Konterr Brilliant and touching

Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Sammy-Jo Cervantes There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

adamgillett This is a character film, a portrait etched in dialogue between the self-written lead and the wandering sympathies of simple, well-executed cinematography. Echoes of Bacri's erstwhile partner-in-crime, Resnais, abound in image and in the weight of unspoken actions. These glances and comedic zooms denoue with the sharpness of Tati, without clouding the gravity of the story.And it is a meticulously woven story they Jaoui gives us, at a pace that might leave an impatient viewer distracted. Tracking Bacri, smooth pans move ethereally through Petit-Bourgeois sets, ever pressing the banality of her subject. The middle-aged businessman in mid-life crisis is a bittersweet choice for comedy: bitter in its reality and sweet in the familiarity, he is tantamount to a French David Brent. Castella is a character whose weakness is sympathetic to the point of embarrassment.By contrast, the hand-held and quick cutting that accompanies the theatre troupe and artists expresses the impatience we see in their speech, the bitter jealousy of the unsuccessful and arrogant intellectual. An attack on 'her own people', Jaoui here takes a dig at many of her peers in favour of the senior man, giving Devaux hints of the autobiographical that echo down to Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino.A soundtrack bridging centuries evokes the knowledge of the older man on screen as well as of the auditorium. Kathleen Ferrier's warble punctuates moments of silence as we observe Castella's nonplussed expression, while Metheny and Murray smash and spark away in background to the Bohemians. These interludes mark sea changes in viewer sympathy, serving to give some degree of cultural empathy to the characters.Above all, though, the music and rhythm of cinematography, script and music span great clashes in taste. A mesh of contempt and desire that result in a rounded and masterful work, with appeal for all but with affection for those with grey streaks in their hair.

Pignon This is a wonderful film and I found the way that it deals with the issue of taste very appealing.Castella is portrayed as a 'philistine', without taste as it were. This is a bigger thing in France than here in Austrlia, and the French language equivalent of the phrase 'bad taste' which is 'de mauvais gout' is to be avoided. Although in Australia we love to laugh at Kath & Kim, and 'The Castle', which represents bad taste to us.The thing is, some people seem to act like taste is a matter of 'breeding' and education. For example you may currently line your shelves with Toby mugs, and have personalised numberplate's, but with a little (or a lot depending on how little 'breeding' you have) education you are not beyond an appreciation of the maxim "less is more".However this film shows that while Castella maybe seen as uncouth, in the way that he would prefer Pro Hart to Sidney Nolan, Robert G. Barrett to Peter Carey, these loves are his loves, and he should not also be seen as 'thick' because of them. Or perhaps the elements of pop culture (or even kitsch culture) have the same intrinsic value, as those of high culture.I personally found it a more enjoyable film because of this element to the story.

MartinHafer I knew absolutely nothing about this film other than what the DVD cover said. In giant yellow letters were reviews saying "witty"and "laugh-provoking" and so I naturally thought the film would be a comedy. Well, to me it really wasn't. I did laugh once very briefly--and a small laugh at that. Now this ISN'T meant as negative criticism--the film's makers were not responsible for how it was mismarketed. The movie still worked for me as a romance but only once I let go of my expectations and forced myself to watch through the first 20 or so minutes (which were pretty slow), I found the movie interesting and different--something that occurs too seldom with films. I wouldn't strongly advise a person to seek out the movie, but it's a harmless diversion.The main theme of the movie is mismatched pairs. Mr. Castella is in an unhappy marriage and most of this seems to be because his wife hates people--making herself a lousy partner. The one laugh I had was when this terrible woman's dog bites a passerby. Instead of showing any sympathy, she blames the man! Then, you find out her dog bites people all the time but it's always the victim's fault! Mr. and Mrs. Castella go to a play and Mrs. Castella talks through much of the play and finds fault with everything. Mr. Castella usually hates the theater but is mesmerized by the performance of one of the actresses--the same lady who is also his English language tutor. Mr. Castella spends much of the movie trying to hang around this actress and her bohemian friends--even though he really has nothing in common with them and appears to have no chance with the lady.There are a couple parallel plots that also have to do with mismatched couples. One is Mrs. Castella who tries for once to reach out to another person--in this case, her estranged sister-in-law. Another involves a drug-selling lady who works in a bar and is pursued by a conservative man! All these relationships are difficult, if not impossible to believe. Some work out, some do not. Despite me NOT believing the old axiom that "opposites attract", the film is clever and well made--with very believable and low-key acting by people who act like real people. I respect the film a lot--though I didn't find myself thrilled enough to understand how it was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar. But what do I know?Incidentally, Jean-Pierre Bacri not only played Mr. Castella but he also wrote the screenplay. I have seen him in several films and like his persona--an "everyman" who is pretty likable.

noralee When Hollywood re-makes "The Taste of Others (Le Gout des Autres)" it will just manage to change everything in this delightful Woody Allen meets Eric Rohmer ensemble piece that it will be awful.Here you have chaos theory at work as tiny coincidences of gradually revealed links between people whose lives wouldn't usually intersect (from an ex-cop to artists to a business executive) set off dramatic changes (or consideration of changes) in their lives. Such that something one contact says to another is then taken out of context to cause communication problems when it's passed on to another.A lot of the triumph has to do with director/co-writer Agnes Jaoui's penchant for long shots and her trust in the actors (but then she and her husband--who also co-wrote the script--are also co-stars, though not an on-screen couple). For example, two casual lovers meet up in a restaurant, and the guy introduces her to his co-worker. That sparks fly between the new pair is communicated without close-up leers or touching and with bare conversation. The woe-be-gone boss drags two employees to a strip joint for distraction, and that each guy is at a different stage in his romantic travails is reflected in each's face and body language-- and we never even see the strippers, something Hollywood can never resist showing. We root for the unexpected couples as well as their self-understanding, and they make unexpected yet believable choices. The naturalness of their interactions is laugh-out-loud funny in a knowing way, and breath-catchingly poignant.Those of you intellectuals who are already familiar with "Hedda Gabler" won't be sandbagged by one scene as I was.It deservedly won a slew of French Cesars.(originally written 3/3/2001)