Les blessures assassines

This is one of the first movies i saw when i moved to Paris 3 years ago, and after hundreds of other ones, i couldn't tell why it still keeps a special place in my heart. Maybe it's Sylvie Testud's acting, absolutely astonishing, or the disturbing end, i don't know. The fact is i didn't forget and that's why i'm writing it here. This is a film to be watched, but maybe not to be loved... I rated it 8/10, cause of the memory, and Sylvie Testud, whom from this time i don't miss any film she plays in.

I am admittedly fascinated w/ the story of the Papin sisters and its

effect on literature and film over the last 70 years, so I looked

forward to seeing this film - knowing the content (murder, incest) is

as disturbing as it is.

Although the cast gives fine performances, and Sylvie Testud is

truly dynamic as Christine, I cannot recommend this film over

Nancy Meckler's 1994 "Sister My Sister." Where this one seems

academic in its focus on the details, SMS puts the kettle on the

slow burner and lets it heat up to the boiling point. And you will not

find more intense performances than those of Joely Richardson

as Christine and Jodhi May as Lea.

SMS is riveting and ghastly and heart-breaking all at once, where

MM left me oddly unmoved but for the graphic depiction of the

murders themselves which Meckler, thankfully, used a more

Hitchcockian hand to depict in her earlier version. Meckler also

employed a more discreet touch to the scenes of incestuous

love-making, adding eroticism to the taboo that actually enhanced

the impact of disturbance rather than making it a gross out of

fleshy incestuous sex.

So, skip this one and look back on the video shelf for the superior

Sister My Sister, and you'll be happy you did.

I watched this movie a lot of times and all that can I say this is so powerful and fierce even though it is based on a true story. Sylvie Testud's performance in this movie is absolutely amazing! Even her sex scenes with Julie-Marie Parmentier are all emotional, and I can't see any traces of incestuous sex in it, making it as my most favorite love scene ever! The murder scene, on the other hand, looks like scary to me in a slightly manner. I also salute to the director of this film for having an excellent and amazing film.

This is the story of the Papin sisters - whose tale inspired a play by Jean Genet and several earlier movies. This is probably the most historical of any of the previous attempts at the telling. Christine and Lea are sisters from a working class broken family in France, a family that has always been `in service.' When Christine expresses a desire to go into a convent like her older sister, the mother screams, `You'll slave for others the way I have.' As Christine tries to protect her younger sister from the world, her blank face in the presence of her rich employees does little to hide her growing bitterness and rage. Sylvie Testud as Christine gives one of the best performances to be seen in recent years. This is a drama of individuals, and - a rarity in these times - a clearly political drama about class conflict. See it despite the tabloid title given to its U.S. release.

I found out this movie from one review of La Cérémonie. I think the difference between these two is this one is crimes of passions and the other is psychopathic killing.

Christine was apparently madly depressed and also having anxiety disorders. She basically shut herself off from the outside world. Her childhood traumas very much caused her adult mental stages. By reading the facts, she suffered paranoid schizophrenia most likely starting at that period of time. I would wonder whether the director followed the psychological researches of this case or not. The incestuous lesbian relationship explained the cause well since the social class uprising warfare had little bearings of it.

It is a well scripted and logically unfolding. All the leading roles were crafted convincingly. This is not a movie for entertaining but you would hardly forget.