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| Movie Review: The Girl on the Train (La fille du RER) Alternate Title: Truth and Consequences
Story: Sometimes knowing what
a film is about beforehand doesn't work out so well. I knew that this
latest film directed by France's André Téchiné
and written by Mr. Téchiné, Odile Barski and
Jean-Marie Besset was inspired by a true story that occurred
in France in 2007 and was based on a play by Mr. Besset. The actual
event that got France in a frenzy was a hoax perpetrated by a young
girl who claimed that she was attacked due to anti-Semitism by a group
of young men. She ultimately recanted but the damage was done. I was surprised to find out that director Techine
delivered two films in one. Part one (the longer part) introduces us
to the young, restless, sullen Jeanne, who lives with her single mother,
is unemployed and spends most of her time roller skating trough the
streets of Paris. Pursued by a wannabe wrestler, she ultimately moves
in with him, trouble ensues and she gets even more sullen. It is never clear why she perpetrated the hoax
that occurs two-thirds of the way through the film and we also do not
get to witness the media frenzy that resulted in France because of this
explosive topic. A secondary, smaller story revolves around a
Jewish, well to do family. The connections to this family are not very
believable and actually threw me a curve. That said, the film is interesting but not satisfying.
We see beautiful people doing some strange things with their lives and
at the end of the film, I simply didn't care. The real girl, Marie Leonie LeBlanc's story is here: : Watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSbtZfTnwrg Acting: Émilie Dequenne as Jeanne is striking
and a powerful actor. I look forward to seeing her grow. Catherine
Deneuve as her mother, Louise, never fails to deliver, even
in this underplayed role. Michel Blanc as lawyer Samuel
Bleistein was fine as was Ronit Elkabetz as Judith
(you might remember her from The Band's Visit) was also more than fine.
Trivia: Émilie Dequenne was one of over 40
female celebrities, activists, and politicians who read from Eve Ensler's
"The Vagina Monologues" in Paris on March 31, 2003, during
the "V-Day Paris: Stop a la Violence" event. Ronit
Elkabetz was born in Beersheba 40 years ago and raised in Haifa,
she now lives in Paris. Catherine Deneuve liked Breaking
the Waves by Lars von Trier so much that she wrote a personal letter
to him, asking him for a role in a film of his. The result of this is
her part in Dancer in the Dark. Her son, Christian Vadim' father
is Roger Vadim. Her daughter, Chiara Mastroianni's father is Marcello
Mastroianni.
Predilection: None
Critters: A white fluffy dog. I was expecting to
see more pets since it was filmed in dog loving Paris.
Food: Conversations around the table but little eating.
Sex Spectrum: It is a French film. There was dreamy,
up close sex.
Blatant Product Placement: None
Soundtrack: Interesting
Opening Titles: A fast moving train is going through
a dark tunnel.
Visual Art: Paris and its environs never fail to
warm the eyes.
Theater Audience: Several people were complaining
about the uncomfortable seats. I gave away the tip that the last row
in this particular theater had the most comfy seats since the backs
did not go back very far. All eight of us ended up in the back row but
everyone left but one man and me when it was announced most of the people
were in the wrong theater.
Weather: Paris is lovely in the springtime and summer.
Sappy Factor: 0
Quirky Meter: 0
Squirm Scale: 1
Drift Factor: I looked at my watch often.
Predictability Level: High since I knew the story.
Tissue Usage: 0
Oscar Worthy: No
Big Screen or Rental: Rental would be fine. You can
also rent Rosetta, which introduced young Émilie Dequenne to
the world.
Length: 105 minutes
LOBO HOWLS: 7 |