NÉNETTE (2010, Nicolas Philibert, A++++++++++)

Talking about the gaze of monkeys reminds me of a film I just saw: NÉNETTE (2010, Nicolas Philibert, A++++++++++). There are a few scenes in this film which let us watch the face and the eyes of the female orangutan for a few minutes, while the orangutan is doing nothing except staring at the camera. After watching the eyes of the orangutan for a few minutes, I felt like crying, and I don't know why. The gaze of the orangutan in this film is extremely powerful, and its tremendous power is unexplainable for me.

I also like it very much that this documentary talks about the three husbands of Nénette and the fact that the zookeepers try to prevent Nénette from having sex with her own son.

I also wonder why there have been many films about monkeys made lately, including:

1.NÉNETTE

2.PROJECT NIM (2011, James Marsh), but I haven't seen it yet.

3.RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2011, Rupert Wyatt, A++++++++++)

4.ZOOKEEPER (2011, Frank Coraci, B)

30 DAY CINEPHILE CHALLENGE -- DAY 16

http://www.facebook.com/pages/30-Day-Cinephile-Challenge/184987868220596

Day 16: Your favorite female filmmaker – Marguerite Duras. I have seen only four films of hers – NATHALIE GRANGER (1972), INDIA SONG (1974), BAXTER, VERA BAXTER (1977), and AGATHA AND THE UNLIMITED READINGS (1981), but her films have strange, unexplainable power over me. I saw INDIA SONG in theatres in Bangkok 6-7 times, because it is one of my most favorite films of all time. This is what I wrote in imdb.com for INDIA SONG:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073166/usercomments?start=0

30 DAY CINEPHILE CHALLENGE -- DAY 13

Day 13: Favourite European filmmaker of all time. Jacques Rivette (France). I really like his OUT 1: NOLI ME TANGERE (1971), CELINE AND JULIE GO BOATING (1974), and UP, DOWN, FRAGILE (1995).
http://www.facebook.com/pages/30-Day-Cinephile-Challenge/184987868220596

RIP MARIE-FRANCE PISIER (1944-2011)

I think she is as beautiful and elegant as Anouk Aimee, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Stephane Audran.

I think the casting in DOMBAIS ET FILS is spot-on, because Caroline Bourg, who plays the daughter of Marie-France Pisier in this miniseries, looks like Kristin Scott Thomas.

Marie-France Pisier's films that I saw:

1.CELINE AND JULIE GO BOATING (1974, Jacques Rivette, A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++)

2.THE PHANTOM OF LIBERTY (1974, Luis Buñuel, A++++++++++)

3.TRANS-EUROP-EXPRESS (1967, Alain Robbe-Grillet, A++++++++++)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4276930021793732862#

4.DOMBAIS ET FILS (2007, Laurent Jaoui, A++++++++++)

5.TIME REGAINED (1999, Raoul Ruiz, A+)

6.THE BRONTE SISTERS (1979, André Téchiné, A+)

7.THE FRENCH ATLANTIC AFFAIR (1979, Douglas Heyes, 278 min)

8.THE LADY BANKER (1980, Francis Girod, A+)

9.THE ICE RINK (1998, Jean-Philippe Toussaint, A+)

I'm also saddened to know that Ken Russell suffered from a stroke.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/apr/28/ken-russell-the-devils

LA FILLE AU FOND DU VERRE A SAKE (2009, Emmanuel Sapolski, B)

I don't enjoy this film, and I'm not sure why. Theoretically, I should have enjoyed this film, because there are many reasons that should have made me like it, such as

1.The film is about interracial relationship.
2.The film seems to be made with good intentions towards its Asian characters.
3.The film has a nice supporting gay character.

However, I don't enjoy it that much, and I still can't figure out why. Maybe the reasons why I don't enjoy it include:

1.The heroine's mother seems to be a stereotyped character, but the Asian mother in MY BROTHER IS GETTING MARRIED (2007, Jean-Stéphane Bron, A+) is a little bit stereotyped, too, but I still like MY BROTHER IS GETTING MARRIED very much.

