vendredi 31 décembre 2004

Fireworks in a no-man's-land

My Imdb comment regarding A Very Long Engagement. At last !


Adaptative authority

Before he was given the possibility to adapt this novel all of the Jeunet's works were original (counting Alien 4 as an intermezzo) and each one well-versed in both daydream and pure fantasy. This was the only concern I had when the project was announced but this concern was bigger for the people who had read the book. What's more this adaptation had been a pet project of Jeunet for a decade and eventually it seems he was too respectful of the original source and, in turn, Warner was too respectful of his absolute auteur authority.

For one thing this movie aims to transfer to the screen the very intricate plot of the novel, and there are a dozen major supporting characters with their own precise lot, waiting for their moment in the narration to expose their backstories, disclose subplots, so that you be able to reconstruct a jigsaw faithful to the original source material. OK, you get the big bold picture, i.e. bigger than carefully chosen evocative little words. Whereas the book revolved around a steady investigation the movie centers on a flashback that never stops building up. Flashback = investigation? It's a bit naive but, it's true, naivety is part and parcel of the charm in JP Jeunet's movies.

Well obviously style is a major concern with Un long dimanche de fiançailles. Simply put it doesn't fit the period and the story. It's a tough thing to say because it means nobody seriously questioned the spirit behind the next project 'by the director who gave us Amélie', but yes, Jeunet's bittersweet and snappy style is at odds with the gloomy days of lost generation 1920. Or maybe style is just too plain obvious, hence the scenery soaking up the story.

Too much style and too much substance makes Mathilde a dull girl

What's left in Un long dimanche de fiançailles? A collection of perfect frames, lovely pictures and funny situations since this assiduous fresco is as much sugar-coated as Amélie (indeed when Jeunet created Amélie he had some images of Mathilde in mind; then for Mathilde he was stuck with a plot plus Tautou).

The sepia postcards from Paris and Brittany are wonderful, the muddy trenches are nice, even the blood and guts are decent enough to be colorful parts of the general composition. On the whole, with the storyline eluding momentum and the 'great production values' emotion never has a chance to sweep in. Because no momentum means no pressure, no suspense... no empathy. This is all the more striking as Audrey Tautou's whimsical Mathilde is definitely not the more interesting character in the load but merely a visual assistant to the voice-over narration. As for me the Jodie Foster bit was a far more touching and more involving (I did not say arousing) part.

Now I must admit I got quite a kick out of watching these pictures, yet that's too much for a sole exhibition.
But not enough for a cinema lover.

jeudi 30 décembre 2004

Mercredi 29 Top 30 Pp

1 THE INCREDIBLES¨¨¨¨ 22 776
2 OCEAN'S TWELVE¨¨¨¨ 22 098
3 NATIONAL TREASURE¨¨ 16 323
4 THE GRUDGE¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ 15 927
5 LES SOEURS FACHEES¨¨¨¨ 14 048
6 LEMONY SNICKET'S ...¨¨¨¨ 12 027
7 BRIDGET JONES 2¨¨¨¨¨¨ 8 658
8 LES DALTON¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ 8 022
9 LE DERNIER TRAPPEUR¨¨ 7 795
10 GIRL NEXT DOOR¨¨¨¨ 7 629
11 ROIS & REINE 6 321
12 COUP DE FOUDRE A B... 5 582
13 IRRESISTIBLE ALFIE 4 839
14 LE POLE EXPRESS 4 778
15 36 QUAI DES ORFEVRES 4 239
16 UN PETIT JEU SANS CSQ 3 191
17 A BOIRE 2 587
18 LES TEMPS QUI CHANGENT 2 483
19 BLADE TRINITY 1 784
20 LA LEGENDE DE L'ETALON ... 1 537
21 LE SILENCE 1 290
22 VOLCANS DES ABYSSES 1 038
23 MARIA PLEINE DE GRACE 1 023
24 UN LONG DIMANCHE ... 991
25 PLUME, LE PETIT OURS POLAIRE 918
26 SARABAND 808
27 NOUS ETIONS LIBRES 796
28 SOLARMAX 760
29 LES 3 ROIS MAGES 652
30 NARCO 599

Dernière semaine avant les soldes !!

