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[Barmymoo]

Has anyone seen this? I went to see it last night, French with subtitles.

I guess there are two things I'd like to discuss: firstly the film itself and what possessed the protagonist to act as she did, and secondly French cinema in general. I can't put my finger on what exactly it is that makes it different to British and American cinema, but I am beginning to think it's that the French are not afraid of silence or of space, and that they prefer to hint rather than spell out every detail.

Any thoughts?

[HiFranc]

I can't comment on that film but, from the other French films I've seen, they strike me as:

• Generally slower,
• Greater concentration on mundane things,
• More focus on interpersonal relationships and emotions, and
• More focus on "small p" politics (e.g. those that happen among groups of people).

[october1983]

they prefer to hint rather than spell out every detail.

[Inlander]

I haven't seen the film in question; however I grew up on the marvellous French films of the mid-90s. For a few years there there was a whole run of stunning, beautifully humanist films heavily influenced by British "kitchen sink" films such as those of Ken Loach, but interpreted in a particularly French way. Films such as It All Starts Today, the Dream Life of Angels, A La Place du Couer (based on the novel If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin) an Western. Recently there seems to have been a welcome return in France to this strain of film-making, with such terrific films as I've Loved You So Long, the Class, Hunting and Gathering, and the Secret of the Grain.

Sorry, I don't actually have much useful to contribute by way of discussion, but these films mean so much to me.

[Scandanavian War Machine]

the only French movie I can think of off the top of my head is Amelie, and that's one of my all time favorite movies so....I dunno.

also, I saw this movie on TCM the other day called Bonjour Tristesse or something like that and it was pretty sweet. It's actually an American movie (c 1958) but I think it was made by French people; it takes place in France and it definitely has that relaxed, French vibe throughout.

It's basically a silly soap opera in movie format, but visually it's very pretty and it's got some decent unintentional comedy here and there.

[celticgeek]

Bonjour Tristesse, based on the novel by Francoise Sagan.  It was a delightful movie.

[Scandanavian War Machine]

Yup, that's the one!

gosh that Jean Seberg is one pretty lady

[TheFuriousWombat]

they prefer to hint rather than spell out every detail.

This may have been in French but it was made by an Austrian so it's not an example of French film making.

[october1983]

True, although I'd argue he borrowed a little more from French film-making than simply the language the script's in.