MovieChat Forums > Mademoiselle Chambon (2010) Discussion > Beautiful!

Beautiful!

posted 14 years ago by fanaticita
8 replies | jump to latest

I didn't know what to expect when I went to see this film last night, as I had not read any reviews. It was unlike anything I've seen in a long, long time. There was more happening in the moments of silence than when words were spoken. The emotion, intense and internal, was something you have to see to believe. There were moments when I could almost see into the hearts of Jean and Veronique. What longing -it made my own heart almost break at times. The spoken lines between the two could not compare to the unspoken. What beautiful acting by all, and the director gets my deepest respect for being able to get such magnificent performances by the actors.

[–] aviane 14 years ago

Agree.

[–] mflint22 14 years ago

Beware spoiler within text below:

I too found this a compelling film. The acting is delicate and very sensitive; the beautiful music (which is apparently heard internally and simultaneously while Jean & Veronique are apart) speaks on the actors' behalf expressing their feelings. Jean, in particular, is a very appealing and exceptionally kind person: a wonderful father, and sensitive man. Of course he also sends Veronique mixed messages.

I left the film with some questions that I'd love to discuss: Veronique is complex, and seems lonely and needy. Not that she isn't also appealing and sympathetic. However, she seems to feel capable of breaking up the marriage of one of her pupils...Is this understandable? OK? Forgiveable?

There are echoes of David Lean's 1945 film Brief Encounter (though that film lacks the interesting class dimensions of this one.) In that film, the couple, both married, who have fallen in love, do not make love. There is a nobility & poignancy to their loyalty to their partners. Would this film have been more emotionally satisfying if the protagonists had not consummated their relationship? Certainly I feel it would have left Jean with less cause for guilt...

Or would such a denouement have been too implausible in this day and age?
I'd be very interested to hear the responses of others. Thank you.

[–] RioRep 13 years ago

I think it is understandable and forgivable... She has the right to fight for her happiness. It´s just things that happen in life. Life is made of the choices we make. And Jean choosed no to go with her. So she will move on and this experience as many others will continue to build inside her and keep updating her life until she dies. That happens to us all.

I found thin movie just beautiful! So well acted and directed! The scene when they are just listening to music side by side is poetry in motion!

Just loved this movie. Romatic but at the same time very real!

[–] Stirchley 13 years ago

Veronique is complex, and seems lonely and needy.

If she's lonely, I think it's her choice. Living somewhat apart and distant from her family, traveling all over France for work, living a peripatetic life does not make for lasting relationships. But needy, no, I don't see that at all. Quite the opposite in fact.

[–] WilliamCKH 13 years ago

the most heartbreaking scene was the scene in the car. The director shows both of them in the car from behind, then veronique leaves the car as the camera follow her to the front door of her apartment. The camera then pans back to jean, who is now on the brink of tears, the light capturing the swell of a tear under his eyes. That simple scene was breathtaking.

[–] WillyBee 13 years ago

I fully agree!
I found this scene sophisticated: Jean looked up as there was someone dimly showing up in the distance, but it was clearly not Véronique. I thought, he was looking at this vague pedestrian and I wondered who this person was. Then the camera slowly and imperceptibly drifted to the right. I was focusing on this pedestrian and Jean all the time, until I suddenly realized Véronique standing on the right side of the frame. That was uncanny! I never expected her coming out again.

I think it's characteristic for this movie: emotions, thoughts, decisions, and deeds happen not only between the lines or during the silence. They happen even off-scene and then the watcher is sometimes presented with a fait accompli and must reconstruct the motives.

[–] heynow123 12 years ago

Even though it was a bit slow for awhile, it really moved me towards the end. Loved it and i don't even like love stories. Grade: A-.

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 12 years ago

Agreed, well stated.

This film may not quite rise to the level of a groundbreaking masterpiece. It is however a very fine example of understated French cinema. So much is conveyed without histrionics, with subtle use of expressions and carefully chosen words conveying multitudes in context.

For fans of French cinema and the violin, I also very strongly recommend "Un Coeur En Hiver" (A Heart In Winter).