Le BO Pp des dernières semaines de l'année 2004 :

# | Titre ____________ | _ s52 _ | __s51__ | cumul
1 | OCEAN'S TWELVE __ | 159 252 | 321 028 | 480 775
2 | THE INCREDIBLES __ | 122 968 | 136 129 | 976 993
3 | NATIONAL TREASURE | 114 710 | _____ | 115 331
4 | LES SOEURS FACHEES | 101 192 | _____ | 102 464
5 | LEMONY SNICKET'S ... | ° 74 574 | _____ | 75 858
6 | BRIDGET JONES 2 ___ | ° 64 993 | 114 535 | 390 772
7 | LE DERNIER TRAPPEUR| ° 49 043 | 62 455 | 113 306
8 | LES DALTON _______ | ° 51 101 | 71 308 | 241 259
9 | COUP DE FOUDRE ___ | ° 43 025 | ____ | 43 167
10 | ROIS & REINE _____ | ° 36 930 | ____ | 37 586
11 | UN PETIT JEU S CSQ | ° 27 500 | 57 361 | 86 117
12 | 36 Q. DES ORFEVRES | ° 27 040 | 41 146 | 392 776

mercredi 29 décembre 2004

Un long mercredi entre les fêtes

Je suis pas fan du Seigneur machin ou du Harry bidule, loin de là, mais j'ai comme l'impression qu'il manque qqch dans les sorties cette fin d'année...

mercredi 22 décembre 2004

Paris Box-office, première !















































































































































































































































#


Titre


c.


6j Pp


Cumul


1


OCEAN'S TWELVE


54


 288 507 


 289 002 


2


THE INCREDIBLES


46


 114 053 


 831 949 


3


BRIDGET 2


54


 101 006 


 312 250 


4


LES DALTON


39


 59 265 


 178 115 


5


LE DERNIER TRAPPEUR


39


 53 836 


 55 644 


6


UN PETIT JEU SANS CSQ


32


 51 304 


 52 560 


7


LES TEMPS QUI CHANGENT


31


 42 267 


 42 477 


8


BLADE TRINITY


31


 37 124 


 124 638 


9


36 QUAI DES ORFEVRES


35


 35 999 


 360 589 


10


POLAR EXPRESS


32


 29 448 


 123 366 


11


MARIA PLEINE DE GRACE


20


 18 638 


 52 252 


12


NARCO


22


 15 057 


 156 102 


13


MEMOIRE EFFACEE


17


 10 017 


 89 868 


14


UN LONG DIMANCHE …


12


 5 986 


 759 389 


15


SARABAND


2


 5 925 


 5 925 


16


A TOUT DE SUITE


12


 5 879 


 19 055 


17


HOLY LOLA


9


 5 476 


 100 203 


18


LES 3 ROIS MAGES


21


 5 429 


 13 174 


19


UN NOEL DE FOLIE !


12


 5 351 


 5 393 


20


HOUSE OF THE FLYING …


7


 4 611 


 181 209 


21


PLUME, LE PETIT OURS …


12


 4 269 


 6 909 


22


EN CHANTANT DERRIERE …


4


 3 752 


 3 752 


23


LA LEGENDE DE L'ETALON …


1


 2 703 


 111 481 


24


VOLCANS DES ABYSSES


1


 2 584 


 25 920 


25


MONDOVINO


3


 2 493 


 60 687 


26


INNOCENCE GHOST IN THE …2


1


 2 440 


 41 566 


27


CAFE LUMIERE


3


 2 350 


 6 494 


28


MON TRESOR


4


 2 231 


 17 517 


29


VOYAGE EN FAMILLE


4


 2 136 


 13 142 


30


WHISKY


4


 1 983 


 30 314 


31


NOBODY KNOWS


3


 1 739 


 56 194 


32


ETERNAL SUNSHINE …


4


 1 642 


 273 147 


33


QUAND LA MER MONTE...


3


 1 620 


 51 036 


34


CARNETS DE VOYAGE


7


 1 571 


 217 627 


35


LE GRAND VOYAGE


4


 1 552 


 15 798


Avt-premières


-


LES SOEURS FACHEES


10


 979 


 979 


-


LE PLUS BEAU JOUR DE MA …


1


 588 


 588 


-


ROIS & REINE


2


 457 


 656 

mardi 21 décembre 2004

VOSTF's sprightely running -- première couche

Hi you who just happen to end on this page.

"And from the dregs of life hope to receive
What the first sprightely running could not give."

(just a quote for you won't click away empty handed)

***

Pour le reste ça va surtout parler français : actualité ciné en France, échos de ce qui nous arrive d'Hollywood (ou ce à quoi on échappe), et tout ce qui tourne (concrètement) autour du cinéma de manière générale.

A bientôt et passez de bonnes fêtes!
Merry Xmas y feliz año nuevo!


Viktor