MovieChat Forums > La femme d'à côté (1981) Discussion > Truly trivial question

Truly trivial question

posted 19 years ago by BlueGreen
10 replies | jump to latest

This is not at all an "important" question, but still: does anyone know anything about the fire (I assume it's a fire, because of the huge amount of smoke) that is seen in the distance when Mathilde and Philippe are boarding the airplane on their way to the belated honeymoon?
The camera lingers on it long enough to make a point (not sure exactly what the point is, but I can imagine it). Still, this must have an accidental shot, used by Truffaut for the benefit of the film.
Does anyone know anything about that fire?

[–] magnolia12883 18 years ago

Just saw this this afternoon (on DVD) and I can't think of the fire you mean, unless you're talking about the one that goes off inside the house at the publishing party of Mathilde's book.

[–] flipshoes 17 years ago

Funny, but it also entered my mind when I watched the movie these days.

I would have guessed it were condensed heat from the cooling tower of some (nuclear?) power station nearby? It's quite disturbing, though, due to the camera angle, filming from the top of the gangway, alongside the aircraft's hull, and in the background you can prominently see the large clouds.

[–] BlueGreen 17 years ago

Thanks, Flipshoes (and Magnolia), even if I say so two and one year later, respectively. ;)

It's strange that nobody else - apart from us, I mean - seems to have noticed it - or cared to investigate what it was. It's way too obvious to just dismiss it.

Mystery is good. ;)
But this one I'd really like to solve.

[–] mac_alain 16 years ago

It's strange that nobody else - apart from us, I mean - seems to have noticed it . . .

I watched this (somewhat disappointing: 6/10) movie last night, and I did indeed notice the huge smoke cloud in the distance, but did not give it any further thought as my mind was rather focussed on Fanny Ardant

[–] BlueGreen 15 years ago

Hey, I can't blame you! :)

Thanks for responding - and sorry for not having noticed it earlier.

I am going to repost the question on the "I Need to Know" board.

[–] thrillkiller-1 15 years ago

I just finished watching it. And I don't think that it means anything as far as the film is concerned. If it is to mean something,then it would have to have been made for the movie. I think it is a real fire. It looks like something on the ground was on fire, like a factory,warehouse,or something like that. And it wasn't a lingering shot. Just one set up to show them walking on to the plane. If you want to think of it as a metaphor. The fire out on the horizon. A portent of things to come. The horizon in film,literature,etc. Has always been used to indicate,call attention to the future. Or some future event. Same thing with clouds. So,horizon+clouds=something bad is going to happen in the future of the story/place in which they appear. Is that the explanation you're looking for? It could be if that's what FT wanted us to think by showing those clouds. What happened in that house was wild huh! I never saw that coming! What do you think?

I Kill Kids!

[–] BlueGreen 15 years ago

Fire out on the horizon... ;)
Yes, that sounds good - in keeping with the overall "language" of the film.

I am not sure what - if anything - it is really supposed to signify; probably nothing (although it does look oddly conspicuous).
But it's certainly worth a thought.

Thanks for replying!
I was losing hope that anyone would ever reply. ;)

N.B. I'd still like to know what the incident was - because it certainly seems like a very real event.

[–] fernandoviana86 14 years ago

My guess is that if it is in the final cut of the film it's because Truffaut wanted it that way. Perhaps it meant something about darkness coming into their lives.
I'm pretty sure because if you look closely in one scene where Fanny Ardant's character is making a phone call to Depardieu you can see a paint of a man beating a woman right there, and that obviously connects to the incident in the party where Philippe announces that he and her wife are going to travel.
I think this kind of "signs" are inspired by Hitchcock's work since Francois Truffaut was like his biggest fan. Another sign would be in the last sequence when Fanny Ardant is returning to the house and you see a shot of her legs. That kind of shot is a hitchcockian way of telling that something fishy is going on.

By the way, sorry for my bad english :s

[–] Squeeth2 12 years ago

I've just seen it. It looked coincidental but the camera pointed to it rather noticeably. Foreshadowing?

Marlon, Claudia and Dimby the cats 1989-2005, 2007 and 2010.

[–] Artimidor 12 years ago

I assume that Truffaut might have seen the smoke clouds on location and probably thought it might fit in (fire as the symbol of love and destruction) and just placed the characters in front of it.

Art's Top 100 Movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/e-VkvtHDDNQ/ - recommendations welcome!