I know this is just a movie but I found it unbelievable that someone could just walk in and interrupt the exam and get the examiner's autograph. When I took my dancing exams in the UK nobody but nobody was allowed to enter the room. I don't know if this is different in France - any comments?
shareI agree with you. Arianne refuses the woman's request as she enters the examination room, so why on earth would she allow her to interrupt during that sensitive time. This movie had many holes in the plot; many events that I just didn't buy into at all. I enjoyed the music, but that was about all.
shareI think it was a bit far fetched but it was used to show Arianne's arrogance.
shareI can see the point of it but I think its a shame that the whole plot hinges on several completely unrealistic points.
The autograph thing is obviously the most obvious, but I also don't believe the man would hire a person without any references and in fact when he really didn't know anything about her to be left alone with his son and his clearly psychologically damaged wife. That just seemed stupidly far-fetched to me.
Mel worked for him as an intern for quite a while.
shareI agree with you withnail69, that it did show Arianne's arrogance. She didn't seem to be paying attention to Melanie as it is and it was evident when she asked the other judge how many more students after Melanie was done.
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Was it the same person asking for her autograph twice? I though maybe the autograph was given to somebody she knows or somebody important enough to be allowed to interrupt...Melanie saw Arianne refusing to give an autograph in the corridor and so it would understandably be far more irritating for her to witness Arianne giving an autograph to someone barging in on the audition. That was my take on it...I never thought the same person was refused and then given the autograph later on.
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I agree. The interruption of the exam by an autograph hunter completely lacks plausibility. Yes, Melanie's revenge (Spoiler here) results from her own request for an autograph (potentially clever plot symmetry). However, since Arianne has already made clear that the consequences of her husband knowing of her feelings for Melanie would be disastrous, it is most unlikely that she would put her feelings in writing.
The odd thing about these implausibilities is that they seem so obvious and could have been easily remedied. Could it be that the director was not surrounded by people who would tell him the truth about the plot? Indeed, why didn't he spot the incongruities himself?
Having said all that, I want to add what a visually attractive and beautifully acted film this is. Well worth a viewing
I agree it's beautifully done and well worth viewing. However, the plot hole that bothered me the most was that Melanie played the piece so beautifully before she was interrupted and the expressions on the faces of the jury showed that they appreciated her talent. How could they just completely forget about that after she was obviously distracted by the intrusion and lost her concentration? But then maybe that's something that actually happens in real life since Dercourt has extensive experience in the world of classical music. Maybe that was the real message he was trying to convey - that highly talented young musicians are routinely overlooked due to oversights and technicalities, and their fragile young egos can be so easily and tragically damaged.
shareI watched the film again,this time with a friend from South-East Asia. He made two interesting observations, the first of which anticipates the previous post. In effect, he insisted that it was quite proper for Melanie's exam mark to have been downgraded. She should have been professional enough not to have been distracted by the intrusion.
His second point concerns that other autograph and, in particular, the message "I love you. You have given me a new life". Nothing, he insists, could be more normal between Arianne and Melanie, at least from them point of view of Asian culture. There would be no overtones of lesbianism in the words of a woman who has undergone the trauma of a car accident to a girl whose help had been invaluable. Which is to say, Arianne's husband had no reason to interpret the message as anything other than one of intense gratitude. Agree or disagree, M. Dercourt will understand, at least, if his film does not move 'em in SE Asia!
I'm from South East Asia. I don't think it has anything to do with Geography. Any love between two women is not seen as inproper anywhere if it stemmed from an emotional connection. My friends who have watched the film enjoyed it. The words "I Love You" depends on the context don't you think? Or did you just base it on the subtitles?
life is full of censorship.i can't spit in your eye. -katharine hepburn
Perhaps it was not merely the declaration of love but the mention of being given a "new life" and wanting to see her again, suggesting a chasm of loneliness in Ariane's life (as she indeed confided to her friend) that she hoped to fill through a relationship with Melanie. One can imagine this being devastating to Jean, considering his oft expressed love and devotion for his wife and his own vaunted reputation as a pillar of society. But it seems the note has been translated differently in various versions.
"Mélanie, I want to see you again.
I love you.
You've given me a new life."
"first of which anticipates the previous post. In effect, he insisted that it was quite proper for Melanie's exam mark to have been downgraded. She should have been professional enough not to have been distracted by the intrusion. "
excellent point.
also, I remember, as a weak piano player, that I usually performed better when I started a piece from the beginning. I had trouble picking up, say, in the middle. A good piano player can start anywhere.
Also I think her mistake is to stop. She should have continued playing, maybe playing a little weaker because her concentration is off a little, but at least then she would keep the people watching in their, let us say, "happy" mood.
Now she chooses to stop.. and then forgots (or doesn't have the guts) to ask to start from the beginning.
The movie just shows that sometimes your dreams can be broken by something as random as someone entering the room. It could have been a bird hitting the window. :)
Agree. And i think there are a lot of agreements here.
Beautifully shot movie, well acted, interesting plot, but so unrealistic that "pushes you out" of the movie
>However, since Arianne has already made clear that the consequences of her >husband knowing of her feelings for Melanie would be disastrous, it is most >unlikely that she would put her feelings in writing.
My memory is not so good. When does she make that clear?
On the back of the photo which Melanie left behind on purpose among his mail for him to find.
life is full of censorship.i can't spit in your eye. -katharine hepburn
>However, since Arianne has already made clear that the consequences of her >husband knowing of her feelings for Melanie would be disastrous, it is most >unlikely that she would put her feelings in writing.
>My memory is not so good. When does she make that clear?
