The picture of a beautiful woman dressed in a white night gown smiling invitingly is what initially drew me to this dvd. The front and the back cover had 3 superlatives from Time magazine, Cosmo and the Houston post. The Houston Post calls it "An arresting tale of obsession and revenge". However, It was the "Devilishly Clever" by Time magazine that had me sold on watching the movie.
Till I popped in the Dvd, I had no clue that this movie is French. On finding out, I was overjoyed! Though I have not seen many, I have always enjoyed all the French movies I have seen till now. They have their own unique way of making the story interesting. The women are always beautiful and near perfect. The plot is very different. There is a lot of elegance and fun in the movie. The biggest plus for me is the lack of understanding the language. Did you say - What??!
Yes, I like the fact that I do not understand the language as it helps me focus on the acting with more intensity. However, that happens only once you get used to reading the subtitles - but we have 2 eyes, don't we. If we put both of them to use, the results can be amazing :P
The story starts in a courtroom where a Polish immigrant, Karol is being divorced by his French wife Dominique because he cannot perform his husbandly duties in bed. Young, sensuous and in her prime, no wonder she wants a divorce because she is unsatisfied!
The divorce proceedings are still on when she cancels and freezes all his credit cards and bank accounts and leaves his a$$ freezing on the streets. Heartbroken and cold, he takes shelter in his wife's saloon for the night. She is surprised to see him in the morning when she opens the saloon. Karol succeeds in seducing her with his playful antics. She succumbs to his charms and they get together once again and once again our hero gives a zero performance leaving her high and dry!
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and if her passions are ignited and then left unsatisfied - even God cannot help the person upon which she targets her wrath. Our leading lady takes a cigarette lighter and sets her saloon on fire and blames it on Karol. Penniless, broke and now wanted by the police, Karol is reduced to begging in the subways corridors where he meets Mikolaj who asks Karol to kill a man for money. Karol refuses Mikolaj's suggestion and terms it preposterous.
He and Mikolaj go to see Dominique where Karol finds that she has taken on a new lover. Obsessed and angry, he calls her. She answers the call with the words "perfect timing" and greets him with an orgasm brought upon her by another man! Seething with fury, Karol asks Mikolaj to smuggle him back to Poland in a rather unique way (seen to be enjoyed). Back in his homeland Karol tries to move on with his life.
*Is he successful in his attempts?
Who is the guy Mikolaj wants killed?
Why did Mikolaj help karol?
Does karol seek revenge on the beautiful Dominique or do they live happily ever after?*
The movie is directed by a well known Polish writer/directorKrzysztof Kieslowski who like Deepa Mehta, made a trilogy of films called Blue, White and Red. According to IMDB, the colors symbolize liberty, equality and fraternity.
To me the movie was very much like the series "Ek Kahani" shown on DD many years ago. It delved into the dynamics of human relationships, usually ending with a twist - sometimes funny and other times ironic. The pace of this movie is easy to follow, but you can still watch it again to discover more subtle things. However, the satisfaction of the twist in the story can only be had one time. This immediately makes the movie a must see once. I can see the language and availability of such movies being a big deterrent in how many eyeballs it can capture but if you do get a chance - try to watch it.
Zbigniew Zamachowski plays Karol Karol. Under an able director, he is able to express his character's feelings with ease on the screen and thus gains the audience's pity and respect at different times in the movie depending on what his character is going thru. He also makes the audience laugh at times. His character is a shrewd businessman, an award winning hairdresser, an understanding human being, an honest person and an obsessed lover who is a good husband, but not satisfying in bed.
Julie Delpy playsDominique. She is a rather average actress who gives a good performance that was extracted from her by the director. Kind of like the stiff and cold - Aishwarya Rai. And Ms. Delpy can even give Ms. Rai a run for her money when it comes to looks! (the movie just gained a lot of male audience.. lol) She plays a young woman who wants more from her husband than just emotional connect (I always thought women had girlfriends for such things as emotional connect that we men do not completely understand.... !!). You can see the subtle pain in her eyes as she has to make a hard decision to separate from her husband inspite of loving him because she knows Karol is a good husband but with certain short comings that are important to her.
Janusz Gajos plays Mikolaj. He plays a central role in Karol's life by intervening at the right moment and saving him from wasting his life in decay. He is aptly rewarded by Karol at a later time in the movie. how and why is for me to hide and for you to find out.
The pace of the movie is relaxed and a lot of music is used to help convey the emotion thru the expressions of the actors. This is what set the movie apart for me from the other drivel being dished out these days. It showcases how the inequality between a husband and wife's needs can make a marriage fall apart as physical compatibility is an integral part and one of the corner stones of a happy marriage.
I give the movie 4 stars out of 5.
The one star was taken off because I fell asleep while watching this one :-) Bereft of the adrenaline rush of the action movies that I enjoy, the pace of the story was rather slow - in my opinion. However, the story was good enough for me to rewind and watch again so I dont miss any nuances of the characters and I follow it completely.
Dedication - This review is dedicated to Ipshonlu - She recommended American gangster and thanks to her review, I went and enjoyed watching it. I can see Ipsita liking this movie because the direction and the capture of emotions on the screen is superlative. well and also because its time she wrote another review after being away from MS for a long time and has just ended her (unplanned) sabbatical :-))
Hey, the rest of you can watch it too - and if anyone stops you, just come to me for "protection" as I just saw American gangster :P
!! Spike !!
PS: Angel, you can call this review sweet if you wish - call it being benevolent to suit the times ;-)
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