johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: The tricky thing is that it is in fact a really predictable story and, yet, it was still quite fascinating to behold and easily one of the best love stories I have seen in a very long time. To be honest, eventually, we don’t learn much about these two young women after all but, from the very first moment they met each other, there was such a massive chemistry between them. Obviously, Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel should be praised as they both delivered such strong performances, especially since their characters usually didn’t say what they thought but used mostly only their eyes. The fact that I have always been fascinated by Art, especially painting, made me enjoy this movie even more, even if the portrait was basically only an excuse for these 2 girls to spend as much time together as possible. The interesting thing about this doomed love story was that, even though it might seem tragic, somehow, because it did last only a few days, the memory of these few passionate days will always remain perfect, pretty much like the story of Orpheus and Eurydice which was read by the characters during this movie. Finally, it was also a tale about freedom, or at least, the yearning for freedom. Indeed, from the moment Héloïse’s mother left them, for the very first and maybe also the last time in their lives, they could enjoy the freedom of being themselves without any social boundaries, even Sophie the servant. I also wonder what to make of the fact that all the male characters have been removed or erased and maybe it was also linked to this feminist idea of freedom as men are mostly responsible for most of the literal and figurative shackles in every women’s lives.
3 years, 11 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Portrait of a Lady on Fire
“Since I kept hearing some really good things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out. The tricky thing is that it is in fact a really predictable story and, yet, it was still quite fascinating to behold and easily one of the best love stories I have seen in a very long time. To be hones” read more
3 years, 11 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Top 10 best movies 2019 list
Notes: The tricky thing is that it is in fact a really predictable story and, yet, it was still quite fascinating to behold and easily one of the best love stories I have seen in a very long time. To be honest, eventually, we don’t learn much about these two young women after all but, from the very first moment they met each other, there was such a massive chemistry between them. Obviously, Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel should be praised as they both delivered such strong performances, especially since their characters usually didn’t say what they thought but used mostly only their eyes. The fact that I have always been fascinated by Art, especially painting, made me enjoy this movie even more, even if the portrait was basically only an excuse for these 2 girls to spend as much time together as possible. The interesting thing about this doomed love story was that, even though it might seem tragic, somehow, because it did last only a few days, the memory of these few passionate days will always remain perfect, pretty much like the story of Orpheus and Eurydice which was read by the characters during this movie. Finally, it was also a tale about freedom, or at least, the yearning for freedom. Indeed, from the moment Héloïse’s mother left them, for the very first and maybe also the last time in their lives, they could enjoy the freedom of being themselves without any social boundaries, even Sophie the servant. I also wonder what to make of the fact that all the male characters have been removed or erased and maybe it was also linked to this feminist idea of freedom as men are mostly responsible for most of the literal and figurative shackles in every women’s lives.
3 years, 11 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Even though I'm a huge fan of Charlie Chaplin, I must confess, I have always been kind of oblivious about Buster Keaton. Indeed, so far I only saw 'The General' which didn't really blow me away. Anyway, this was my second movie starring Keaton and I really enjoyed it though. Basically, the plot was some kind of typical 'Romeo and Juliet' tale and it was a good excuse to get some funny jokes and spectacular stunts. And that's also probably the reason I still prefer Chaplin to Keaton. Indeed, even though Chaplin's work was also constantly hilarious, there was also this amazing poetic tone and/or some really deep thoughtfulness and I kind of missed that in Keaton's movies. I mean, it was a really funny flick and I was laughing my ass off more than once and some of the physical stunts were just amazing and became deservedly quite legendary but I think that it was basically the whole point of this production, to make us laugh and surprise the audience but it stopped there and it didn't go the extra mile like the movies of Chaplin. Still, I definitely have to watch more movies from this guy.
3 years, 11 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (2010's) list
Notes: Thomas Vinterberg has delivered one of his strongest movies so far. Indeed, personally, I have always been intrigued about our current obsession about pedophilia and this movie gave me some really interesting insights about our current approach about such issues. I mean, it is something absolutely dreadful but it has always been around and, in the past, it was a rather taboo subject but, nowadays, we are not supposed to trust anyone with our children, even people close to us, resulting in the massive hysteria displayed in this movie. But that's the whole problem here. Wouldn't it be really awful to not believe a child who was really a victim? But, on the other hand, to make an innocent man such a monster might be just as terrible. I was actually amazed that the adults would keep repeating that kids always tell the truth which is something I don't believe at all. The reality is actually much more subtle. Basically, depending on the circumstances, a child might tell you anything, it could be the truth, a lie, but usually, they will try to tell the adults exactly what they want to hear, which was exactly what happened in this movie. I must admit that I was really amazed that the guy would still live there after everything he has been through. In his case, I would have just taken off and try to start over somewhere else, instead of staying with this people who never believed or trusted him. And, the very last scene which I found tricky to analyse tells me that it would have been indeed a wiser choice.
3 years, 11 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of The Dig
“I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a decent cast involved and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though the story had some potential, to be honest, I didn’t care much about the damned thing. At least, Basil B” read more
3 years, 11 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Thomas Vinterberg has delivered one of his strongest movies so far. Indeed, personally, I have always been intrigued about our current obsession about pedophilia and this movie gave me some really interesting insights about our current approach about such issues. I mean, it is something absolutely dreadful but it has always been around and, in the past, it was a rather taboo subject but, nowadays, we are not supposed to trust anyone with our children, even people close to us, resulting in the massive hysteria displayed in this movie. But that's the whole problem here. Wouldn't it be really awful to not believe a child who was really a victim? But, on the other hand, to make an innocent man such a monster might be just as terrible. I was actually amazed that the adults would keep repeating that kids always tell the truth which is something I don't believe at all. The reality is actually much more subtle. Basically, depending on the circumstances, a child might tell you anything, it could be the truth, a lie, but usually, they will try to tell the adults exactly what they want to hear, which was exactly what happened in this movie. I must admit that I was really amazed that the guy would still live there after everything he has been through. In his case, I would have just taken off and try to start over somewhere else, instead of staying with this people who never believed or trusted him. And, the very last scene which I found tricky to analyse tells me that it would have been indeed a wiser choice.
3 years, 11 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to The evolution of Eddie Murphy list
3 years, 11 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a video
3 years, 11 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1980's) list
Notes: I don't know abroad, but in France, it is a classic and it was a huge success back then when it was released. Anyway, it is such a bold and inspiring picture, I thought it was pretty amazing. Of course, there is no way to know how accurate the whole thing is but I thought it was very believable. Also, they didn't make any concession such as making the characters talk French or English, there wasn't even any subtitles but I thought it made the whole thing even more spellbinding to watch. The scene which personally really blew me away was the one when the guy sees how to make fire. The look on his face, the impact of this event, it was just amazing. In those few minutes, they managed to give the very essence of being human (the consciousness, the thinking process). Just amazing. Of course, the whole thing is not completely flawless. For example, to add something to the thin story, they had to throw in a romantic plot which was nicely handled but it was not as believable as the rest. Furthermore, the main character made too many huge jumps into evolution in just a couple of days. Still, the damned thing is just unique and pretty much a must-see in my opinion.
3 years, 11 months ago