2.The film ends with the reconciliation between the runaway Asian woman and her family. Normally I love films of which the heroine severs her ties with her family at the end of the film, such as SHIRLEY VALENTINE and LE BLEU DES VILLES (1999, Stéphane Brizé), not the ending in which family members reconcile with one another.

However, I still worship the film RESTLESS (2009, Laurent Perreau, A+++++++++++++++) very much, though its heroine reconciles with her grandfather near the end of the film. In fact, the reconciliation between these two characters moves me so much that it makes me want to cry.

So I'm not sure that the reconciliation is the reason why I don't enjoy LA FILLE AU FOND DU VERRE A SAKE, because there are some family reconciliations in other films, and I still enjoy them.

Apart from LA FILLE AU FOND DU VERRE A SAKE, there are other films about Asian-Caucasian relationships which I don't enjoy, such as:

1.BUTTERFLY MAN (2002, Kaprice Kea, C)

2.THE LAST SAMURAI (2003, Edward Zwick, B-)

3.NOW CHINATOWN (2000, Steven Dunning, C)

4.ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BRIDGE (2002, Hu Mei, Austria, B-)

5.PARIS (2004, Ramin Niami, C)

I'm also not sure exactly why I don't enjoy the five films above, though these films seem to be made with good intentions towards their Asian characters, too.

Maybe some critics should analyze the five films above and LA FILLE AU FOND DU VERRE A SAKE, so that I may understand why I don't enjoy these films.

On the contrary, there are some films about Asian-Caucasian relationships that I like very much, including:

1.AE FOND KISS... (2004, Ken Loach, UK, A+)

2.THE HOME SONG STORIES (2007, Tony Ayres, Australia, A+)

3.IRON & SILK (1990, Shirley Sun, A+)

4.LADY BAR (2006, Xavier Durringer, France, A+)

5.M. BUTTERFLY (1993, David Cronenberg, A+)

6.MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE (1985, Stephen Frears, UK, A+)

7.NINA'S HEAVENLY DELIGHTS (2006, Pratibha Parmar, UK, A+)

8.SIAO YU (1995, Sylvia Chang, A-)

9.TERRIBLY HAPPY (2010, Pimpaka Towira, A+)

10.THE WEDDING BANQUET (1993, Ang Lee, A+)

This is the photo of Frédéric Siuen, a supporting actor in LA FILLE AU FOND DU VERRE A SAKE.

ÉCOUTE VOIR (1978, Hugo Santiago, A++++++++++)

Things I like very much in this film include:

1.It is such a thrill for me to see Catherine Deneuve uses some martial art skills to deal with villains in this film. I usually like heroines who possess some martial art skills, such as the one in RAGING PHOENIX (2009, Rashane Limtrakul, A+++++), but I had never thought that Catherine Deneuve used to play in a role like this, too.

One of my most favorite scenes in ÉCOUTE VOIR is in the minute 3 in the clip below. It is the scene in which Deneuve fights with a villain and a villainess in a strange religious cult.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d076zoEhqSo

It is a pleasure to see Deneuve in a role like this. It is described in TIME OUT FILM GUIDE that her role in this film is a mix between Emma Peel and Humphrey Bogart. I have no knowledge about both Peel and Bogart, but I like Deneuve's character in this film very much.

I think Deneuve's role in this film is very different from the roles she usually plays. It makes me think of other great actresses who can show their true ability when they have a chance to play the roles they are not accustomed to. It makes me think of

1.1 Jamjuree Cherdshome, who plays a good-hearted woman in PLOENG PAI (1990, Thai TV series), though she usually plays the villainess in other TV series.

