Stranger by the Lake

This French film takes place entirely at a lakeside and nearby woods.

The lakeside here is a bit secluded and a small community of gay men have come here to sunbathe in the nude and cruise for sex with each other, without making any emotional commitments. The protagonist is young, handsome, gay Francke. Like many of the others, he is here for sex. As any visitor enters the beach he is ogled by the others, hoping to be chosen for a sexual encounter in the woods.

Francke sees another handsome but slightly older man, Michel. So far Michel hasn't given him any indication of desiring Francke. A bit further down the beach sits the middle-aged and portly Henri, who says he is straight and sits apart from the others. He says he only is here to enjoy the sun. Francke sits with Henri, passing time with conversation until he can make a connection with Michel, and he and Henri start a casual friendship. Henri observes the men, noting the dynamics of these temporary relationships but still considering himself separate from them, at least he says so. One night after the others leave, Francke observes Michel and another man swimming in the lake. At first playful, Michel suddenly drowns his lover, and Francke cowers in the woods hoping not to be seen.

During the next few days, Francke does not give any indication of having seen anything, although he gets close to Michel and makes oblique comments. Henri sees how Francke wants to pursue Michel, and at times warn him to be safe as Francke seems to think he and Michel have a budding "real" relationship. The missing man is not noticed as people here don't ask much about each other. Michel begins to suspect Francke knows something. Things get more tense when an investigator starts hanging around the area, questioning the men about the missing man.

Free event: Amour

The Northbrook Public Library takes a break from their run of Frank Sinatra films to present something totally different--recent award winner Amour. The plight of an elderly couple is portrayed after one of them has a stroke.

Amour
Saturday, April 13, 2013
2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Northbrook Public Library
1201 Cedar Lane
Northbrook, IL 60062

Whatever You Say

I believe this is one of the first films directed by Guillaume Canet (Tell No One) at a time when he was married to its lead actress, Diane Kruger. Canet is Bastien, a peon who works at a television production company. He hopes to advance his own creative ideas but barring his way up the corporate ladder is the boorish host of a trash talk show whom he is assistant to. Bastien is not tough enough to tell the host like it is and is passive aggressive, but manages to catch the attention of the owner of the company, Mr. Broustal (Francois Berleand). Broustal asks for his opinions and invites him to his country home for the weekend with his young wife Clara (Kruger). Bastien gets a little full of himself and thinks Broustal sees his so-called talents that have yet to be recognized by anyone else.

What Bastien doesn't expect is how eccentric Broustal and his wife are. During this weekend Bastien finds himself feeding Broustal's pet vultures, dressing up as a rabbit, and potentially burying a dead body among many other weird behaviors which the Broustals don't think are strange at all. Throughout it all Bastien tries to bring things back to reality in hopes of pitching his ideas but is usurped time and again as the Broustals expect him pretty much to be a jester to entertain the very bored, rich couple. He contiues to allow himself to be manipulated in worse and worse ways in order to hopefully get something in return, but we see that is not going to happen.

Les Visiteurs du Soir (The Devil's Envoys)

This French film from the 1940s has a feel similar to La Belle et le Bete, the Jean Cocteau version of Beauty and the Beast, although less fantastical.

The plot concerns two disciples of the devil, Gilles and Dominique (Alain Cuny and Arletty), in the Middle Ages. They aim to destroy the relationships of some humans, probably because they are bored and have nothing better to do, but mostly at the devil's whim. It appears they have blood contracts with the devil so can't escape their plight. They play the part of traveling minstrels, sent to the castle of a widowed Baron (Fernand Ledoux) whose daughter, Anne (Marie Dea), is engaged to be married to Renaud. Renaud (Marcel Herrand) seems to value Anne only as a thing to be conquered, so when Gilles sings mournful love songs at a pre-wedding banquet, Anne can't help but be drawn to him instead. In a sequence where Dominique stops time (she's actually a woman who masquerades as Gilles' brother/minstrel partner), she and Gilles take Renaud and Anne out to the garden where each seduces their respective prey. Later Dominique also plays up the Baron, revealing to each of her men that she is really a woman.

The lustful Renaud as expected takes to Dominique quite readily, and doesn't even want to be reminded he has a wedding soon. The Baron though, still faithful to the memory of his dead wife, finally allows himself to succumb to Dominique's charms and feels protective of her.  Anne and Gilles' relationship is more serious, as Gilles really does fall in love with Anne. Then the devil himself appears (Jules Berry) in the guise of a lord seeking shelter from a storm, creating machinations so that Gilles and Anne are caught together, thus sentencing Gilles to death. Meanwhile, both the Baron and Renaud duel over Dominique. Anne promises to marry the devil if he will release Gilles from his blood contract.

The Sentiment of the Flesh

Be prepared to open your mind!  In this French film, an anatomical/medical illustrator Helena (Annabelle Hettmann) meets an internist Benoit (Thibault Vinçon) when she goes for x-rays for back pain. He claims the spine x-rays are inconclusive so uses a more advanced machine, which she comes to realize is his way of seeing her, much as a painter will see his subject in his own particular way.

