MovieChat Forums > N'oublie pas que tu vas mourir (1996) Discussion > typical french existential movie(but not...

typical french existential movie(but not in a bad way)

posted 17 years ago by vanillainflux
4 replies | jump to latest

i must admit, this movie has been recently playing several times on the TPS movie channels, and i've never really given it a chance until tonight. i kept tuning in to the part where benoit is doing his military service and i would change channels, being put off but having seen it from beginning to end , this time, i find it a pity that people who commented on the movie, found it so bad. the protagonist appears to have everything planned out, but as the movie unfolds, it becomes clear that he has no idea what he is doing, what he wants, or who he is, and this becomes even worse when he finds out he is hiv+.
many people have commented on the frequent drug-taking scenes, and how those were unnecessary. i can only say that i find this close-minded. those scenes did not appear useless to me, or added-in for a "cool" effect. if you've lived in paris, you would know that almost everyone smokes/has smoked hash (the easiest and cheapest substance to find in paris) and that this man didn't know what he was doing with his life, so ended up being a victim to addiction/escapism.
i personally found the 'high' scenes refreshing, conversations about things that barely make sense as opposed to the standard american teenagers getting high on one doobie, exclaiming "maaaaannn can you see those pink elephants flying around, this is sooooo psycadelic...oh my god..i can see god!"
this isn't always the case (basketball diaries/requiem for a dream for example) but i hardly see people commenting that the drug-taking in those movies was unnecessary.
this film is rather slow (as most french dramas are) but a very good watch. one needs an open mind and 2 free hours.
i have to say, i didn't like the ending much, but this is what the director wanted, so be it.

it's a dirty world Reich, say what you want

[–] Studman_Productions 17 years ago

What is the TPS movie channel? Where can I get it?

[–] vanillainflux 17 years ago

TPS is a french satelite ..company, sorta like SKY in the u.k (if you're in the states i don't know of an equivalent) so along with the local channels, you get TPS movie channels (8 of them) mtvs, bbc prime, all sorts of good stuff. you pay montly (price depends on which package you want, the more you pay, the more you get)
anyway it's absolutely brilliant. i live in a country where the local stuff is utter crap so satelite is a necessity.

it's a dirty world Reich, say what you want

[–] Studman_Productions 17 years ago

That's cool. Living in the states I guess I can't get that. Nice channel though.

[–] PoppyTransfusion 10 years ago

I thought this was a very good film and not at all existential, in the sense that he is dealing with the discovery that he is HIV+, which he learns in a really unfortunate way.

The film has a vein of black humour running through it too. I enjoyed the early scenes with the psychiatrists - the one he consults with and the army one.

My favourite scene, though I didn't understand it all, was when he was presenting to his fellow students on a painting - was it Delacroix? He discusses Romanticism and death and it's very passionate. We the viewer know that his passion is fuelled by being HIV+. Only the certainty of death can give one such visual and sensory acuteness.

I didn't understand the ending and it didn't flow that well for me as he flees Paris for Italy and then flees Italy for ... where? And wherever there is he meets his end.

Great soundtrack. 9/10 from me.

The distance is nothing. The first step is the hardest.