Cast:
Denis Lavant (Adjudant-Chef Galoup), Michel Subor (Commandant Bruno Forestier), Grégoire Colin (Légionnaire Gilles Sentain), Richard Courcet (Légionnaire), and Nicolas Duvauchelle (Légionnaire) Directed by Claire Denis.
Review:
"A film is an expandable structure, where space is invaded by the actors."
Upbringing and timing matters more often than not when it comes to directors finding themselves. Claire Denis was born in Paris, France, but raised in colonial French Africa owing to her father being a civil servant and moving houses every two years. Her contact with films came three-fold: her mother "told" her films due to her love of the cinema. She got to experience imported war films (albeit in degraded quality) from America. Denis later experienced memories of cherished films such as Pather Panchali (1955). After finding little to relate to in studying economics and Oriental languages, she decided to take her husband's advice to seriously think about what she wanted to do. Denis had an internship for Tele Niger, which was a channel dedicated to literacy education in cinema, but she decided to try to apply to the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC); she made her first short with IDHEC in 1969. After graduation, she became an assistant to directors such as Jacques Rivette and Wim Wenders. Wanting to have her own independence, she decided to make her own films. She made her feature debut with Chocolat (1988), a semi-autobiographical film. The film is loosely based on the novella Billy Budd by Herman Melville. The famed writer (known for his poetry alongside Moby Dick) had started writing it in 1886 but left it in a manuscript form by his death in 1891. The manuscript was not first published until 1924 (although Melville's widow Elizabeth kept it safe), through the efforts of Raymond M. Weaver (Melville's first biographer). There have been three adaptations: a 1949 play (with a revision for Broadway in 1951), a 1951 opera, and a 1962 film. The screenplay for this film was done by Claire Denis and Jean-Pol Fargeau, which was initially in booklet form (as suggested by Fargeau, since the film is basically a recollection of one's time in the Legion). The film was shot in Djibouti (a former French colony) without authorization.
The title translates to "good work". Generally, one finds little dialogue to latch on to here, because one is focused on the images shown more than anything. The film is told through French with a mix of Italian and Russian for a mostly interesting 90 minutes. One perhaps finds self-discovery within the images of bodies that make a curious feature to absorb. In short, camaraderie is not in short supply here in a movie that sets up its great tragedy on its own terms and timing in a harsh landscape. There aren't too many speaking parts because the film mostly shows itself in a relaxed tone involving groups of French Foreign Legion men being, well, men in a legion. The military exercises were even choreographed by ballet choreographer. It all falls on the shoulders of Lavant, who is seen and heard (in voiceover, all throughout the film) in a manner that you would expect when it comes to making for great tragedy: a person who firmly believes that their cause is good enough to perhaps die for. We know the irrational hostility that becomes apparent in this one man because we all have had this kind of weird inkling that, well, there just is something wrong with the person in a group and that's that. Masculine insecurity isn't too far off from feminine insecurity, I guess. Subor probably has the most interesting line when it comes the idea that the only thing that ties these people togethers is "fornication and blood." He doesn't say too much, but you get the general idea of why someone would want to be around someone of his presence; people look the way they look to us because of perceptions, and it can be hard to shake off if a mentor is something they aren't or that a hack is something else. With that in mind, Colin makes a quality presence as the "foil" for Lavant in a movie all about the sun, the sea, and most of all, the skin. Beauty can be a dangerous thing in the eye of the beholder, which means one gets a film with plenty rhythm of the mind for a deliberate and fairly curious time here. The last scene is best left to view for oneself to make for a film that is, well, a distinct and imperfect experience fitting for world cinema.
Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.
Next Time: The Decline of Western Civilization III.
No comments:
Post a Comment