MovieChat Forums > Tous les matins du monde (1991) Discussion > A Boring and Moross film! (spoilers)

A Boring and Moross film! (spoilers)

posted 17 years ago by sartor023
24 replies | jump to latest

•• Spoilers ---

A depressing journey into one composers wallowing in self pity over the loss of his wife, and consequent abuse of his two daughters... even at one point locking them in a cellar! Really!

I'm AMAZED that this drivel won anything. People wanting to revel in another's chronic self abasement and refusal to return to life after a great loss won't learn any life's lessons watching this poor excuse for entertainment! UGH!

ALSO -
I should have added that at the end, the composer said he was only composing for the Dead!

And another silly line early on.. a young man was to be an apprentice to the composer, and while introducing himself to the composer and his daughter, he said something like, 'And my thick cock hung down between my legs"... and neither the composer or daughter batted an eye... WHAT A JOKE!

What a relief after this monstrosity was over! YECCH!

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] preludeminor 16 years ago

I'm with you Mrs. Framus. If you are going to pretend to be a critic, you should at least know how to spell or use "spell-check" for heaven's sake! I just saw this film for the first time tonight and being a musician, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was worth seeing if only to hear the music. Having done some research on the music of the time frame this was set in, I think it reflected the times very accurately. As said in the movie "you found out music is not for kings" but only kings could afford to commission pieces such as the ones used in the movie. Commercialization of the arts existed even "way back then".

Anne

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] pellehoj 16 years ago

I had to see what was "moross"(sic) about this movie. Turned out to be the entry in intended speling.
Sad to see that someone did get this reaction out of the movie.
For me this movie worked at two levels. For one it introduced me to Marin Marais and the viol. I still enjoy discovering this musical universe. From a cinephile point of view the story actually worked. It is clear that there is difference between the inner and the outer. Depardieu - no surprise - goes for the outer but longs for the inner. An excellent performance. A poetic movie both in image and music.

[–] Xcalat3 16 years ago

it is incredibly boring at times but its not that bad

When there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...

[–] aciolino 16 years ago

D'uh.. dis guyz rite! What a bawreeng movee! I fell asleepe whiles I wuz wachink it!

What the *beep* An whut kinduh moosic iz zat anyway? I meen, nobodee liekes dat crap doo dey? Oh!

Gimme movees lieke wid Adam Sandler, or, Ben Stiller! Or, liek, dat *beep* guye from dat show, uh, whut wuz it... d'uh.. hah? Eddee Murfee! Wow! Hah?

Wha?

Whut wuz I sayeeng? Oh... uh... no...

[–] quigley_brown-1 15 years ago

I thought it was fine.

[–] MichaelMartinDeSapio 15 years ago

Oh come on, aciolino! The original poster sounded much more intelligent than that, even if he did misspell "morose".

Here's my take. I was curious about this movie as a musician who specializes in baroque music on period instruments (though not viola da gamba, alas!) and because I like to brush up my French from time to time. I was disappointed. To me this movie is maudlin historical fiction pretending to be something "profound" and "poetic". It gives a false and sentimentalized picture of music and music-making. If I had had St. Colombe as a teacher, I would have run away, sold my instrument, and become a butcher. Real music teachers, in the 17th century or otherwise, do not abuse their students by telling them over and over that they're "not real musicians" while not offering them any help on how to improve except a bunch of sentimental platitudes. Real music teachers don't smash their students' instruments. This movie offered no substantial insights into the art of music, its only musical message being that shutting oneself in a wooden cabin and playing for oneself is good, and going to the court and playing for the nobility is bad. I dislike the solipsistic message of the movie.

Last but not least, the actors' miming of playing the viol was horrible. St. Colombe's fingers flutter around the fingerboard while a series of slow notes play, then a trill sounds an his fingers are motionless. In the scene where Colombe and Marais play the duet, Marais stares distractedly ahead of him instead of at his instrument. What's the point of making a movie about a musical instrument if it doesn't look like anybody is really playing?

Well, that's my two cents.

[–] phototheology 15 years ago

It is true, you may say all these things. However, the film does have a lot of artistic merit, at the same time it is very disturbing. Yet, in order to properly criticize it, it seems that one must look at the culture of the time. Was the young Marin speaking in normal terms for that day? He was not the only one guilty of such vulgarity. Madeleine's father allowed Marin to put his hand between her legs while he was sitting right next to him, in fact he didn't even notice. Perhaps Madeleine's father thought nothing of this. Is anyone on this message board familiar with French culture in the 17th century?

