Page contents: Not here to be loved (2005) / Manhunter (1986) / Drunken Angel (1948) /Please Please me (2009) / Cartagena (2009) / The woman I loved (2009) / Freedom (2009) / Please Give (2010) / The Secret in their eyes (2009) / Secret beyond the door (1947) / The Cry of the Owl (2009) / Mademoiselle Chambon (2009) / Knight and Day (2010) / Wild Grass (2009) / Winter's Bone (2010)
Not here to be loved / je ne suis pas là pour être aimé (2005) Brizé
Good things come in small packages.
An unassuming character study that slowly twirls into a delicate romance. With only two main characters---the canvas isn't going to be overtly large. But both Patrick Chesnais (Jean-Claude) and Anne Consigny (Françoise) fill their roles to the brim. Françoise is a guidance counselor; she has a radiant disposition. Jean-Claude is a Bailiff, so he's used to being unemotional in very emotionally taxing situations.
The people he's going to evict with the court's approval all seem to live on the top floors of elevator-less buildings. It's during one of these trudges to the top that he experiences heart palpitations. As part of his prescription he needs to take some exercise. And upon reflection he settles on a dance class, specifically the dreaded tango that will make his heart go pitty-pat for a medicinal reasons but nothing more. Boy, is he in for a surprise.
Nice things? During a group outing when the class takes in a dance recital together, during the performance Jean-Claude looks over at her in the audience, and she looks over at him. There's more desire contained in that glance then the two professional tango dancers sweating it out up on the stage before them. There's also a telling scene when he buys her a present. He's inside a perfume boutique. After trying out samples for a couple of minutes:
Jean-Claude: Wow. that's perfect. what is it?
Saleslady: Intense passion.
Jean-Claude: Intense passion !?! ... Uh, would you have the exact same fragrance under a different name?
That scene highlights some of the themes of the movie. On can imagine his face reddening as Francoise looks at the label on the perfume bottle. Jean-Claude's on the cusp of 50, she's on the cusp of 40; intense passion isn't something either of them planned for or even expected at this point of their lives.
Jean-Claude's Father has gotten extremely crotchety in his old age. All the nurses in his old folk's home feel he's the bane of their existence. His other Brother and Sister have long since given up on him and no longer visit. These visits consist of mostly his Father sniping and grumbling at him while they play Monopoly. Though, when the weekly visit is over, his Dad goes to the window to steal a peek at him as he drives away. This suggests His Dad belongs to that era when Father's were stoic disciplinarians and not allowed to show emotion. So his anger, is born more of frustration that he can't communicate with his son and the people around him. This same pattern repeats with his own son, who of course has zero interest and has been shoehorned into the family business the same way Jean-Claude was. I liked a scene near the end, when he himself repeats this same gesture and goes to his office window, peeking through the curtains at the building across the street, where Françoise takes her Tango lessons.
Not here to be loved ~ 8/10
Not here to be loved / je ne suis pas là pour être aimé (2005) Brizé
Good things come in small packages.
An unassuming character study that slowly twirls into a delicate romance. With only two main characters---the canvas isn't going to be overtly large. But both Patrick Chesnais (Jean-Claude) and Anne Consigny (Françoise) fill their roles to the brim. Françoise is a guidance counselor; she has a radiant disposition. Jean-Claude is a Bailiff, so he's used to being unemotional in very emotionally taxing situations.
The people he's going to evict with the court's approval all seem to live on the top floors of elevator-less buildings. It's during one of these trudges to the top that he experiences heart palpitations. As part of his prescription he needs to take some exercise. And upon reflection he settles on a dance class, specifically the dreaded tango that will make his heart go pitty-pat for a medicinal reasons but nothing more. Boy, is he in for a surprise.
Nice things? During a group outing when the class takes in a dance recital together, during the performance Jean-Claude looks over at her in the audience, and she looks over at him. There's more desire contained in that glance then the two professional tango dancers sweating it out up on the stage before them. There's also a telling scene when he buys her a present. He's inside a perfume boutique. After trying out samples for a couple of minutes:
Jean-Claude: Wow. that's perfect. what is it?
Saleslady: Intense passion.
Jean-Claude: Intense passion !?! ... Uh, would you have the exact same fragrance under a different name?
That scene highlights some of the themes of the movie. On can imagine his face reddening as Francoise looks at the label on the perfume bottle. Jean-Claude's on the cusp of 50, she's on the cusp of 40; intense passion isn't something either of them planned for or even expected at this point of their lives.
Jean-Claude's Father has gotten extremely crotchety in his old age. All the nurses in his old folk's home feel he's the bane of their existence. His other Brother and Sister have long since given up on him and no longer visit. These visits consist of mostly his Father sniping and grumbling at him while they play Monopoly. Though, when the weekly visit is over, his Dad goes to the window to steal a peek at him as he drives away. This suggests His Dad belongs to that era when Father's were stoic disciplinarians and not allowed to show emotion. So his anger, is born more of frustration that he can't communicate with his son and the people around him. This same pattern repeats with his own son, who of course has zero interest and has been shoehorned into the family business the same way Jean-Claude was. I liked a scene near the end, when he himself repeats this same gesture and goes to his office window, peeking through the curtains at the building across the street, where Françoise takes her Tango lessons.
Not here to be loved ~ 8/10
Last edited by thracian dawg; 12-23-21 at 02:46 PM.