1.2 Chintara Sukapatana, who plays a tough servant in VICTIMS (1987, Chana Kraprayoon)

1.3 Charlize Theron in MONSTER (2003, Patty Jenkins, A+++++++++++++++)

1.4 Julia Roberts, who looks so serious in MARY REILLY (1996, Mary Reilly, A+)

1.5 Anna Faris, who looks like a normal, decent woman in YOGI BEAR (2010, Eric Brevig, A-/B+)

ÉCOUTE VOIR may be more like an ordinary film, if the film stars Alain Delon, Michelle Yeoh, or Maggie Q as the hero or heroine of the film. I think what makes this film unique is because I have never seen Deneuve in this kind of roles before.

2.The hints that the three main female characters in ÉCOUTE VOIR might be lesbians. I saw this film on the TV channel TV5 MONDE, and I don't know if some lesbian scenes had been censored from the TV version or not. From the version I saw, the lesbian thing in the film is not explicit, but there is something hinting at it.

3.One of my most favorite scenes in the film is the scene which parodies the elegance of Deneuve. It's the scene in which we see Deneuve walking so elegantly. Her head is held high. Her eyes look straightforwardly. The scene shows her walking from many angles. And then she has to stop walking because she bumps into some small children on the street. Because she likes to keep her head held high while walking, she can't see these children coming at her.

4. The plot about the radio signals which can control the minds of the listeners. The scene in a restaurant in which many people are moving slowly because they are controlled by the radio signal is very weird and very memorable.

The plot about the radio signal is very interesting. It reminds me of some political violence in Thailand which is partly instigated by Thai media, including newspaper and TV. It also reminds me of the Rwanda Genocide in which some radio stations played a part.

The plot about the radio signals also reminds me of some films which deal with the influence of the radio and TV signals, such as THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE (1933, Fritz Lang), LES CREATURES (1966, Agnès Varda, A++++++++++), and HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH (1982, Tommy Lee Wallace).

5. The ending of this film, in which the heroine mumbles something to herself. If I remember it correctly, she intends to improve herself and intends to save the world again. This ending makes me love this character very much.

6.Anne Parillaud

Some other things about this film:

1.There's a scene in which the heroine goes to see THE LIFE OF OHARU (1952, Kenji Mizoguchi). Since I haven't seen THE LIFE OF OHARU, I don't know if it might be connected to ÉCOUTE VOIR in any other ways or not.

2.I don't understand why the castle owner wants to hire the heroine at the beginning of the film. Is it because I don't understand the film? Is it because I can't follow it story? Or is it because there are some plot holes? This case reminds me of THE BIG SLEEP (1946, Howard Hawks), because I'm still not sure who kills whom in this film. I hope someone writes about ÉCOUTE VOIR and THE BIG SLEEP by detailing the events in both films chronologically, so that I can understand them. However, the puzzlement, or the possible plot holes, in both films is not something important in my point of view. It's just a funny thing for me.

Apart from ÉCOUTE VOIR, there are other French crime/mystery films that I like very much, including:

1.WHO KILLED SANTA CLAUS? (1941, Christian-Jaque)

2.LES DIABOLIQUES (1954, Henri-Georges Clouzot)

3.PARIS BELONGS TO US (1961, Jacques Rivette)

4.FIRE AND ICE (1962, Alain Cavalier)

5.JUDEX (1963, Georges Franju)

6.IF I WERE A SPY (1967, Bertrand Blier)

7.LAW BREAKERS (1971, Marcel Carné)

8.THE DOMINICI AFFAIR (1973, Claude Bernard-Aubert)

9.THE INHERITOR (1973, Philippe Labro)

10.SHOCK TREATMENT (1973, Alain Jessua)

11.LE DOSSIER 51 (1978, Michel Deville)

12.I AS IN ICARUS (1979, Henri Verneuil)

13.LA MÉMOIRE COURTE (1979, Eduardo de Gregorio)

14.THE RED SWEATER (1979, Michel Drach)

15.THREE MEN TO DESTROY (1980, Jacques Deray)

