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Tag Archives: Surreal

Belle de Jour

25 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by vinnieh in Movie Reviews

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

1960's, Belle de Jour, Catherine Deneuve, Drama, Foreign Language Film, Luis Bunuel, Psychological Drama, Surreal

Film Title

Belle de Jour

Director

Luis Bunuel

Cast

  • Catherine Deneuve as Severine Serizy
  • Jean Sorel as Pierre Serizy
  • Michel Piccoli as Henri Husson
  • Genevieve Page as Madame Anais
  • Pierre Clementi as Marcel

Belle de Jour is one of Luis Bunuel’s most surreal films. Focusing on the fantasies of a bourgeoise housewife who has a double life as a prostitute, it boasts an excellent performance from Catherine Deneuve as well as a deft hand at revealing the surreBelle de Jour 1967al nature of hallucinations and entwining them with the everyday.  It is truly an example of world cinema that needs to be seen for movie buffs.

Severine Serizy is the beautiful wife of a successful doctor Pierre living in a chic apartment. Although in love with Pierre, she is frigid and unable to experience intimacy with him. Little does Pierre know that Severine has many wild fantasies going on in her head, many of which are masochistic. After hearing a friend of Pierre mention a brothel, a curious Severine goes to visit. It is there that she is given the name Belle de Jour by the Madame , the name translates  into English as beauty of the day. Her name comes from the flower of the same name and the fact that she begins work as a prostitute between the hours of 2 and 5. Although she is at first hesitant about her job, she eventually gains satisfaction from it. It is in the boudoirs of the brothel that Severine’s wild and strange fantasies come to life, and we watch her lead a double life as an icy, aloof housewife and prostitute. Her double life becomes complicated when she catches the eye of volatile gangster Marcel, who wants the beautiful woman all to himself.

Bunuel’s film is certainly erotic, yet never explicit, letting the audience think about the events in the brothel. As Severine’s fantasies begin to run wild, they become almost a reality. It is through this technique that Bunuel crafts this perverse fable, as the audience is lBelle de Jour Catherine Deneuveeft to wonder what is real and what is in the icy Severine’s mind. The many instances of her imagination are surreal and startling, as apparent in the famous opening sequence. In it, Severine and Pierre are riding in a horse-drawn carriage, when Pierre suddenly gets it to stop.  He instructs the horseman to tie Severine to a nearby tree and whip her Belle-de-Jour Severinemercilessly. The scene then cuts to a contented Severine in her bedroom, telling Pierre she was thinking of him. Was it a dream or not? That is precisely the point as Bunuel cloaks the film in ambiguity and enigmas, making the film one that can be read on various levels. Catherine Deneuve turns in a startling performance, revealing the inner desires of Severine through the tiniest gestures and facial expressions. She is by turns enigmatic, erotic and strange, all of this is a testament to her abilities as an actress as we are left to wonder what is really going on underneath her glacial exterior. Her performance is one that lingers long in the memory because of its effectiveness. Although the film can be read as an account of a warped mind, it can also be seen as a parable on the link between the respectability and debauchery. Colours are used effectively to convey Severine’s freedom and erotic desires that come alive when working and the various costumes worn by Deneuve are stunning.

Truly an iconic example of surrealism and sexuality, highlighted by Deneuve’s portrayal of the eponymous beauty, Belle de Jour is a strange, enthralling psychological drama that will haunt the memory like a refrain long after you’ve seen it.

Wild At Heart

13 Saturday Apr 2013

Posted by vinnieh in Movie Reviews

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

1990's, David Lynch, Diane Ladd, Drama, Grace Zabriskie, Harry Dean Stanton, Isabella Rossellini, Laura Dern, Nicolas Cage, Road Movie, Surreal, Wild At Heart, Willem Dafoe

Film Title

Wild At Heart

Director

David Lynch

Cast

  • Nicolas Cage as Sailor Ripley
  • Laura Dern as Lula Fortune
  • Diane Ladd as Marietta Fortune
  • Willem Dafoe as Bobby Peru
  • Harry Dean Stanton as Johnnie Farragut
  • J.E. Freeman as Marcellus Santos
  • Isabella Rossellini as Perdita Durango
  • Grace Zabriskie as Juana Durango

Wild At Heart is a surreal, dark and strange road movie directed by David Lynch. Focusing on the intense courtship between a former prisoSailor Ripley and Lula Fortunener and his girlfriend on a deeply weird road trip across America, it is essential viewing for fans of the surreal and Lynch in general.

Sailor Ripley is a rebellious, Elvis loving guy, who is sent down for brutally killing a man with his own bare hands. He is in a raw relationship with the sensual Lula Fortune, who is constantly bombarded by her scary and needy mother, Marietta to end the romance. Disobeying her mother’s orders, Lula picks Sailor up after he is released and together they embark upon a sex-fueled, sinister road trip across many states. All the while, the manipulative and unhinged Marietta has sent a private detective to find them, but also cunningly enlisted the services of a gangster friend as she wants Sailor dead. This signals the cue for the usual Lynchian staples of dreams and surrealism, and also many homages to Elvis and The Wizard of Oz as Sailor and Lula travel down their own sinister yellow brick road and meet many creepy and deranged characters along the way.

Though it is a film that will undeniably divide viewer opinion, the performances from the cast are excellent. Nicolas Cage, clad in a seriously cool snake-skin jacket, embodies the violent, unpredictable lifestyle of Sailor. Laura Dern shows a complex young girl who is confused and sexy, sometimes at the same time. The two actors keep the audience engaged as we watch the strange events unravel around them as they travel. Heading the supporting cast is Dern’s real-life mother Diane Ladd, who creates an Marietta Fortuneunforgettably unstable and resentful  matriarch who surely ranks as one of the mothers from hell in the cinematic archives. Whether calmly plotting Sailor’s demise, painting lipstick all over her face or completely flying off the handle at her daughter’s defiance, she is certainly a startlingly original character. The always interesting Harry Dean Stanton is on scene stealing form as a most unlucky private investigator, drawn into this twisted mess Willem Dafoe also contributes creepiness to the narrative as a scary criminal, who has the strangest teeth I’ve ever seen on film. They are used perfectly to show a sinister side when he smiles with a snake-like glee. Also watch out for a sultry cameo from Isabella Rossellini as the bleach blonde getaway driver for criminals and a creepy performance by Lynch regular Grace Zabriskie as her crazed, murdering sister Juana.

Music plays an integral part to the film, cutting it to old school rock that the two lovers are often seen listening to or discussing. The use of the song Wicked Game is effective as the lovers drive at night and see eerie visions as the melancholy tune plays. Although the numerous references to Oz, especially in terms of visual style, may put off viewers, they contribute an almost darkly, childlike undercurrent showing how supernatural and creepy the road trip has become for the fleeing duo.

All in all, Wild At Heart is not a film for everyone’s taste, mainly because of graphic violence and macabre atmosphere. But if you relish strange, symbol-laden films populated by weird characters and striking visuals, Wild At Heart may just be the film for you.

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