Friday Post or BSG and Indochine
Jan. 6th, 2006 12:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieFirst off, Galactica tonight! How excited am I? Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much. It’s funny, but I am a lot more relaxed with BSG than VM because while VM can grab me and give me heights of glee, my emotional attachment and wishes sometimes make me anxious (e.g. I sometimes get “get L/V together now” or frustrated with why Duncan is portrayed as good or what not etc etc). With BSG, it’s an intellectual love so no matter what they do, as long as it’s not dumbed down, I am happy. Makes for a much more relaxing viewing experience.
Today’s recommended movie is Indochine, the winner of Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 1992 (yes, I am on a French movie kick lately). If you like epics, period movies, angsty love stories, or a nuanced look at a complicated political situation, this is a movie for you.
The story centers around a rich French plantation owner in Indochina, during the French control of what is now Vietnam. Eliane (Catherine Deneuve, who received an Oscar nomination in the role) is a confident, intelligent, powerful woman. She has also adopted a Vietnamese girl who she named Camille (Linh Dan Pham). In fact, the movie’s story parallels the relationship between “parent” France and child “Vietnam” and the relationship between Eliane and Camille. Eliane enjoys the orientalism aspects of the East: she visits opium dens, she has discreet affairs with younger men. One such affair is with a young naval officer Jean-Baptiste (Vincent Perez, who IMO never looked more yummy). They are discreet. Very discreet. In fact, they are so discreet that it leads to a problem as Camille falls in love with Jean-Baptiste. On learning of it, Eliane uses her influence to have Jean-Baptiste posted far, far, FAR away in the middle of Vietnamese jungle. But Camille, who is both strong-willed and sheltered, runs away in order to find him. And so begins her trek across Vietnam and her exposure to the French rule of the region. Will she find him? What will happen when she does? And what will her new knowledge of the harsh regime do to her view of the French? This is only the first hour of a 3 hour movie by the way.
This is a movie with very strong women characters and I love that. Both Camille and Eliane are exceptional women and both are flawed. In fact, there is a bit of gender reversal in this movie as Jean-Baptiste (who is wound up extremely tightly in the beginning of the movie precisely because he is afraid of his strong emotions overwhelming him) is the most emotional and “domestic” of the three.
Camille and Jean-Baptiste:
This movie has one of my Top 10 romantic scenes ever, even though it’s really simple and short. Jean-Baptiste and Camille are on the run (long story) and end up in a hidden valley sheltered by the inhabitants. Camille tells him that if he turns himself in the government will pardon him, so if he is gone when she wakes up, she’ll understand. And we see him standing outside, falling apart in trying to decide, because if he stays, he is throwing his whole life away. And then we see her wake up in the morning in an empty room and she runs outside and looks around and she doesn’t see him and then the camera pans to show him asleep in the street corner. So she runs to him and touches his face really gently and he opens his eyes and just looks at her and I swoon.
I also love the somewhat bitter yet hopeful ending.
Eliane and Etienne, the son of Camille and Jean-Baptiste (Camille left him as a baby with Eliane after Jean-Baptiste’s death) are near the hotel where France will finally cede control. Eliane tells the whole story and tells Etienne his mother’s room number (as she is a bigwig in the revolutionary movement). So he goes to the lobby of the hotel but comes out without seeing her. He tells Eliane “how absurd it would be to shout ‘Mother’” to an unknown woman. He tells her he thought a miracle would happen and a woman would go “Etienne, my son” but nobody did and so he came away. And I find this complete break between mothers and children symbolic and bitter . Eliane says she has no interest in seeing Camille and how sad is that, that after years of bringing her up, she doesn’t have enough in common with her, enough residual feeling there, to want to interact. And Camille doesn’t even see her son. She might have achieved her revolutionary goals, and became a strong and powerful woman, but it’s at a heavy price. She lost Jean-Baptiste, she never knew her son. I love that the movie doesn’t end with a tearful reunion between Camille and Etienne. That really would have simplified everything. And I am not sure how happy Camille would have been, either. I think after Jean-Baptiste was killed, she locked away the emotional, personal side of herself and became merely “the revolutionary” because she realized that emotions make you vulnerable and that being with her exposes her loved ones to danger so better not to have any.