16.CHICKEN WITH VINEGAR (1985, Claude Chabrol)

17.LA SENTINELLE (1992, Arnaud Desplechin)

18.SEE HOW THEY FALL (1994, Jacques Audiard)

19.RED LIGHTS (2003, Cédric Kahn)

20.LEMMING (2005, Dominik Moll)

21.CROSSED TRACKS (ROMAN DE GARE) (2007, Claude Lelouch)

22.CRIME IS OUR BUSINESS (2008, Pascal Thomas)

23.THE NEW PROTOCOL (2008, Thomas Vincent)

24.AM STRAM GRAM (2009, Stéphane Kappes)

25.LIGHTS OUT (2010, Fabrice Gobert)

FAVORITE QUOTES FROM JEAN-CLAUDE ROUSSEAU

Jean-Marie Straub said that Jean-Claude Rousseau, Peter Nestler, and Frans Van der Staak are the greatest filmmakers in Europe in these times.

From an interview by Cyril Neyrat in Lumen Journal
http://lumenjournal.org/i-forests/interview-rousseau/#fnref-291-2

"What do I gaze at? At nothing describable, that one can observe and detail. To detail the shot would be to lose the image. I’m thinking of that beautiful preface to the book of geography, but which, as a passage, couldn’t be appropriated into the film. It’s a question of observation; the goal of the textbook is evidently to teach children and to stimulate their observation with the pictures. But to observe isn’t to be seized by the image. It’s to seize but not to be seized. The lengthiness of the shot corresponds to this gaze that doesn’t interpret, that doesn’t insist on a motive, but that is a pure vision, as we say, “to have visions.” This goes back to those disorienting moments where someone you’re with seems “out of it,” when his vision’s taken him somewhere else. And when you ask him, then, “what are you looking at?” it’s always the same reply: “nothing.” Suddenly he’s there again, as if the question had broken a charm. That’s what it is to see the image: it’s an absence."

" Let’s just say that very quickly I saw the promise of a film: I was watching the elements orient themselves, and without being able to say where it was leading, what I really wanted, it was clear that this current knew where it was going. It was simply a matter of following something that would sustain itself, that had its path, and that I only had to recognize and follow. These different vectors were converging at a single place and making the film itself this nexus: Petrarch, a geography book, a Giorgione painting, an erotic photo, an abandoned factory, the fountain at Vaucluse, and then inspiring correspondences between all these, as if validating them, the text by Lucretius on the movement of atoms, or more exactly, Bergson’s summary of it that he did in a book for philosophy students."


More about Jean-Claude Rousseau:
http://landscapesuicide.blogspot.com/2011/04/illuminations-6-or-movement-of-atoms-is.html
http://supposedaura.blogspot.com/2007/11/domestic-interiors-of-jean-claude.html
http://www.ncncine.com/20052.html

LIGHTS OUT (2010, Fabrice Gobert, A+)

เราเพิ่งดู WHEN FEAR STRIKES (2010, Elisabeth Rappeneau, A+) มา ซึ่งเป็นละครทีวีฝรั่งเศสที่มีเนื้อหาเกี่ยวกับฆาตกรโรคจิตที่ไล่ฆ่าผู้หญิงผมดำในเมืองๆนึงในทศวรรษ 1970 ซึ่งพอดูจบแล้ว เราก็ไม่แน่ใจว่าทำไมต้องให้เนื้อเรื่องเกิดขึ้นในทศวรรษ 1970 ด้วย

