loved this movie
anyone else like this one? sets, costumes, everything was researched and accurate, and although it is a bit long, it really shows the side of revolution that most ignore.
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MovieChat Forums > L'Anglaise et le duc (2001) Discussion > loved this movie
yeah, not bad, a little longer than it had to be. also, i get the feeling we are supposed to feel sorry for her, but she keeps putting herself back in positions that she has just gotten herself out of. amazing what people will do for love... I wont be specific, thus avoiding spoilers...interesting bit of history. I wonder how accurate the orig story is...
shareI liked it but it was a bit slow at times. Then the ending comes all of a sudden without much explanation. I would have like too see more of the relationship between grace and the Duke.
shareI really didn't care for it at all. Yes the scenery is well done, but the whole movie is so steeped in artifice that it was hard for me to latch on to anything real. Eventually I lost interest in the characters, who have little emotional depth; for most scenes they exist only to drive the plot forward, with no characterization occurring whatsoever. I could invent a drinking game where you take a gulp every time someone complains about the terrible times, but I wouldn't want to have your death on my hands.
Another thing I didn't quite get was how meanderingly unappealing the story was. It went absolutely nowhere, and the journey itself wasn't very interesting at all. Props are introduced a scene before they're actually used, which implies a lack of foresight on Rohmer's part, and the actors tend to ham it up with long, stale, unrealistic lines.
Obviously there are some scenes which break this mold, most notably the final one, but really just a headache I'd rather not repeat. There are no insights worth taking away, and no execution to speak of save for some pretty paintings and green screens, so this gets nothign more than a deserved 5/10.
Believe me, you don't want Hannibal Lecter inside your head."
I can honestly say this is a film I feel totally neutral toward (which is weird because I usually love it or hate it). I liked the story, the aristocrat's perspective of the Revolution, the politics of how leaders become slaves to the mobs they incite. I also liked the crazy hyper-saturated colours like an oil painting.
But 2 things kinda killed it for me. (1) we never got any real insight into the Duke's character, which is weird because he got partial billing on the title! And (2) for me the biggest flaw was the lack of music. Here we had great costumes, magnificently decorated sets & everything you need to slip into the 18th century aristocracy... except music. Argh, the silence was distracting. I wonder why Rohmer left it out.
i agree- the music question has always fascinated me. its absence, however, made me feel more "into" the scene, as if i was actually in the salon or bedchamber, etc. the lack of music almost reinforced the natural sounds - footsteps, fire popping, etc. - occuring in the scenes.
share5/10 does seem accurate for me. It had it's moments, but definitely was a rather monotonous piece of work.
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There usually isn't a whole lot of violins hear in the background when turnips are flying and heads are rolling in sawdust, you know... Heck, I must confess, even my own daily life is curiously devoid of soundtrack, unless I put on some music or sing myself (which makes my bathroom the most intensely romantic place in my living quarters, but I digress).
Seriously, though, artificial (i.e. non-local) music has never been a prominent feature in Rohmer's films.
And here, having chosen that fantastic visual style, it would have destroyed it. You can only have one strong piece of artifice per work, unless you are into kitsch. (Or working for Hollywwod.)
I think Rohmer knew exactly what he was doing, and I loved it.