As to when she made clear the consequences to her marriage, there was a conversation with her friend the violinist where I believe Ariane mentions how all the wealth they enjoy came from her husband's family and from his work. So she is dependent on him, not a good position to be in if you displease your spouse.
Not only that, but we don't get any motives behind the "revenge" thing, since we know nothing about the character. Why hold a grudge just for a stupid contest which had no harassing consequences that we can see ?
shareI think thats a bit tough on Ariane.
Plenty of talented people can be quite self-absorbed with their own talent, and can be pretty harsh when judging others. Many learn the piano after all and they're not always that good. Ariane already has problems playing the piano, it wouldn't be that wise of her to start giving lessons I would think.
But I don't get one thing about your theory though- why would Ariane, a famous pianist in her own right, be jealous or threatened by a little girl, though talented she might be, who is not likely to pose any threat to her(Ariane) career? Its not like Melanie was THAT good.
life is full of censorship.i can't spit in your eye. -katharine hepburn
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>I know this is just a movie but I found it unbelievable that someone could just
>walk in and interrupt the exam and get the examiner's autograph
this is what i think: the lady that asks for an autograph was some kind of crazy stalker.
and when Ariane saw her coming all the way into the room she thought that she had to sign the picture,
or the lady would do something even more crazy.
thats what i thought would happen when she entered the room, "oh oh she's gonna make a scene"
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wtf
I think she signed the autograph because she was bored,
At one point someone asks how many girls are left etc. I think the atmosphere in the room was kinda bored
Ariane did seem to have the attitude that she was this "great artist" that didn't even want to be wasting her precious time judging these kids.
Melanie seemed to know who she was and wanted to impress her. She was watching her when she was sitting down with her mother and Ariane first came into the school and turned down the autograph seeker.
When she was playing, she seemed to be aware when Ariane leaned forward in interest.
That's why she was so devastated when Ariane stopped listening to sign the autograph.
She knew she was playing for this famous pianist and was following her every move when she was playing, so it wasn't just the interruption that threw her off, it was the fact that this famous pianist stopped paying attention to her.
How else would she have known who to take revenge on?
Am I the only one here who thinks the piano playing by Melanie at the audition was not terribly good to begin with? It was automatic rote playing lacked any feeling and was quite frankly boring. There was no indication of talent there. The boy's playing by comparison was infinitely superior. So even if there had not been an interruption Melanie would have failed the audition.
That said I do agree that the interruption was implausible and that Ariane would have proceeded with the autograph was equally implausible in that situation.
The information on Melanie's motive's were very skimpy indeed. How did she find the husband of Ariane? Had she been 'stalking' Ariane after her idee fixe that Ariane had botched her future?
How on earth did she think she would get close to Ariane?
Also how much did the husband really love his wife? Was she just a trofy? Otherwise why throw her out of the house upon realizing Ariane was 'in love' with Melanie.
Besides the text Ariane wrote on the back of the picture could be interpreted in many different ways, not only as a declaration of Lesbian love.
Other credibility problems: Husband not checking background of Melanie. And that for a lawyer! Agreeing on taking Melanie on as, what was it? companion? baby sitter? without any discussion, without any introductions to he wife, the son and the house? Highly improbable.
So, the story is full of holes, the relationships between the characters incredibly formal and stifled and yet I was hypnotized by the tension and curiosity about how it would end. Melanie walking on the road to nowhere....A family in shambles, a career ruined (if it wasn't already)
That was exactly my thought! Ariane wanted to discreetly get over with the stalker, cause it was clear that she wouldn't go away, she might even start to quarrel loudly.
I was in a similar, even worse situation when I was a freshman at the university. My first exam was oral and the professor was very tough. I was brilliant for half an hour and then the girl who was questioned before me and barely passed (I was listening to her expose and I thought that she didn't know enough to pass and that the low grade she's got was actually a gift) suddenly came in again and made a huge, five minutes scene, with tears and cursing and yelling at the professor. When she went out, I thought that I was finished. The professor was rightly mad, distracted, couldn't even remember what my question was, let alone what was I talking about - in my country's school system, if you plan a career as a scientist, good marks are everything, A- is the worst mark you can allow yourself. I knew I was finished as a scientist if I don't nail my first exam and when the girl left, it was almost impossible to continue, and the professor seemed annoyed by me, started asking far too difficult subquestions, but I managed somehow. I really dug in, showed her that I knew much more that I was even expected, showed her how much I knew and loved that stuff, I started talking with passion, enthusiasm and I got myself an A and also a recommendation for a scholarship. My point is: if Melanie was really prepared and concentrated, she would have coped like I did, but she didn't really know her stuff, because she came to the exam too soon, in order not to pay the preparations for another year, and because music was not the most important thing to her, the most important for Melanie was to impress Ariane, she was Ariane's fan, and when Ariane stopped listening, there was no point to continue. She was too emotionally hurt to continue.
I'm guessing the young man guarding the door must have left for a bathroom break or something, and the autograph seeker took advantage of it. The examiner may have agreed to sign it then because she had already heard enough to make up her mind about Melanie. Plus, it was going to be a long boring day anyway and if she didn't get rid of her fan then, she'd just have to deal with her later.
shareI simply think she was being a show off in front of the other judges. To show her self importance in front of them. That is what got me mad at her. Where is the glory if no one sees you give a autograph in her mind. I would go as far to say she planned that interruption because there is noway that autograph hound would of been allowed in that room with her permission.
shareI think it just shows how evil Mélanie is in that she always blamed Arianne signing that autograph during her audition as the reason she didn't get into the school. No one told her to stop playing and she shouldn't even be paying attention to the judges anyways. And she could have auditioned in other areas. It shows that she's just using Arianne as an excuse for why she didn't make it as a pianist and to just ruin her life like that to get closure.
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