Les femmes au balcon

This movie is a little gem really. A hysterical, funny and crazy story. The script holds up all the way (limps sometimes), but as a whole very entertaining and thought-provoking movie in many ways. The actresses are brilliant in their roles. They do their characters justice. The chemistry between them works great. The movie makes me think of Almodovar's early movies. A film Almodovar could have made actually. I think this movie should really be seen if the opportunity comes. I look forward to what the director will do for film next. I will definitely watch it too. Really looking forward to it.

Thematically (and I suspect, deliberately) this is all over the map in terms of its inspirations and borrowings from a wild variety of genres. As such, one just has to "go with it" if it's your kind of thing.

I must say though that, for me, too many of the scenes felt familiar from other films (at one point it felt like a direct homage to Almodovar, for example), although Merlant the actor demonstrates admirable commitment to her debut directing project.

There's a serious feminist message here but, given the total lack of sympathetic male characters, it's hardly the most balanced film - I suspect allowing any borderline cases to say to themselves "well, I'm nothing like *that* guy..." rather than perhaps take on board the need to change behaviour somewhat.

Quite fun in parts, and worth a look, but less amusing than I was expecting.

A women's film, which is about woman and for women... And men too anyway... Three fulfilling young friends settled in the south of France to share pleasant moments in the carefree freedom will be confronted with unexpected adventures. A film with a very special tone directed by Noémie Merlant that never ceases to amaze us. It is a subtle mix of funny/gore, tragicomic absurd and offbeat scenes shot «amateur» with saccades and instability. These girls appear to be both naive and strong-willed in their actions. The script has the merit of originality. It's not so much the story that stands out, but the way in which the director exploits the potential of her actresses to soften the atrocity. In short, we spend a pleasant moment of cinema without dieting.

First thing you need to know going in is that this film is unlike any you will have watched before.

It is funny, it is over the top, it is gore, it is feminist,... it tackles issues such as sexual assault and rape in an empowering way where the victims of SA get their revenge. I loved how Noémi was able to go above and beyond with this movie.

Just go watch it I cannot spoil more to you.

The dialogue is witty and the cinematography is unbelievable. The movie takes place in France during a heatwave and it is almost like you can feel the warmth coming out of your screen.

The entire movie is all together so extremely sexpositive and does not have any shame in it for the female body.

GO WATCH IT NOW ISTG it does not get enough stars on here, this is fr one of my favourite movies right now.

Saw this at the Ghent filmfestival 2024. Lots of nice and intriguing ideas. However, even so many annoying elements turn this movie into a not so perfect experience. The controversial reviews I've read, are understandable and a logical result. One of the annoying things is that I have a vague idea that the story tries to educate us how to interact with women, when they say No it means No, but we already got that and needs no introduction. Other annoying examples are that the three female protagonists act unorderly and counter productively, while trying to remove the traces of a crime, hopefully not intended to expose that as typically feminine.

All these annoying parts overshadow the serious moments in this movie. As a seasoned Horror-lover, I do not object to the blood, nor the screaming, nor the severed body parts (and dangerous hardware to make that so). Naked bodies, half or fully undressed, are no problem either. Bear in mind that we see lots of nudity in various stages of undressment (is that a word??), in house as well as in plein public.

It is all ornamentation for me, not contributing much, alas hiding the good parts of the movie, the very original plot and the perfect acting of the main protagonists. Most of the characters appearing in this movie, are a bit vague in what they do and who they are. The only people clearly outlined are the couple in the beginning, where a man complains against his wife, whereafter she takes drastic action, later telling that her husband stumbled and fell into a shovel. We must wait until the end to see that the police accompany her handcuffed, most probably not fully believing the explanation for her dead husband. This story is only a side dish, however.

The main course of the movie is the interaction between three women on one side of the street with a good-looking man on the other side. Contrary to the straightforward story with above couple and the deadly shovel, it is impossible to even offer a suggestion for the many complications that result from the three ladies visiting the opposite apartment. One of the women stays with him, probably awaiting a happy sleepover, but the rest of the story is completely different, and unexpected as well as unprecedented. Bloody remains must be dealt with, not an everyday task for people like you and me, unexperienced in crime. And they must cope with concerned neighbors suspecting something is wrong. And on top of all that, ghostly figures start to appear, not visible for everyone so extra complicated. Just a few hints I can give you, to say this story is very unusual, offering very original plot elements, and giving us unpredictable turns of events.

All in all, lots of original ideas, some intriguing even. But some negative elements, maybe only negative for me and me alone, turn this movie into a halfway success. It is not a traditional horror that is built on atmosphere nor on eerie situations. There is blood, there are severed body parts, and there are ghost figures, but it nevertheless will turn into a different kind of horror, where there is room for humor as well.