They start an affair where the physical knowing of each other becomes, literally, more than skin deep--he does an MRI to view her internally--and then she convinces him to "know" her in an extreme and dangerous way.

The Intouchables

The Intouchables is a well-acted feel-good movie, and although the two leads are mostly stereotyped movie characters, it escapes being cliched due to good onscreen chemistry. Based on a true story.

Francois Cluzet plays the rich quadraplegic, Phillippe. He is a widow with a teen daughter, and has a staff that does everything for him--feed him, bathe him, exercise him, answer his letters. He is not depressed about his condition, and often makes jokes about it. We come to see later why he has this lust for life, though it is due to a bittersweet reason. Currently he is interviewing for a new full time caregiver. We see Driss (Omar Sy), an unemployed young Senegalese, sitting amongst other stodgy white guys waiting for their interview with Phillippe. Obviously he looks out of place to us, but Driss gives no sense that he cares. He is only there to get a signature on a form to show he applied for a job so that he can collect unemployment benefits. Compared to the other dull men, all whom are more qualified, Driss' cheeky attitude and lively personality intrigue Phillippe and is pretty much hired on the spot.

Bluebeard (2009)

This French film is directed by Catherine Breillat, a filmmaker known for using sexual themes involving (usually) young women/girls.

Two sets of sisters relate the story of Bluebeard, the murderous wife killer of the old fairy tale. In the sisters of 1950s France, the younger of the two, Catherine, seems to know how to push her older sister Marie-Anne's buttons as they explore an attic in a country cottage. Catherine daringly taunts her about the story of Bluebeard, which scares Marie-Anne. The film goes back and forth between these girls and the girls of the fairy tale they are reading, which takes place in medieval times.

In the medieval story, teen sisters Anne and Marie-Catherine have just lost their father and since they are female, the well-being of their futures are dependent on marriage. As in the 1950s story, it is the younger sister, Marie-Catherine (Lola Creton), who is the central figure. She sees Bluebeard's castle in the distance and is captivated by the stories of him and the many wives who have disappeared without a trace. This doesn't scare her. In fact, when Bluebeard (Dominique Thomas) offers marriage to her or her sister despite knowing they have no dowries, Marie-Catherine is pleased to take the chance.

Shall We Kiss?

Two strangers meet when Emilie can't find a taxi during a business trip and Gabriel offers to drive her back to the hotel. There is some attraction, so much so that they share a dinner at the end of which Gabriel leans over to kiss Emilie good night. But she shies away, claiming a "no strings attached" kiss could have big consequences. She tells a story to support her claim.

Married Judith and her platonic single friend Nicolas get together on occasion. One time he admits that he is unable to feel physically/intimately connected to any woman. They have a frank talk and she suggests certain things, all of which Nicolas has tried. Then, she suggests he kiss her to get his juices flowing, so to speak, as since she is a platonic friend there should be no strings attached. Of course, he does so, and there are strings, and that one kiss escalates into a clinical but satisfying sexual encounter.

Menage (Evening Dress)

I don't know what to make of the characters in this film. Gerard Depardieu is a gay house robber Bob (most reviews and such say he is bisexual but I think he can only get off with a woman if he is thinking about a man or if a man is watching). He hears a couple, Monique and Antoine, arguing (Miou Miou, Michel Blanc). She is tired of being poor, so Bob invites them into robbing homes with him. Monique takes to this readily, finding it exciting and dangerous. Antoine is nervous and is scared of the passes Bob is making to him.

L'Ours (The Bear)

It was disheartening to hear a young woman in the audience ask "Do the bears talk?" and then promptly walk out when she was told "no." I'm sure I will NOT be meeting her at a film festival anytime soon.

This is a film told mostly from the aspect of the bears in the film. It takes place in the late 1800s in British Columbia. A bear cub is orphaned when its mother is killed in a landslide. The cub goes along on his way. Meanwhile, hunters are on the trail of bear skins. They already have a few and are on the trail of a large male in the area. The male is spotted and is shot by one of the hunters (Tcheky Karyo, the other hunter is played by Jack Wallace) but the wound doesn't stop the bear. It runs away and tries to find comfort in a mudhole, where the cub sees it and they ally themselves to each other.

The two bears continue travelling together, while the hunters continue on their trail. The film shows the cub dreaming of bearlike things, watching as the male bear has sex, and imitates behaviors like knocking down a tree to find food. The hunters are joined by a third man with a pack of hunting dogs, who do a better job of finding the bear.

The film was kind of cutesy in how it showed the bear behavior, overly anthromorphizing them and I think even the bear cub made sounds that were done by human voices (whimpering, grunting, etc.) That aspect of I didn't really like; it probably would be fine for a junior audience, but I would have preferred more natural "acting" by the bears.

