Comments, Questions, and Balzac
Dear fellow movie lovers,
This is my first time ever posting on an IMDB message board, so forgive me if I offend anyone. I am not here to incite an argument, as seems to be the trend on many of these boards, but merely to get some constructive criticism from anyone willing to offer it :)
*WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD*
I just saw this film today at a local arthouse theater and came out of it with mixed feelings, nearly all of which were positive. This was my first time seeing any of Rivette's work, so I dare not compare it to anything else. That being said, it was clear to me that this film was made by a master, or at the very least made masterfully. I thought the direction, cinematography, sound, acting, and editing were all sensitively and exquisitely done. I loved the lack of a musical soundtrack. I absolutely adored the little blocks of text in between choice scenes, as they added an interiority to the characters that is often sorely lacking in filmic adaptations of literature. Neither did I feel that the film was overly long or too slow-paced. I could expound at length upon the film's virtues, but will refrain from doing so here.
What I found to be borderline intolerable was the story itself. It was not the characters that I took issue with so much as the inexplicable ways in which they were portrayed. The ending I also found to be rather offensive toward women, but perhaps I am reading too deeply into the story in this regard. What particularly irked me was that I was unclear if Antoinette was in fact dead at the end or whether she was faking it in order to seal an inescapable fate. This would not have been an issue for me had her eyes not clearly been moving under her eyelids in the final closeup of her face. Whether this was intentional (which I assume it was), or just a mistake of Jeanne Balibar's understandable inability to keep still for the duration of the shot is beyond me.
I have never read any of Balzac's works and would like to hear from those of you who have, and especially those who are familiar with the novel upon which this film was based. Somehow, I feel like I missed an important subtext to Rivette's intriguing film, which ultimately barred me from enjoying it as completely as I wanted to. If anyone is willing to do so, graciously fill me in on the following:
1. What are the politics behind this film? My knowledge of French history is minimal at best and somehow I feel like the period in which Balzac set the story must have symbolic and metaphorical implications for these characters.
2. Is Antoinette indeed alive at the end of the book? I ask this not because I desire a tidy ending, but only so that I can contextualize Rivette's interpretation of the text. A film's ending is, for me, integral to interpreting the film as a whole. I don't care whether the ending is unresolved or not, but I do feel more comfortable when I can at least grasp the possible intentions therein.
3. How do you think Antoinette comes across in the novel? In the film, I felt like she was a strong character (not that a character must be strong, of course) up until the end, which seemed anithetical to me because of the ambiguity of her sacrifice.
I am grateful to anyone who has read this far and hope to get some answers and/or comments on these issues as time allows.
Thank you,
Tyran Grillo
Massachusetts, USA