02-22-2004, 02:26 PM
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#2 (permalink)
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Squid hat!
Location: A Few Miles Away From Halx
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from: http://frenchfilms.topcities.com/nf_..._tout_rev.html
Quote:
The film examines, from various points of view, the love of a highly-strung young artist (Audrey Tautou, Amelie) for an unaffectionate but otherwise ideal older man, a doctor (Samuel Le Bihan, Venus Beauté (Institut)). It would be best to say little more about the plot, other than to note that both the French and the English title somewhat give the game away.
The opening title sequence is a work of art in itself, consisting of ribbons of wording alluringly twirling themselves around whimsical household objects. We cut to Audrey Tautou, very much continuing in her Amelie vein, beaming at us endearingly over armfuls of flowers, and the extraordinary story begins to unfold. In every shot, suburban Bordeaux is made to look astonishingly clean and colourful, without a hint of any hidden grime, decay or social tension, and this is perhaps a metaphor for Tautou's character in the film, calm, pretty, almost beatific on the surface, writhing undercurrents of desperation and derangement beneath.
In many respects the film pays clear homage to Hitchcock, although not quite achieving that level of tension or suspense. It would not be surprising if Colombani (whose first major film this is) plays a cameo, although as nobody (yet) knows what she looks like this could be rather hard to spot. Clearly a director to watch out for in future, this one.
The film achieved good worldwide distribution on the back of Amelie, and generally proved popular with non-French speaking audiences as it is less dialogue-driven and therefore more accessible than most modern French films
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