed by Denis Villeneuve, the film is about two twins, Jeanne and Simon, whose mother has recently died. In her will, she leaves each of them a peculiar request- to find their father (who they thought was dead) and their brother (who they never knew they had) and give them each a letter. The twins then journey to the Middle East to learn of their mother's past and the identity of their father and brother.

Incendies is a thriller- not the kind of thing I would usually watch. As most of the film was centred around a fictional war between Christians and Muslims, there was a lot of violence, some of it fairly graphic. In one particularly memorable scene, a group of young boys attempt to avoid a sniper. However, one of the youngest is too slow and is shown lying, covered in blood, in a pile of rubble.

The story itself not as confusing as many thrillers are- it was relatively easy to follow, which surprised me. To be honest, however, I would describe it as more interesting than exciting, especially at the end when the big twist is revealed. This is done very cleverly, and the twins' reactions to this twist is very believable. My mum and I questioned how believable the twist itself was, though. I would say that that was the only downfall in this respect, however, would a twist that was believable stop it from being a twist?

I really enjoyed the way Incendies was filmed. The big red capital letters that flashed up on the screen every now and then made it feel almost like a documentary, as did the close-ups and the almost unsteady camera. It was a bit like 'Who Do You Think You Are?', but the people the twins meet aren't always as welcoming as they are on TV.

Overall, not one of my favourites, but it was well filmed and the twist at the end was very unexpected. I would recommend this film to anyone who is a fan of thrillers and mysteries.
I'd give this yet another
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Caitlin

P.S. Half way through La Peste- hope to have a review up at some point next week. Also, I've added an 'I'm reading...' text box at the top of my blog so you know what reviews to expect soon!

Film Review #3- La Princesse de Montpensier

This review is a little late, but I was too tired when I got back from the cinema on Friday, and have since been delayed by a wedding, a reunion with an old friend, and a meal out. Anyway, here it is:

When I first saw this film in the cinema's brochure, I really wanted to go and see it. It's just the kind of film I like- it's a period romance, and, of course, it's French, which just adds to the romance of it all.

It's about Marie de Mézières, who is forced to marry the Prince de Montpensier, despite the fact that she is in love with Henri de Guise. Shortly after their marriage, Marie's husband goes to fight in the war between the Huguenots and the Catholics, leaving his wife with the Count of Chabannes, his former tutor.

(There's a spoiler coming up, by the way)

Marie's husband becomes jealous of the attention she gets from Henri, the Count of Chabannes, and yet another admirer, the Duc d'Anjou. She ends up sacrificing her marriage in order to be with Henri, before discovering that he has married another woman, and is not willing to sacrifice his marriage for her.

Personally, I found it very difficult to sympathise with Marie. In her situation, I would have reacted very differently, and I think this made my first impression of the film fairly negative. However, looking past that, it was a very good film.

I especially liked the contrast between the fighting scenes and the calmer scenes of Marie's home and the countryside. Obviously, the war scenes were much more bloody and violent, but in some ways there was just as much conflict in the calmer scenes, with Marie's four admirers trying to compete for her attention. In one scene, Marie's mother explains that love is an awkward thing, which I think is a main theme for this film. Marie's love for Henri de Guise is awkward as it gets in the way of her relationship with her husband, and ultimately causes her to lose both the Prince and Henri. 

I can't think of much else to say on this one. If you like a good romantic tragedy, go and see this film. If you try to avoid sad films (like me), don't. If you just want to watch a film, then yes, I would recommend it. If you've seen it, please leave any comments. I realise that this review hasn't been as detailed as my others, but I think that's because I'm a bit biased on this one!

Overall, it's another
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Caitlin

Film Review #2- Potiche

Yesterday, I went to see the French film "Potiche" with my mum. The film is set in the 70's, and is about "une potiche" (a "trophy wife"), Suzanne Pujol (Catherine Deneuve), who takes over her husband's umbrella company after he has a heart attack. Mme Pujol turns the company around during her time in charge- her kindhearted way of dealing with the workers' problems is a welcome change to her husband's unsympathetic manner.

I was really excited to see this film, after watching a trailer for it last week. I have to say, it didn't quite live up to how amazing I thought it would be, perhaps because I had such high expectations. However, I did enjoy it a lot.

One of my favourite things about the film was how it was bright, happy, and rather hilarious (in an almost "Carry On" way) in parts; yet the message or meaning of it was more serious.

Essentially, the film is about women's changing roles at the time it is set. As Mme Pujol tells her daughter Joelle in one scene, having an abortion had recently become legal, and more and more women were starting to go to work. In some ways, this is portrayed in the bright colour scheme of the film- in my opinion, conveying the excitement of a changing world.

I also loved the flashbacks in the film. They were cleverly done, with the "present day" characters talking over scenes from the past. And they all involve the same cheeky humour as the rest of the film.

The only thing that I disliked about the film was the ending. It seemed to trail off a little, not so that questions were left unanswered, but I felt as if it was needing a little more. I can't say anymore without giving away the entire plot, but let me know if you felt the same.

Overall, I'd rate this fim:
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Thanks for reading! Please comment! :)
Caitlin

P.S. I read a very interesting article from the Guardian website comparing Mme Pujol to Mrs Thatcher and Carla Bruni, and I'm thinking of looking further into this. Here's the article.

Film Review #1- Mammuth

So me and my mum just got back from the cinema after seeing the French film 'Mammuth', directed by Gustave De Kervern and Benoît Delépine. To sum it up, I'd have to say that this film was: weird, but brilliant.

The film is about recently retired Serge Pilardosse, who goes on a journey to find documents from his old places of work which he needs in order to claim his pension. I have to admit, this does sound incredibly boring at first, but it's so much more emotional than it would appear.

There's no way you could say what genre this film was. There's a bit of everything in there- it can be funny, sad, romantic, uplifting, almost scary, and at times, just really, really odd. 

One of the things I enjoyed about it was the fact that the characters in the film included a ghost of Serge's ex-girlfriend, who seems to go with him on his journey. Despite being covered in blood, she's not at all scary (a good thing for me, seeing as I hate horror films). What was more unsettling was Serge's neice, 'Miss Ming', who created strange sculptures out of plastic dolls and stuffed toys.

Despite this, however, I don't think you could call this a scary film. Serge's wife, Catherine, has a particularly funny role- one of my favourite scenes was one in which she is faced with the task of spelling out her surname to a computerised voice over the phone. You can imagine what this scene contains, but the predictability doesn't make it any less hilarious.

The film itself was made very well. There were parts which were filmed in the style of an old home video, all grainy and yellow-ish, with the picture shaking as if the camera is being held by a hand. I think it brought the audience closer to the character; it made the film feel more personal and almost nostalgic. I loved it!

What added to this was the scenes in which noises or conversations from the past were played over a scene in the present, for example, when Serge visits an empty restaurant that he once worked at and hears the noises that could have been heard when the restaurant was still open.

The character Serge was played by Gérard Depardieu, and this part really showed off his acting abilities. Do I really need to say this, though? Being a big fan of "Jean de Florette", I have always like him, and have always thought he is a wonderful actor, and I'm sure there's not many people who would disagree.

So, overall, a great film, see it if you can. A word of warning, though, I wouldn't advise going to see this with anyone elderly, or your parents, or anyone who is disgusted by rather large, rather old, naked men (and that's not the worst of it).

But anyway, I think this film deserves:
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Au revoir for now,
Caitlin