Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

jotix100 A common laborer, Francois, shoots, and kills, M. Valentin, a despicable man who has come to his room in a housing complex unexpectedly. In flashbacks we get to know the story behind Francois' action, as he sequesters himself from the police that has been called to take him away. It is a tense moment for Francois, a quiet man, otherwise.The story of Francois involvement with the beautiful Francoise, a young woman who grew up like him in an orphanage, brings them together for they feel the need for one another. Francois does not think for a moment he will be in such a position, but when his sweetheart decides to go alone to a music hall, he follows her there. He is astonished to see Francoise going to M. Valentin, a dog trainer whose act is part of the revue in the local theater. Clara, who is M. Valentin's assistant in the act, is clearly disgusted with him. Leaving the stage, she joins Francois in the bar. They both witness the trainer and the young woman leave together. It is evident they know one another and that perhaps Francoise is not as naive as she pretends to be. Things come to a head when Valentin comes to see Francois with a feeble excuse about Francois' girl, ultimately resulting in the shooting.Marcel Carne's masterpiece came right after "Quai des brumes", another dark tale of people in turmoil. Jacques Viot's original scenario was given life by the great Jacques Prevert a man who collaborated with M. Carne in other films with his perceptive take on the dialogue. This is pure Carne who felt attraction for telling stories that involved ordinary people, as it is the case in this film. Although well respected in his work, the film was not embraced by audiences because of the obscurity of the subject. The figure of Francoise, the main interest of our man in this story, is not immediately made clear. On the one hand, she appears to be a somewhat naive woman, while leading, perhaps, another life with the older Valentin. The other role that is quite enigmatic is that of Clara, who obviously must have been connected with Valentin, not just as his assistant for the theater. Clara clearly wants Francois, but he is blindly in love with Francoise, who might be hiding a secret side of her personality when she is with Francois. It is indeed a complex story in many levels, but Carne delivers an intense drama that keeps his audience glued to what is happening on the screen.Jean Gabin, at the height of his film career made a perfect Francois. He does not make a false move throughout the story. Jean Gabin was a natural for cinema, as he demonstrates here. The great Arletty appears as Clara, the woman who loving Francois, stays out of his way since she realizes she cannot have him. Jacqueline Laurent projected the right kind of naivete as the sweet Francoise. Jules Berry plays the odious M. Valentin with relish.

adrian290357 There is something so lyrical about the tale of the doomed François portrayed by the great Jean Gabin that even in its hardest luck moments you feel you are watching poetry in motion.In addition, Le Jour se Leve is a character study with all the contradictions that tend to go with pained souls like François' - except that there is a further depth that renders the film quite universal, a depth made of little moments in human relationships and the flaws that gently emerge but only renders the humans involved more endearing.Still, all that glitters is not gold: the apparently pure Françoise has actually been bedded by M. Valentin (Berry); and the police are more interested in getting their man than in saving him.The direction is precise and inspired, resorting to the then much used flashback technique but never allowing it to dominate the film.The photography - well, it is gorgeous and it gives the film its expressionistic ambiance. Finally, Gabin - one of the greatest actors ever in one of his greatest roles. Need one say more?The ending can be predicted from the moment François kills a visitor in his apartment but that aside it is a film full of cinematographic treasures, acting to gape at, and a quality of direction that is seldom seen these days. A must see for anyone who cares about movies.

dreverativy I cannot say that this is my favourite Jean Gabin film (which is either "La Bete Humaine" - which he made immediately before this one - or "Pepe le Moko"). However it is still exceedingly good, and is one of the best efforts of that most distinguished director, Marcel Carne. It has a good claim to be one of the best films of the 'golden age' of French cinema.It is, above all, a film of atmospherics. The tall, stark tenement building, with a huge, rude, blank wall fit only for advertisements in some dismal north-eastern coal town - at the remote top of which lives this remarkable bundle of repressed violence and sexual energy, Francois (Gabin). We are transported, through the brilliant, claustrophobic sets of Alexandre Trauner, the emotive music of Maurice Jaubert, the smoky photography of Curt Courant (and co.) and, above all, through the haunting, eccentric, almost verbose script of Jacques Prevert, into a state of almost intolerable tension. Francois is almost the ideal of a type - the sturdy, manly cannon fodder of the Marne and Verdun, who would surely have backed Leon Blum and marched behind Maurice Thorez and Jacques Duclos. He is tempted by the pure love of Francoise (the luminescent Jacqueline Laurent) and the slightly debased love of Clara (the lovely Arletty). Set against him is his antithesis, the somewhat demonic M. Valentin, a cut-rate showman, cruel to the dogs from whom he profits (Jules Berry, excellent). So we have a love triangle (or is it a square?) about a story that passes in a circle (the ending being the beginning).And, with his back against the wall, Francois lies in his bare, empty little room, smoking his last Gitanes, ruminating on his shattered dreams, and contemplating his forthcoming extinction. A bit like France in 1939, perhaps.

MartinHafer This is an excellent French film that deserves to be discovered by modern audiences. Although many "Film Noir" fans might consider the gangster films of Warner Brothers from the 1930s to be true examples of the genre, I look at them more as "Noir-Lite"--as they are more formulaic and more upbeat than the Noir films of the 40s and 50s. So although the thug that Cagney or Raft or Bogart plays in the film is tough and often uses the lingo of true Noir, you KNOW that by the end of the film the bad guy MUST lose and this is all an object lesson to us all about good and evil. But, with later Noir (as well as this film), it rose to a new level because things were often not so "cut and dry"--sometimes evil DID win or the line between good and evil was blurred. It's because of this that for a 1939 film that Le Jour Se Lève excels as a film--unlike the traditional Warner "baddies", the lead, Jean Gabin is neither good nor bad--and his story of how a normal guy can feel forced to kill that makes this film stand out from the crowd.The film begins with a murder and within moments you know that Gabin shot the victim--there is no mystery about this at all. You see how Gabin meets a nice girl and falls for her but this also ultimately leads to the murder. In many ways, this is reminiscent of the great Noir classic DOA, as the film begins you KNOW that Edmund O'Brien will die but the story leading up to it is what the focus will be.I could talk about this story further, but I don't want to spoil the suspense. Instead, let's briefly talk about the technical merit of the film. Jean Gabin was an amazing actor and while I didn't always like all of his films, I definitely admire his casual acting style. In many ways, he looks and acts like a slightly more rugged version of Spencer Tracy. This "everyman" quality make him a good choice for Noir--he's not just some "pretty boy". The supporting cast is very good as well. But the real stars, apart from Gabin, are the writers, director and cinematographer. The story works as does the dialog, the pacing and composition is great and the camera angles and lighting are superb. A fine film with little to complain about--and for me THAT'S unusual!