แล้วพอมาดู LIGHTS OUT (2010, Fabrice Gobert, A+) เราก็ไม่แน่ใจเหมือนกันว่าทำไมต้องเจาะจงให้เนื้อเรื่องเกิดขึ้นในปี 1992 ด้วย เราก็เลยเดาเล่นๆว่า หรือว่าเป็นเพราะการแพร่ระบาดของ "โทรศัพท์มือถือ" และ "อินเทอร์เน็ต" ทำให้การเขียนบทหนังฆาตกรโรคจิตยากขึ้นมาหน่อยนึงหรือเปล่า เพราะถ้าหากตัวละครแต่ละตัวมีโทรศัพท์มือถือติดตัว การตามหาคนที่หายสาบสูญไปในเรื่อง คงจะทำได้ง่ายขึ้นมาก เพราะฉะนั้นการเขียนบทหนังฆาตกรโรคจิต แล้วเจาะจงให้เนื้อเรื่องเกิดขึ้นก่อนยุคโทรศัพท์มือถือแพร่ระบาด อาจจะทำให้ตัวละครตกอยู่ในสถานการณ์อันตรายหรือสถานการณ์ลึกลับได้ง่ายขึ้น

CONGRATULATIONS TO MICHAEL LONSDALE

My comment in Filmsick's Facebook:

I can't remember many details in ONCE UPON A TOMORROW, but I remember that I like Michael Lonsdale in this film very much.

I just learned that Michael Lonsdale just won César Award for the first time from OF GODS AND MEN (2010, Xavier Beauvois), though he is about 80 years old now. He should have won an award long time ago. I like his films very much, including INDIA SONG (1975, Marguerite Duras), THE BRIDE WORE BLACK (1968, François Truffaut), STAVISKY (1974, Alain Resnais), THE DEVIL IN THE BOX (1977, Pierre Lary), and THE LEFT-HANDED WOMAN (1978, Peter Handke). Unfortunately, his roles may be too small in many films, so I can't remember him in many films that I saw.

FAVORITE FRENCH FILMS/MINI-SERIES ABOUT FEMALE COPS

เพิ่งสังเกตว่าฝรั่งเศสมีการผลิตหนังที่ฉายทางโทรทัศน์/มินิซีรีส์หลายเรื่องเกี่ยวกับตำรวจหญิง เราก็เลยไม่แน่ใจว่าเป็นเพราะผู้ชมทีวีส่วนใหญ่เป็นผู้หญิงหรือเปล่า ก็เลยมีมินิซีรีส์ดีๆเกี่ยวกับตำรวจหญิงออกมาเยอะมาก ในขณะที่หนังโรงส่วนใหญ่จะเป็นเรื่องของตำรวจชาย

นอกจาก CETTE FEMME-LÀ (2003, Guillaume Nicloux, A+/A) แล้ว หนังที่เราชอบมากๆในกลุ่มนี้ก็มีเรื่อง

FAVORITE FRENCH FILMS/MINI-SERIES ABOUT FEMALE COPS

1.MARION MAZZANO (2010, Marc Angelo, A++++++++++)
นางเอกเป็นตำรวจหญิงที่ถูกลอบสังหารและเพื่อนร่วมงานถูกฆ่าตาย เธอก็เลยย้ายอาชีพไปทำงานเป็นพัศดีในคุก และเจอกับนักโทษหลากหลายรูปแบบ นับตั้งแต่กลุ่มสาวคลั่งศาสนาที่จับคนมาตรึงกางเขนและเผาคนทั้งเป็น, ยายแก่ที่เชี่ยวชาญการวางยาพิษ, คุณหมอหญิงที่ชอบหลอกคนไข้ว่าต้องผ่าตัดจนคนไข้ต้องตายไป, หญิงสาวที่เป็นโรคจิตเภทและจินตนาการว่าตัวเองมีเพื่อนร่วมห้อง และฝาแฝดที่ปลอมตัวมารับโทษในคุกแทนกัน

2.THREE WOMEN...ONE SUMMER NIGHT (2005, Sébastien Grall, A++++++++++)

