L'amour braque

This was a very unique film and, while I'm not sure I fully understood it, I did find it interesting and I'm glad it was nominated in this thread. Granted, I found its plot very difficult to follow (the film might make more sense with another viewing though) and I didn't feel much of a connection towards any of the characters, but I'm also not sure that plot and character were Zulawski's main concerns. Story wise, this was a very freeform, anything goes film where the technical aspects, visuals, and mood are at the forefront. I'm not sure how much I enjoyed my time with it, but I did appreciate it to a degree and enjoyed a few aspects here and there. As I began watching the film, I noticed that none of the characters acted normal in the traditional sense. They all acted manic and, though I initially found this distracting, I eventually grew accustomed to the film's rhythms. The sudden bursts of violence and the somewhat surreal color scheme were also well-done. Overall, I don't have a lot of insights to offer on this film, but I did respect it and I'll probably check out some more of Zulawski's films in the future. Still need to watch Possession, for instance...

Calling this film insane would be insulting the medium of cinema. No film can be deemed insane because the actual truth is that the real lunatics are all those human beings who are insane enough to call films insane. L'Amour braque is a hard to crack puzzle in the garb of an unintelligible film. It is a film which necessitates multiple viewing sessions in order to fathom its complexity. Of course, it is violent although there are various allusions to Dostoyevsky (people please remember Raskolnikov) All the credit for this film's hard to understand nature goes to an unusual down to earth Polish filmmaker based in Paris. Monsieur Andrzej Zulawski is a prolific filmmaker who often casts his girl friend Sophie Marceau in his films. She is a radiating beauty in this film too. There is more than meets the eye in the performance by Tcheky Karyo. L'Amour braque is a high commendable superior visual experience of honesty, richness and professionalism.

Yes, the movie is insane indeed. If you can get your hands on a copy, which is hard to find, you will be rewarded with witnessing a cinematic style that is unmatched in its manic intensity. Acting, camera work, editing, will leave you spinning. Violent, loud, orgasmic, insane. A good introduction to Zulawski's fascinating body of work.

Totally chaotic and full of rage and love. The plot is hard to follow - like which gangsters belong to which gang and after the first heist who is stealing from whom? Based on the Idiot - in theory. It's remarkable for the influence it has had on The Joker in the Batman films. Great cinematic moments and also exhausting.

Indescribable. Zulawskis rendition of Dostojewski steps over the borders. This is surreal theater from it's most outside, most avant-garde, and yes, it's most autonomous perspective. The viewer is entertained, no doubt; and everything he sees is staged for his entertainment; but never is there a doubt that this is a form art that lives beyond the category of entertainment. To prove that such an art is possible, Zulawski makes his actors transform into lifeless figures that recite paradox phrases; and with that, he makes them the vulnerable animals that people really are, behind their masks. If you look at the dark sides, you can also find innocence, but you won't find reason or rationality – only sheer emotion, usually struggling with one's minds rational side, but the latter is entirely lost here. Still, the protagonists find ways to give their lives a philosophical fundament, and they spent the whole of the film arguing about them, thereby feeling pain, enduring humiliation, reaching for freedom. Harshly uncompromising, ever unforgettable.