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.

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

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...

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

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