เกิดการฆาตกรรมต่อเนื่องขึ้นในเมืองเล็กๆเมืองหนึ่ง ตำรวจสาวก็เลยต้องสืบว่าใครคือฆาตกร นำแสดงโดย Stéphane Audran ซึ่งชอบอาศัยอยู่ในเมืองที่เกิดเหตุฆาตกรรม ไม่ว่าจะใน LES BONNES FEMMES (1960, Claude Chabrol, A+), LE BOUCHER (1970, Claude Chabrol, A+) และ POULET AU VINAIGRE (1985, Claude Chabrol, A+) แต่นักแสดงที่ฝากฝีมือทางการแสดงไว้อย่างสุดยอดในเรื่องนี้คือ Nathalie Richard

3.COUP DE CHALEUR (2010, Christophe Barraud, A+)
A female cop has to handle a town in panic, while the water runs dry, the electricity goes out, the nuclear power plant has problems, her brother is going to jail, and some characters must undergo some surgery in a hospital (Yes, it's a cliche for "disaster movies". Hahaha.)

4.NOTRE DAME DES BARJOTS (2010, Arnaud Sélignac, A+)
"Véra (Zabou Breitman) is an emergency psychiatrist. One evening, her boss Russel pays her a visit having found his son delirious alongside the butchered body of a young girl. He wants Véra to certify him as being insane to help him avoid prison. Véra refuses. Lieutenant Sanchez (Catherine Jacob) begins her investigation."

5.MURKY PASTS (PASSÉS TROUBLES) (2006, Serge Meynard, A+/A)
A female cop and her male partner investigate something. What is interesting in this mini-series is its haunting quality. Some parts of it are as haunting as TWIN PEAKS, though I think MURKY PASTS doesn't have to be as haunting as that. The other interesting thing is the shift in the narrative. The first half of this mini-series focuses on a main character, but that main character is suddenly killed in the middle of the story, so the second half of this mini-series shifts its focus to the other main character. This shift reminds of PSYCHO.

6.QUAND VIENT LA PEUR (2010, Élisabeth Rappeneau)
A female cop investigates a serial killer who is killing many women with brunette hair in a small town filled with prejudice for the Algerian immigrants. I have watched only the first half of this mini-series and I give this first half A+++++.

LA MEMOIRE COURTE (1982, Eduardo de Gregorio, A+++++)

เพิ่งได้ดู LA MEMOIRE COURTE (SHORT MEMORY) (1982, Eduardo de Gregorio, A+++++++++++) ที่นำแสดงโดย Nathalie Baye กับ Bulle Ogier ตอนจบของหนังเรื่องนี้เป็นภาพสเก็ตช์ใบหน้าของนาตาลีที่ถูกใส่ความว่าเป็นผู้ก่อการร้าย ดูแล้วก็นึกถึงบางฉากในหนังเรื่อง DÉTECTIVE (1985, Jean-Luc Godard) ที่มีภาพสเก็ตช์ใบหน้าคน ไม่แน่ใจเหมือนกันว่าโกดาร์ดต้องการ refer ถึง LA MEMOIRE COURTE ในหนังของเขาหรือเปล่า

LA MEMOIRE COURTE มีเนื้อหาเกี่ยวกับล่าม/นักแปล (นาตาลี เบย์) ที่ได้อ่านไดอารี่ของเมียนักเขียนชาวละตินอเมริกาคนหนึ่ง และค้นพบเงื่อนงำเกี่ยวกับนาซีที่หลบหนีจากการถูกจับกุมในช่วงหลังสงครามโลกครั้งที่สอง หนังมีโทนที่ก้ำกึ่งดี มันไม่เหวอเหมือน PARIS BELONGS TO US (Jacques Rivette), ไม่ได้สะท้อนสังคมแบบหนักหน่วงเหมือนหนังของ Costa Gavras หรือ THE INTERPRETER (2005, Sydney Pollack) และก็ไม่ได้มีความเป็นทริลเลอร์มากนักด้วย ทั้งๆที่เนื้อหาในหนังมันเอื้อให้ทำเป็นทริลเลอร์แบบ SHORT NIGHT OF GLASS DOLLS (1971, Aldo Lado) ก็ได้