[–] ofumalow 15 years ago

I confess I too found this movie boring and morose (as opposed to stately and touchingly melancholic, or whatever) even though I like many slow, depressing films (hello, Sokurov!). It just seemed affected and lethargic. Did love this director's very different "Serie Noire," though.

[–] muzilon 14 years ago

Some of the dialog seemed quite bizarre: Marin's solemn reference to his "thick prick", the narrator noting the passage of time by saying "and the day came when Saint Colombe's daughter had to put a cloth between her legs", and of course the ghost of the dead wife telling her husband "I wish I could bring you crushed peaches". When I saw it in a theater the audience actually laughed at the last line.

[–] vanderveldenton 14 years ago

Muzilon (and the original poster): Marin's reference was not to his "thick prick", he said "thick s*x" and it is obvious that the people in the room knew what he meant and did not find it a strange remark. He just was thrown out of the choir as his voice was no longer boyish, when reaching sexual maturity.
This is why he was cursing his s*x, that had been the cause of having to leave there. A little later, in Italy, early 18th century mainly, lots and lots of boys were castrated so that they would keep their voice in that way as was required (also because women's roles had to be sung by men as women were not allowed to be on stage).Possibly Marin would have liked such fate also.

[–] muzilon 14 years ago

Well, I'm pretty sure in the theatrical version I saw the subtitles translated it as "prick" rather than "sex" (if that's what you mean by s*x). Maybe the DVD has a different set of subtitles. And maybe it sounded better in the original French.

[–] vanderveldenton 14 years ago

I meant what was said in French, not how it was translated (but in Dutch it was also translated as "my sex"). I don't think they used such modern words in the 17th century like "prick" or what what means in French nowadays.
I saw this film on Belgian-Dutch TV this week, probably not coincidentally on the day of the premiere of a new Corneau movie, "Crime d'amour", rather oddly to be found here as "Love crime".

[–] muzilon 14 years ago

In that case whoever prepared the English subtitles came up with a poor translation.

[–] pixelwks 15 years ago

I've seen this film at least a dozen times since 1991.

I don't agree with every point the film makes and I surely don't love the obsessive characters, but why is it important that I do? The film has a point of view and it's interesting to hear it.

As for the film being boring, good lord people you have to stop and think once in a while! Your expecting every minute to be thrilling and art is not like that - action movies are like that.

[–] Kid22 14 years ago

This is not an action movie, it's a drama made especially for people who love music. This movie doesn't aim to please everybody so the length is approprate and the most intriguing answer was revealed at the end. Clearly, the message is "music cannot be bought by money/gold" (some musicians were bought to serve the royalty in Vienna) but this is the French, they have the avant-garde attitude >> Proof "Who was the first people to kill their king and queen (Marie Antoinette)? Of course it's only the French.
Anyway, the main message here was at the end, Marin couldn't guess but found out after the Master's suggestion: music is something that words cannot convey.

I am just a regular person but not a clone.

[–] zken 14 years ago

It is so sad that there are film viewers like "sartor" and others who bother to express such pathetic and truly empty opinions. As a musician, I immediately recognized this film as perhaps the greatest movie about music ever made. Why? It gets to the absolute heart of the whole question of art, the nature of truth and the power of commercialism to pollute everything. The arc of the film is historical if you take it literaly, but is really about the central question that all serious artists face. What is the price that one is willingly to pay for beauty, and what is the ultimate fate of those who sell their soul to the gods of the coin?

The teacher is the real artist who sacrafices everything to play with the utmost beautry and spiritual depth. His student comes to learn but also to take this art from the teacher. He ends up not only stealing the teachers gifts and technique but his soul and then uses these for his own means. As the ultimate crime, the student literally kills the teacher's beautiful daughter. The pivotal scene is when the student, now played by Gerard Depardieu, is directing his large royal orchestra and then suddenly rushes off to sit by the teachers hut. He finally realizes his mistake, and understands he does not have the greatest gift of all.
In the end, the student returns to the teacher knowing that his life has been false and he becomes obsessed by the teachers own gift. He finally sees that his own selfish and empty life has led him to sacrafice his own talent and future as a great artist.

This movie takes this tale and weaves a cinematic and musical cloth that is truly a masterpiece of story, of sound and of visual art. What more can be said?

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] mikainen 13 years ago

Well said zken. I don't understand people complaining it's boring. It was a feast to eyes and ears. Every single shot was a painting.

And is there a rule that you have to agree or like the main character? I haven't heard about it.

[–] Pyrrhon_From_Elis 14 years ago

Plus the music is not that good. There is so much magnificent tune frome the baroque era, they could at least have find one. There is nonetheless "La Follia" but that's it. Disappointed.
And I think of myself as a "truly great poet" (hihi!) !