Poster:
Eliane:
Scenery:
Eliane and Jean-Baptiste:
Today’s recommended movie is Indochine, the winner of Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 1992 (yes, I am on a French movie kick lately). If you like epics, period movies, angsty love stories, or a nuanced look at a complicated political situation, this is a movie for you.
The story centers around a rich French plantation owner in Indochina, during the French control of what is now Vietnam. Eliane (Catherine Deneuve, who received an Oscar nomination in the role) is a confident, intelligent, powerful woman. She has also adopted a Vietnamese girl who she named Camille (Linh Dan Pham). In fact, the movie’s story parallels the relationship between “parent” France and child “Vietnam” and the relationship between Eliane and Camille. Eliane enjoys the orientalism aspects of the East: she visits opium dens, she has discreet affairs with younger men. One such affair is with a young naval officer Jean-Baptiste (Vincent Perez, who IMO never looked more yummy). They are discreet. Very discreet. In fact, they are so discreet that it leads to a problem as Camille falls in love with Jean-Baptiste. On learning of it, Eliane uses her influence to have Jean-Baptiste posted far, far, FAR away in the middle of Vietnamese jungle. But Camille, who is both strong-willed and sheltered, runs away in order to find him. And so begins her trek across Vietnam and her exposure to the French rule of the region. Will she find him? What will happen when she does? And what will her new knowledge of the harsh regime do to her view of the French? This is only the first hour of a 3 hour movie by the way.
This is a movie with very strong women characters and I love that. Both Camille and Eliane are exceptional women and both are flawed. In fact, there is a bit of gender reversal in this movie as Jean-Baptiste (who is wound up extremely tightly in the beginning of the movie precisely because he is afraid of his strong emotions overwhelming him) is the most emotional and “domestic” of the three.
Camille and Jean-Baptiste:
This movie has one of my Top 10 romantic scenes ever, even though it’s really simple and short. Jean-Baptiste and Camille are on the run (long story) and end up in a hidden valley sheltered by the inhabitants. Camille tells him that if he turns himself in the government will pardon him, so if he is gone when she wakes up, she’ll understand. And we see him standing outside, falling apart in trying to decide, because if he stays, he is throwing his whole life away. And then we see her wake up in the morning in an empty room and she runs outside and looks around and she doesn’t see him and then the camera pans to show him asleep in the street corner. So she runs to him and touches his face really gently and he opens his eyes and just looks at her and I swoon.
I also love the somewhat bitter yet hopeful ending.
Eliane and Etienne, the son of Camille and Jean-Baptiste (Camille left him as a baby with Eliane after Jean-Baptiste’s death) are near the hotel where France will finally cede control. Eliane tells the whole story and tells Etienne his mother’s room number (as she is a bigwig in the revolutionary movement). So he goes to the lobby of the hotel but comes out without seeing her. He tells Eliane “how absurd it would be to shout ‘Mother’” to an unknown woman. He tells her he thought a miracle would happen and a woman would go “Etienne, my son” but nobody did and so he came away. And I find this complete break between mothers and children symbolic and bitter . Eliane says she has no interest in seeing Camille and how sad is that, that after years of bringing her up, she doesn’t have enough in common with her, enough residual feeling there, to want to interact. And Camille doesn’t even see her son. She might have achieved her revolutionary goals, and became a strong and powerful woman, but it’s at a heavy price. She lost Jean-Baptiste, she never knew her son. I love that the movie doesn’t end with a tearful reunion between Camille and Etienne. That really would have simplified everything. And I am not sure how happy Camille would have been, either. I think after Jean-Baptiste was killed, she locked away the emotional, personal side of herself and became merely “the revolutionary” because she realized that emotions make you vulnerable and that being with her exposes her loved ones to danger so better not to have any.
Poster:
Eliane:
Scenery:
Eliane and Jean-Baptiste:
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-01-06 05:09 pm (UTC)Also I went to Halong Bay in North Vietnam where they filmed the scene where Camille and Jean-Baptiste were floating around in the boat .. the rocks and the bays are just as magical as they are in the film. Alas, no Vincent Perez though ;)
no subject
Date: 2006-01-06 05:11 pm (UTC)This was the first movie I saw VP in and I was definitely smitten. Don't think he ever looked better. He was great in Cyrano too. I ended up feeling bad for him, even as I was rooting for Cyrano.
