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M (2017)
There is always hope - even when there seem to be none
What a nice movie. What a wonderful story. The French actress, writer and director Sara Forestier is worthy of all praise. For having made such a touching portrait of the girl in lead in this story about love that conquers everything against all odds. For having written and directed this movie - her debut as director - about the fight to survive in a world which gives you one big challenge after the other. I left with tears in my eyes and a strong good feeling in my heart. Sara shows us with this movie that there is always hope - even in places and situations where there seem to be none.
As an extra attraction the movie lets us see the French actor Jean-Pierre Léaud - famous from François Truffaut's "Le quatre cent coups" (1959) - in the role as the girl's father.
Le conseguenze dell'amore (2004)
The danger of love
The opening sequence in this movie is one of the most stylish I have ever seen. Including the power of perfectly formulated first uttered words that directly tells the spectator what it is all about: "The worst thing for a man who spends a lot of time alone is...". There we go. So the main character is a loner. And you immediately want to know more about him. You are hooked and the film has your full attention.
Each man is a mystery. Some big, some small. When there is a big mystery there is a good starting point for a movie. The plot in "The Consequences of Love" evolves around a man played by Toni Servillo with a secret that unfolds slowly. Slowly and gracefully in its own pace. And it is no need to hurry when the man is living in a comfortable hotel in Lugano in Switzerland. It is enjoyable to be there with him and share his daily routines, just as it is enjoyable sitting in the hotel bar in Tokyo with Bill Murray in "Lost in Translation". Toni Servillo's character has stayed at his hotel for eight years so he is in no hurry. And we have to accommodate to his speed. Or lack of speed, and that just feels good.
But just as we have accommodated to his lack of speed, things begin to happen and we are forced to leave the calm and quiet life at the hotel. And like in so many other movies it is love that triggers action.
When the first signs of love are showed between the mysterious man who is in his fifties and the girl who is much younger than him and works in the hotel bar, you start thinking a love story will unfold. But the movie is not a love story. At least not a traditional love story. No, the film just uses love as the trigger that sets action in motion. The focus stays on the loner and his actions that leads the plot to its unavoidable end, almost like in a Greek tragedy.
Having seen this movie it is also impossible not to mention the clothes. Toni Servillo's character is extremely well dressed. It's a sheer joy seeing him and you cannot help but being both impressed and inspired His wardrobe, signed the Italian fashion house Kiton, is gorgeous and made me go out shopping a new suit the day after I saw the movie. But not a Kiton suit. The handmade suits from Kiton cost between 5 000 and 15 000 USD each.
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Breaking the rules
Death is the only possible way to end a story about a man who refuses to conform. Isn't it sad to see that any attempt to break the rules are predestined to be a failure. The rules are what bring us together and it's not an easy task to change them. In the short run the rebel is doomed to defeat. Change may come further on, but then the hero is dead. Just like Jesus died for our sins according to Christian mythology.
This story has been told many times and one of the most beautifully filmed versions is "Cool Hand Luke" with Paul Newman as the non-conformist hero. Another story about rebels wanting to lead lives of their own is "Easy Rider" with Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper made two years later. Take the opportunity to see that one at the same time when you are in the mood for suffering with rebels facing defeat.
La Belle Noiseuse (1991)
You have to respect the mystery of the other
Seen at face value this movie does not make any sense at all. There is no such thing as a piece of art that in a magic way encompasses deeper, troublesome, unknown truths about a portrayed person which will change the person's life forever (which is a presumption in this movie). That is only a romantic cliché. It is especially difficult to believe that the bleak and anonymous art created in this movie could have that effect. Art can - at its best- reveal a lot of the artist and of the world as seen by the artist, and - at rare moments - art can change the life of the spectator. But art that will change the life of the model? No, I don't think that is very probable.
But seen as a metaphor for one person (the old painter) helping another person (the model) to find new truths about herself it makes all the sense in the world. Then we can easily understand the models first resistance to the meeting with the painter, the path leading through difficult moments and joyous moments and finally to the revelation of hidden truths that will change her life forever. (She decides to leave her boyfriend.)
Seen in this way the surprising ending where the painting is stuck away for no one to see makes real sense. Of course it is only of value for the model to understand her inner truths, you don't have to tell the world about them. The painter also was kind enough to do another portrait of her to show the world, a portrait where the inner meanings again are hidden. A most satisfactory ending I would say. As a french nun once told me: "Il faut respecter le mystère de l'autre" or "You have to respect the mystery of the other". How true doesn't that ring.
If a liked the movie? Yes, it is mesmerizing all four hours. And the twists at the end complete the picture fully. It is a masterpiece.