MovieChat Forums > Dans la maison (2012) Discussion > Was Claude's writing that good?

Was Claude's writing that good?


Much is made of his so-called promise, but while he was head and shoulders above his colleagues who wrote about pizza and their mobile phones, I didn't see any real literary genius going on there. No snappy aphorisms or startling phrases. Perhaps it 'reads' differently in the original French? All we get is what goes on in the household, which is interesting from a nosey perspective, but not a whole lot else.

Of course, maybe the teacher was looking for a son substitute and the couple were just bored and liked to live vicariously, but the teacher makes a big play of how the kid has talent, and he seems to believe that as the main reason for offering encouragement.

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You have to remember the boy was young and so his writing was pretty good, particularly when compared to the rest of the class. And it was this ability that attracted Lucien to begin with. It wasn't a question of a burgeoning literary genius or snappy aphorisms, Lucien saw the promise and decided to help him in the beginning.



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I think that the teacher could see some potential and the writing was probably good for a 16 year old with no previous obvious talent.

But the key part was the "to be continued" that kept them wanting more.

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the idea for his story was genius. Spying on the normal family of a fellow pupil because they are ordinary and normal whilst also drawing attention to their 'middle classness' was a great read. It was compelling. One favourite line:

Back in the ordinary family's home, I help Rapha, my affable, normal friend, who is clueless in math
Everything about that line is hilarious and witty.

His descriptions of their middle classness fed the snobbery of Jeanne, in particular, and Germain about the middle classes.
The distance is nothing. The first step is the hardest.

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GENIUS

or

COMPELLING.

or you just have the lowest standards in the entire world.

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It was hilariously apt.

"I have had singing."

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I wouldn't say genius but some elements are just perfect: "l'odeur si singulière des femmes de la classe moyenne", "même pieds nus, la pluie n'irait pas danser" wich is corny yet surprising coming from a 16 year old boy or "il est différent, c'est un garçon normal", simple but efficient.

Also, Luchini's way of unfolding the story, his own exitement adds to the text itself, the book is not written but told (as the painting in his wife's gallery).


maybe the translation is not as good as the original, I've only seen it in France when it came out on screen and in French again recently.
the writing doesn't even matter anyway, the texts are just projections, a tool for the story move on. Most of it is dialogues, the audience will compose and imagine themself what they consider good writing.

I loved this movie, it's not perfect but it really inspired me, best movie I've seen on screen in the past years with "A king's speech".

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[deleted]

-No-

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I thought his prose was very good, although my French isn't great, so I'm thinking mostly of what I read in the English subtitles. Some of the greatest writers - think Ernest Hemingway, Christopher Isherwood - are also the plainest in their use of language.

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I found it a little hard to swallow that Germain and his wife, both of them professionals w/ busy lives, would become so engrossed w/ this kid's diary entries about the humdrum family. I wonder if there are any teachers out there who can share an analogous situation from their own lives-- Does this happen, or is it just a literary conceit of Ozon's?

I did notice, when I was in high school, that the "promising" writers that my teachers were most into also happened to be very good-looking, like this kid. My brother, for instance, was ten times the writer Claude is, and wrote tons of brilliant essays and stories for school and for the literary magazine, but got very little notice from his teachers, most of whom were busy drooling over their more handsome, outgoing students. I think teachers are only human: they're especially (or only) impressed when scholastic "talent" is combined w/ a pretty face or outward charm, and they tend to lose perspective on that.

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As a teacher, I haven't personally experienced a situation quite like this but I can believe it. Teachers can and do take a particular pride in a certain student's work. That said, to imply that it's largely a matter of physical attraction is unfair and clichéd.

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I agree.

And to further compound that, I also found it hard to believe that the teacher AND his wife would be so engrossed—specially since: the family that the student spied on weren't even interesting!!!! LOL.

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