I went to Halong Bay in North Vietnam
*is jealous*
Alas, no Vincent Perez though
Heee. Maybe you get that with an extra-special VIP package? :P
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Date: 2006-01-06 05:16 pm (UTC)I saw Perez first in Cyrano and totally fell in love with Christian. I normally hate facial hair (with the exception of eyebrows and eyelashes) but he made that dashing little moustache work and his eyes were so mesmerising. Then I saw him in Indochine where he is also very cute.
Then alas, I saw him in Queen Margot where he was kind of grubby. I could cope with that but I was sitting in the first row of the cinema and treated to an eye-popping view of his dangley bits during the love scene. It just wasn't a good look .... besides, I kept thinking: "If he's so turned on, why's he flaccid?" That's when my friend had to tell me that there's some movie rule about frontal nudity. :D
Oops, sorry. Ignore me. ;) I've had too much caffeine.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-06 05:21 pm (UTC)ROFL!
kept thinking: "If he's so turned on, why's he flaccid?" That's when my friend had to tell me that there's some movie rule about frontal nudity.
They are really touchy in the US with male full frontal. You have to do it really carefully or it will get NC-17. Basically, showing it in a sexual context (as opposed to in the bathroom or whatever) means taking your ratings hopes in your hands because it can be slapped with a NC-17 just like that.
I saw this movie years ago with a friend and the thing I remember the most about that viewing is that during that scene she leaned over to me (she was an arts major who did a lot of live nude drawing) that she thought VP was better endowed than the current model she was using. That made me ROFL and led to really dirty looks from people. Heeee.
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Date: 2006-01-06 05:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-06 05:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-06 05:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-06 05:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-06 07:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-06 05:44 pm (UTC)So what ARE your Top 10 Romantic scenes? And what makes me think most of them are Bollywood.
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Date: 2006-01-06 06:11 pm (UTC)Yes. And I am so amazed how gorgeous she is even when she got older.
I adore "On Guard!" I saw it in a movie theater a few years back and recently bought a copy. VP's character was actually my favorite in the movie, what with the off-hand charm and cheerful ignorance. A pity he had to be bumped off for the plot to be set into motion :P
Hmmm, Top 10 scenes. I'd have to think about it.
The one from Indochine is one.
Then the scene in The English Patient where Almasy is carrying Catherine and crying.
The scene with knife-throwing in "The Girl on a Bridge" (another French movie I adore). Never thought that would be so sexy.
The Duc's deathbed scene in "All This and Heaven Too" with Bette Davis and Charles Boyer.
Any number of scenes from "Gone with the Wind"
The rain dance scene from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
The scene where Raj and Simran see each other again in the fields in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
The scene in Veer-Zaara when Veer first sees Zaara again after 20 years.
The end scene of German masterpiece "Wings of Desire."
Hmmm...need to think :P
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Date: 2006-01-06 06:27 pm (UTC)I feel a need to make a list of my favorite book ones, as I can't think of any movie ones at the moment. I'll do that later.
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Date: 2006-01-06 07:14 pm (UTC)Also, how hard is it for someone to figure out happened to Blanche's letters? She wrote you letters. You didn't get them. Gonzague is in charge of the mail. Geeee. This is really complicated :P
Plus, anyone could tell Gonzague was evil. He wore black, didn't fence, and scowled around corners. I do love his totally fun villainy. He really needed a mustache to twirl when he stabbed Nevers and Nevers told him "I would have died 10 times for you" and he replied "one time is enough, cousin." Heeee.
I actually liked Aurore's mom too, before she went all crazy with grief. When she is sitting, calmly eating dinner, after recently bearing a child out of wedlock and her father yells at her to get the bastard to shut up, she replies with complete sang-froid "It's a baby. Babies cry" and continues eating. Heee. If it wasn't for Gonzague, Nevers and Blanche would have made hilarious parents if it wasn't for the nannies the kid would have had.
