812. S'en fout la mort/No Fear, No Die (1990)

Running Time: 97 minutes
Directed By: Claire Denis
Written By: Claire Denis, Jean-Pol Fargeau
Main Cast: Isaach De Bankole, Alex Descas, Solveig Dommartin, Christopher Buchholz, Jean-Claude Brialy

COCKFIGHTING AND STUFF

Hey, I'm back! Let's not make a big deal out of it though, okay? I now only have twenty-three films to watch before this 100 will be in the history books and I can make yet another TOP 20 list, adding to my already massive and fantastic (if I do say so myself) 1,000 list. Anyway, on to the business at hand - "No Fear, No Die".

The film starts out by focusing on Dah (De Bankole), arriving in France to begin a business deal with seedy nightclub owner Ardennes (Brialy). The two plan to book cockfights in the basement of one of Ardennes properties and require the assistance of Dah's brother, Jocelyn (Descas), a rooster tycoon, who knows just how to train the birds for fighting. Once the everything is established for us, the film goes into kind of a documentary mode, as Dah narrates and details everything that goes into Jocelyn's training of the birds, as the two share a cramped, little basement apartment with about a dozen, crowing birds. Then the fights get underway (and we're assured in the credits that no animals were harmed in the process) and from there, Denis gets around to fleshing out the character development a little bit, as Jocelyn turns to the bottle, as tensions rise between him, Ardennes and Ardennes son, Michel (Buchholz). In the middle of it all is the beautiful Alex (Dommartin) wife to Ardennes and coveted by both Michel and Jocelyn (Jocelyn even goes so far as to name one of his bird's after her).

Don't expect a long review here, because 1) despite having done a few SINS OF OMISSION reviews, this is my first review back and 2) there's really not a lot to talk about with this one. I didn't mind this one, however it was a little on the slow side. I liked all of the performances and even liked the characters to an extent, but I never fully got attached to them because they just weren't pronounced enough. The film was quiet and it's not that quiet is a bad thing, but this film was too quiet and needed a louder, booming voice to give it that extra boost. I watched it just fine, time didn't drag at all and I was even interested in what the outcomes of the characters would be, but it just seemed to lack direction. The film excelled in that it provided a damp, drizzly, somber mood, one that appealed to me and even had the music to accompany it - I'm talking about the jazz score that showed up somewhere at about the halfway mark.

Another thing I'd criticize is the fact that things just seemed to change way too abruptly. One minute Jocelyn is fine, helping Dah and Ardennes run a successful cockfighting venture and the next minute he's a boozer, who wants out. Did I totally miss something or was there really no explanation for Jocelyn's onset boozing? I realize he was obsessed with Alex, was that the reasoning behind it all? I'm not confused so much as I think it all ties back into the film not being pronounced enough and having too light a voice to make any sort of an impact. It COULD grow on me with time, but I doubt it.

RATING: 6/10  Short, sweet and to the point. Good enough? I hope so. Anyway, expect a slow start as I get back on the horse, but I think we'll have this season pounded out in no time.

MOVIES WATCHED: 778
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 223

January 14, 2014  10:40am

941. Beau Travail (1999)

Running Time: 90 minutes
Directed By: Claire Denis
Written By: Claire Denis, Jean-Pol Fargeau, from the story Billy Budd, Sailor by Herman Melville
Main Cast: Denis Lavant, Gregoire Colin, Michel Subor, Richard Courcet, Nicholas Duvauchelle
Click here to view the trailer

SERVE THE GOOD CAUSE AND DIE

Pushing through, despite the urge to take a much needed break, I come to "Beau Travail" - a French, military life film from director Claire Denis.

I'll be honest, I really couldn't make heads or tails out of this one. THE BOOK notes, and I quote: "Denis tells her stories through images rather than through dialogue and plot, with a gift for color, lighting and composition that is unsurpassed". That may be the reason that this film came off as Greek to me. As mentioned above, the film is a portrait of military life, inside the French Foreign Legion. The film is a narration by one character, Sergeant Galoup (Lavant), who recalls the glory days of proudly serving as a Legionnaire. The film seems to center around a feud that Galoup had with one of the men, Gilles Sentain (Colin), a regular private and someone who Galoup may or may not have repressed homosexual feelings about, which would explain his disdain for him. In fact, the whole film seems to have an undertone of homosexuality (not that there's anything wrong with that) and THE BOOK even notes that with this film Denis is paying homage to the beauty of the male specimen, something that isn't hard to miss.

Look, I'm really not sure what to say about this film. Like an entree at a fine dining restaurant, I tried it and I simply didn't like it. It's obvious that Denis was much less concerned with telling a story, but rather using images to get her points across and it rarely worked to draw me into any sort of relationship with the film. Sure, there were a few parts where I took a keener notice, than others. For example, watching these men be put through such rigorous exercises, day in and day out and watching each one's own technique in getting through the obstacles, was, in a way, fascinating. Also (and I really didn't pick up on it until THE BOOK suggested it) I like the idea that Galoup's ill will toward Sentain is because he is jealous/attracted to him. He's supposed to be this tough, soldier type and therefore, could never bring himself to tell Sentain how he feels, so the repression of those feelings causes an upchuck of bad vibes, toward Sentain. Perhaps he's even mad with himself for feeling that way, perhaps he's never felt that way before and of course, that would be why he shoots himself at the end of the film, because he simply is disgusted with himself...maybe.

Otherwise, unless those are themes and ideas that you want to explore, I can tell you that this film just isn't worth your time, unless your a BOOK hound and are trying to pick off each one, like myself. Otherwise, skip it, because there are much better films, with more "must see" qualities out there. Also, I know I've said it before (recently, in fact), but I am just SICK TO DEATH of war films or films centered around the Army and soldiers and stuff like that. It has never been an atmosphere that has appealed to me and even as THE BOOK heightens my cinematic taste buds, it's still a genre I just can't stomach. End of story.

RATING: 3/10  A few notches for effort and for the few scenes that weren't awful, but all in all a big stinker and one that I'm glad have under my belt.

MOVIES WATCHED: 681
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 320

May 14, 2013  10:19pm