Chabrol continues
Above and below, the maestro at work on Bellamy (2009). Click images to enlarge.
With Clovis Cornillac
With Jacques Gamblin
With Gérard Depardieu (oh, to be a fly on the wall…)
Labels: Claude Chabrol
posted by Ray Young at
7:53 AM
10 Comments:
Hey, is Flower of Evil any good? I'm pretty sure I can buy a copy for next to nothing at my favorite local DVD store.
Still gotta pick a movie for the blog-a-thon, too...
You're asking the wrong guy: to me, any Chabrol is worth watching!
So that's a yes?
Flower of Evil is a tricky film. It’s essentially all dialog, with most of it noodling around a vast, ingrown family tree. A lot of people didn’t care for Flower of Evil because it’s so talky, yet out of all of Chabrol’s films it’s probably the one I’ve seen the most times.
If I had to make a list of films that would provide a good introduction to Chabrol, it’d go something like this (they’re all on DVD):
La Ceremonie
La Rupture
Le Boucher
Les Biches
A Double Tour
Cop au Vin
I believe Flower of Evil works better if the viewer has been exposed to (or bludgeoned by) Chabrol’s nasty recurring themes.
Hm... I've only seen Le Boucher and This Man Must Die, though I'm pretty sure I have most of the rest of those in my queue. But I'll hold off on Flower of Evil until I know his work better (though I may still buy it if I can get it for cheap).
Always been curious about Ten Days' Wonder, too, because of that cast.
The qualities of Ten Days Wonder notwithstanding, the DVD from Pathfinder is one of the worst transfers I've ever seen. In fact, a piece I'm writing for the blogathon has to do with Pathfinder and their series of Chabrols.
Oh no. Well that's a pisser. Still, "Ten Days' Wonder" had been available on Netflix until a few months ago, so the fact that they pulled it might indicate a new, better DVD is on the way. Maybe...?
It'd be a wonder...
Actually, I think even a first-timer with Chabrol could watch "Flower of Evil" - it's fairly straightforward worm turns film, with a surprisingly strong role given to Suzanne Flon; anyone with any French family connections will recognize the taken-for-granted "Tante", but in this case with a delicious twist, and Flon's interpretation was my favorite part of the film. I'd recommend it any time.
That, plus it has one of the few genuinely touching romantic couples in any Chabrol film, although the Magimel and Doutey characters could well be siblings!
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