The ending where one of the hunters changes his mind was also a bit unbelieveable for an old audience member like me, although I guess it offers a moral for a young audience. This particular hunter throughout the film did things like tie up the cub and taunt it, notched his bullets so they would cause more severe injury, too eager to shoot soon--so his change of thinking was not supported by his previous behavior. Also at the end, which seems tacked on, is an encounter with a cougar.

Although there is of course violence due to the hunting aspect, this is an okay family film for slightly older children.

The Green Room

This is a 1978 Francois Truffaut film in which he also stars, and based on a Henry James story. Costars Nathalie Baye.

In the 1930s, Truffaut plays a widower Julien who obsesses about his dead wife, having a room as a shrine, thinking he is keeping her memory alive where everyone else has moved on. His obsession with death also stems from the horrors he witnessed as a soldier in WWI. He meets a young woman who feels similarly about her dead father, just not as obsessed as he is. Julien's friend, recently widowed, remarries quickly, which stirs up Julien's anger so much he basically ends their friendship. Basically he compares his friend's lack of love for his dead wife to his own obsession.

The Artist

This French film played at the Chicago International Film Festival this year as its Closing Night film.  It stars Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, as silent film stars in Hollywood.  The story is a little bit A Star is Born, a little bit Singin' In the Rain.  Dujardin, as popular star george Valentin (no doubt a play on Rudolf Valentino) has enjoyed a successful career as a leading man in silent films.  It is now the mid-1920s.  Bejo is pretty young thing Peppy Miller, hoping to make it big in Hollywood, and they have a "meet-cute" at a premiere.  Valentin, despite being married, is taken with her.  As her star rises, his falls, due to two key events of that time.

CICFF 2011: Tales of the Night

Not to be confused with the recent Chicago International Film Festival, Tales of the Night was one of the programs in the Chicago International CHILDREN'S Film Festival this weekend. This French movie is a compilation of television shorts made into a film through connecting segments of a theatre troupe thinking up story ideas. There are three characters in the troupe, a young man and young woman, who take on the roles of lovers in the folk tales they spin; the other character, an older man, help them form their basic story plots of six folk/fairy tales. The characters are shown in silhouette in front of vividly colored backgrounds. The film was created by Michel Ocelot, whose previous films have similar folk tale themes and visual presence.

CIFF 2011: Tomboy

**You have another chance to catch Tomboy if you missed it at CIFF.  It is playing at Reeling, the Chicago Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival.**

Kicking off my CIFF schedule is a French film written and directed by Celine Sciamma.  Tomboy is about a girl who is mistaken for a boy, and decides to continue this deception amongst some new friends.

Rapt

A French suspense film, Rapt concerns the kidnapping of a businessman for ransom. Stan (Yvan Attal) is the Chairman of a wealthy company in Paris, but he is not a very noble person. With a mistress and a heavy gambling habit, his family, friends and business associates have a lot of options as to the motives of the kidnappers.

The Concert

I kind of have a bias against certain genres of films. Romantic comedies need to rise above its generic template to offer me some interesting characters or some true soul searching, so that I don't come away from the theatre sneering at the dumb characters or cookie cutter plot. "Feel good" stories too also need to break away from its melodramatic and expected ending.

Despite its dramatic elements, I think The Concert is a feel good film. It begins almost like it was made in the 1930s, in a "let's get the old gang together and put on a show" plot.

Point Blank (French film)

Not the one starring Lee Marvin, this one involves a male nurse who is strongarmed into helping a criminal break out of a hospital. The bad guys kidnap his pregnant wife to motivate him, thus putting an average guy into a situation he is unused to.

Sarah's Key

This film stars Kristin Scott Thomas, whom I seriously see in more French films than English ones nowadays; I think this is growing on me. Based on a bestselling book, the movie begins in the era of World War 2, where young Jewish Sarah’s family is broken up in a raid. She has a key to a secret room where her little brother hides during the raid. He is separated from the family and Sarah anguishes over this and does what she can as a small girl to return to him.

In the present, Julia (Scott Thomas), a magazine writer, discovers some of Sarah’s story, and how it relates to her (Julia’s) French husband’s family, who currently own the apartment Sarah once lived in. She hunts down historical records and speaks to people who don’t want to say anything to her, and eventually finds out what happens to Sarah’s family. Aidan Quinn has a small part.

While Scott Thomas does a good job, I found this story of the best-selling book vein, that is, grand and historic top ten list type of stuff, which is not my thing. More of the past events involving Sarah and the years when she grows up need to be shown to us, and not just serve as a backdrop to Julia's search. The film does remind us how the French, not just Germans, persecuted the Jews, which is not often depicted in pop culture.

The Necessities of Life

I hesitate to mention where I saw this film as the audience gets more crowded each year.  Not that there will be many reading this tiny blog who will run, don't walk, to Cinema Chicago's International Summer Screenings.  But their film choices overall are pretty good, especially that from the Canadian Consulate, whom I think tries to find a good representative movie of not only their film culture, but the country as well.