MovieChat Forums > Ricky (2009) Discussion > Role of Girl?

Role of Girl?

posted 13 years ago by film_ophile
5 replies | jump to latest

Phooey. I was really hoping that one of the many smart IMDB users would have come here before me and.......... explained the whole thing to me!!
I'm a big fan of Ozon's work (8 Women is one of my all-time fav films)and I really enjoyed Ricky but I can't tell you why. I also can't begin to be able to figure out what the heck it was 'about'. Maybe I enjoyed it because the storyline was rather unique and it was quirky and fanciful in the midst of a rather weighty situation.

My specific way of perhaps beginning to unlock the door to its intention- is to figure out the role of the girl. There are many extended shots of her that seem to coincide with key moments and that indicate Ozon was using her to say something about the plot/meaning. There were too many for me to recall but: at dinner,right after ricky is brought home,she pointedly asks for chicken wings; when ricky's bruises first show,she asks if ricky is going to die; and the camera rests on her smiling face at the film's very end. Ozon so obviously showed how she was continually overlooked once Ricky was born, and I kept wondering if she was going to be like 'The Bad Seed' girl, that she would commandeer Ricky's demise.But that did not seen to happen. Any thoughts? Thanks much.

The way to have what we want
Is to share what we have.

[–] bostonfilmfan 12 years ago

Yes, I also was thinking about the girl all the time. She was there for a reason, oterwise, the family would just have one baby (with wings) and it would be enough for a story. But no, there is a girl. And yes, she is there all the time. I don't think she is evil at all, she is very connected emotionally to her mom. Her feelings reflect her mom's feelings and sometimes precede them (like her suspicious treatment of Paco at the beginning). She loves Ricky just like her Mom does. She is the child who will never fly away, the child who stays attached to the parents. Ricky, on the other hand, is a symbol of a child who cannot be confined and will fly away on his own wings no matter what the parents do.

On the other hand, one can suppose that the whole story about Ricky was imagined by the girl...

But the biggest question is the beginning of the film - the scene at the social services. Was it happening with the third baby?..

[–] film_ophile 12 years ago

(i'm in boston too)
Found your thoughts most interesting,but i'm confused>> Was WHAT happening at the social services?

The way to have what we want
Is to share what we have.

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] film_ophile 12 years ago

Y, thanks so much for your perceptive thoughts. you have now purred me to re-experience this film. might you check back to this thread in a few weeks or so, so i can respond to you and then hear back from you?

The way to have what we want
Is to share what we have.