The Moon in the Gutter

The second feature from the director of 'Diva' was met with enough ridicule to suggest a settling of old scores, but unfortunately the film deserved every insult it inspired. No one can say Jean-Jacques Beineix wasn't asking for trouble, and the end result of his efforts to create a heavily stylized, romantic mood piece is an unforgivably empty and pretentious melodrama so laughably bad it might almost be a parody of modern European art-schlock cinema. The ubiquitous Gerard Depardieu plays a burly stevedore who wanders the docks of a nameless city, brooding over the unknown assailant who killed his sister; soon he begins brooding over sultry Nastassia Kinski instead, and they elope. Or do they? Every tantalizing hint of a plot disappears (usually within a scene or two) behind a welter of self-indulgent gestures, none of which could possibly make any sense to anyone except the writer-director. At best the film might be dismissed as a failed experiment; more accurately, it's a near masterpiece of unintended awfulness.

I saw this movie in the early '80s and found it artsy and messy yet with staying charm. Have just seen it again on DVD and still like it. The disregard of reality and logic are almost Lynch-like. The cast is quite good, and the messy households are like something from A Streetcar Named Desire.

I dimly recall that director Beineix was going to follow this movie with an extravagant production of Marc Behm's vampire novel "The Ice Maiden." (Behm a favorite writer of mine.) But "Moon" bit the dust at the box office, and as a result, the "Ice" project got scrapped. Maybe it'll get made someday.

Per the 'Net, "Moon"'s much-in-evidence red car is an early '60s Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder.

Most printed words regarding this film is usually all negative. Criticisms for story and lack of coherence are usually the main issues. The film has has a sad reputation overall, but the atmosphere and cinematography makes up for any shortcomings in the script. The cast-particularly Kinski and Abril really make the film. Depardieu's dedication is serious enough as the lead protagonist. Check the works of Kinski and you'll find no other film of hers giving the aura and beguiling beauty display in The Moon In the Gutter. Regardless,the movie is better than most coming out these days. I would rank it highly with films like "Betty Blue" and the works of Almodovar and Polanski.Hopefully, a proper DVD issue of some kind is imminent.

Poor Gerard who has to put up with a dead sister, a crazy brother, a drunkard father, an overweight loud step-mother, a nympho of a lover and a beautiful wealthy woman. It all adds up to trash art by the master of high quality cinema, Jean-Jacques Beineix!

La lune dans le caniveau is definitely different in comparison to director Beineix's much more straightforward crime film Diva (1981). It is more like an introverted, dramatic family member. We observe a man who tries to deal with his mistress and his alcoholic brother, and wants revenge for the death of his sister. Is this story very interesting? I wouldn't say so. Most scenes are long and tedious (the film has a two hour runtime). Only real fans of either Beineix or the actors will keep their concentration until the very end.

The pleasure for the viewer lies elsewhere: the stylistic, colorful cinematography. The film has playful use of lights EVERYWHERE. It is visually incredibly detailed for a film from begin 80's, which were usually bleak on purpose. Both films from Beineix, Diva and this one, weren't praised for its renewal. On the contrary: they were equally bashed by the critics. Style over substance, they said. Which, as an argument about film, seems always ridiculous to me. Isn't cinema BY DEFINITION about style? It is not a book on screen, after all. How is a film as 8 1/2 not style over substance?

While I'll think Beineix was quite adventurous with his colorful style, perhaps even ahead of its time, as films have become more style over substance ever since (take for example V for vendetta, Spring Breakers, Ixjana, City of lost children, The strange color of your body's tears). Also quite modern are these out of the ordinary female characters, played wonderfully by Victoria Abril and Natassja Kinski. Depardieu's acting perhaps seems a bit shallow but he is in fact right in tone with the introverted style of the film. This was a period (begin 80's) in which he excelled in playing lead characters (Danton, Le chevre, Le dernier métro, Buffet froid). I rate this film 7/10. Despite the visual feast, I'm just too impatient to enjoy a film at such a slow pace. An one-hour cut would do magic for this film.