I thought the Electra thing was a bit odd too, but I wasn't surprised as this isn't the weirdest love story in 19th century lit I've seen. Though at least on imdb a number of people were really squicked. I think that's why she is the one initiating everything at the end. I like Daniel Auteil so I could comrehend her interest :P
no subject
Date: 2006-01-06 07:55 pm (UTC)Gonzague was so hilariously evil that it would take a featherbrain like Nevers to not notice that he was glaringly not full of loving feelings for his cousin. You still like Nevers though, because even though he's not the brightest crayon in the box, he was so good humored and likable about it. Even when he found he had a kid it was this sort of "oh, well then, that's wonderful" mentality.
I was fond of Daniel Auteil in this movie too. I don't know what it is about French men, because I can find them not good looking at all, yet when I watch them in a movie I suddenly love them. That's sort of the complex I was left with after watching Brotherhood of the Wolf (still one of my favorite French movies even though it's a bizarre blend of history and kung fu).
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Date: 2006-01-06 08:04 pm (UTC)He is like a French version of one of Heyer's secondary characters. He was certainly very unflappable in his own odd way. My favorite scene in the whole movie is actually him sharing a bed with Daniel Auteil and as he is climbing in he off-handedly mentions that the King will be surprised by his marriage as he (the King) thinks he only likes boys. And then he asks Auteil if he ever tried sodomy. I think I ROFLed. And then he goes to sleep and Auteil is left clutching a blanket all the way to his chin. Heee.
Hmmm, I've heard good things about Brotherhood. Is it too scary though? Because I do want to watch it.
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Date: 2006-01-06 09:01 pm (UTC)Depends what you mean by scary. It's not really a horror movie. Yeah, there's a big wolf thing wandering around killing people, but it's more a mystery with a lot of kung fu thrown in. Really fun to watch though. I have a crush on Jeremie Reneir from the movie though (can't spell his name off the top of my head though).
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Date: 2006-01-06 06:14 pm (UTC)If we include books and tv into this, it will get vastly more complicated :)
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Date: 2006-01-06 06:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-06 07:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-06 07:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-06 07:17 pm (UTC)It's a really good movie that I stumbled on completely by accident. I think Bravo was showing it, or similar. And I was completely hooked. It's so colorful and so full of angst and complications and similar good stuff.
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Date: 2006-01-06 07:20 pm (UTC)And yes, I love the vivid colors of "Indochine" and the amazing scenery (I saw it in a theater when it first came out and it was so stunningly beautiful!) And I think that was the beginning of my Vincent Perez love too, which of course, also brought me to "Queen Margot."
Have you seen Regis Warnier's "East-West", which has Catherine Deneuve in a small role, but features my beloved Oleg Menshikov, a lovely Sandrine Bonnaire, and Sergei Bodrov in a pivotal role as well? It's not as colorful as "Indochine" but I really liked it.
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Date: 2006-01-06 07:28 pm (UTC)I had a huge problem with that movie though, because I am Russian. The heroine made me want to smack her. When she was whining about OMG! having to share a kitchen or only have one room, she came across as a spoiled snobby cow because that is how my grandparents and parents and I lived for parts of our lives and it's not anywhere near the end of the world and you can be perfectly happy. So I just wanted to tell her to STFU.
And when she was agitating and creating trouble for her husband with her attempts at "free speech" I also wanted to smack her because this isn't play-acting, this is real life, and just knuckle down and shut up because do you really want to get into huge trouble and maybe even the camps? I guess if she was agitating for high-minded reasons like saving others and if she realized the truth of the situation and still went ahead, that's a whole other reason. But she just came off as naive, ignorant and spoiled.
I guess I was too russian to like her. But hey, sorry went on a rant :P
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Date: 2006-01-06 07:30 pm (UTC)Mostly it was just swoooony Oleg Menshikov for me along with Bodrov too. Hee!
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Date: 2006-01-06 07:39 pm (UTC)I adore Menshikov. Have you seen "Prisoner of the Mountains?" He and Bodrov are in it. He was also in a really cheesy movie called "The Barber of Siberia" with Julia Ormond and it was such a silly flick but he was good in it.
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Date: 2006-01-07 01:21 am (UTC)As for "The Barber of Siberia", I have heard such bad things about it that I didn't want to try but may be for his sake ... ;)
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Date: 2006-01-11 03:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-11 06:24 pm (UTC)And I am a movie addict :P