MovieChat Forums > L'exercice de l'État (2011) Discussion > Essence of This Film?(spoilers)

Essence of This Film?(spoilers)

posted 12 years ago by film_ophile
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We just saw this tonight as part of the Annual French Film Fest at the Boston MFA.I must say, I was rather mesmerized. The opening scenes are so bizarre- I thought that they might have been the director telling us, 'From the get go, this will be different.' And there were a number of very unique elements throughout the film- notably the sound, and music, but they were interspersed with what was otherwise a fairly straightforward story.

I still can't figure out why all the attention on the accident, except perhaps that it shows us his humanitarian nature.

After the film was over, i felt that it could be described as the minute by minute 'crisis management' life of a minister of state who is a good, ethical man who wants to bring light into and change the world for the better, but who,in the end, is coopted into the political machine.

Of course one could say that the ending was open-ended, that we don't know if this next step for him might be the one that takes him places where he can make a difference.... It was the Prime Minister's words to him about assuage, assuage, assuage ( or something to that effect- completely at odds with his goals of being creative and effective by doing something great) that made me take the pessimistic viewpoint. What did you think?

p.s. I was so impressed by Gourmet's work; WOW! (i think i've mostly seen him in comedic roles.)

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

[–] Pieter Verhoeven 11 years ago

For me the essence of the film was that the minister was not a good ethical man. He loved the game and wanted to play. See for example the sideplot about him wanting to become a mayor. First he was warned he by his PR-woman he needed a 'hometown'. After that he had his staff look for a suitable town, schemed to have the present mayor promoted away (the angry man on the steps of parliament) and had the local party select him as candidate (although he crashed on his way to the interview).

And when he had to execute the plan he didn't want (privatizing the trainstations), he was only to happy to accept another ministry even if he had to abandon his loyal chief of staff. For me, that was the real ethical man. He lived for his job and resigned because couldn't agree with the policy. And the minister didn't nothing to defend him when the PM wanted him out.

So I thought the film to be a gradual demasqué of a man he claimed to be ethical and good but in the end turned out to be just as opportunist as his colleagues.

[–] didierfort 11 years ago

I think you get it well, Pieter. So, the crocodile would be ambition and polical machines devoring ethics and common decency, wouldn't it be?

In anyway, a hell of a good movie, with grand performances from Olivier Gourmet and Michel Blanc.

Oh, and I'm feeling compelled to add that this is sort of UFO in the present French cinema landscape.