Day 212: French Film (October, 7)

Some self help theories has the follosing advice: we should try to see our life as a movie, implying a necessary distance in order for us to see ourselves clearly. There's other way to associate our lives to movies, though: being aware of you much of our features come from movies and its impact on us, even if we cannot point it out precisely. 

Fictional narratives are very responsible for our views about life, especially concerning love and relationships. The myth of romantic love, already referred here before, grows stronger at each book, movie, song that depicts the ideals of romantic love as we know it on the Ocident. It is staggering and a bit inevitable that those ideals become a part of our views on love and relations. But not all is lost.

French Film adresses exactly those elements through an interesting, funny yet intense story. The main character, a British guy, has to write a profile on a French filmmaker that talks above all about love. The guy despises the French's views and criticizes them endlessly, while struggling with his own relationship. Ceticism and idealism are presented here by this character, in a bout of force that is funny and honest.

How the movie's stories are ingrained on us is also a subject here. What seems to be only a imitation, turns out to be something more as the characters slowly realize that they are living relationships by convenience and by what they think is good for them, not by love or a true attraction. They experience the idealized notion of love, not love per se. The realization of this kind of ilusion is not easy, but is performed here in a funny and melancholic way. 

This way, we can relate to each character as they realize what they want in life, laughing with their antics. As a background, there's the cinema and its movies, that portray our lives in front of us in such an accurate manner that we cannot avoid to shed some tears. And laughters. And amazement at how a movie is so alive, even in such a small unpretentious production as French Film - a British production with a French atmosphere :)

French Film. Directed by Jackie Oldney. With: Hugh
Bonneville,Eric Cantona, Victoria Hamilton. Writer: Aschlin
Ditta. UK, 2008,87 min., Color (Netflix).

PS: A funny thing: On Netflix, the movie is classified as documentary - it is not, though. But a good part of the story revolves around the French filmmaker's interview, as a documentary. This classifications is weird, though.

PPS: In Jane Austen Ruined My Life, ,Beth Patillo brings the debate aforementioned throuh the main character's struggles with love. The following dialogue ilustrates that, despite Barry being a big jerk actually:

“So you don’t believe in happy endings?” I asked.

“Is that really what you want from a relationship?” Barry asked, eyebrows arched. “ An ending?” 

“It’s a figure of speech. It’s not meant to be literal.” 

“It is when women use it.” Barry crossed his arms over his chest. “Where did women get the idea that once a man commits to marriage it’s all over?” He uncrossed his arms, put them on the table, and leaned toward me. “That’s just the beginning.” 

I frowned. “You don’t seem like the kind of guy to have a lot of experience with commitment.” And then I was afraid I might have offended him, but he appeared unfazed. 

“That’s where you’re wrong. I’ve been married. Twice. Never again, though. Wedding vows make women lose their minds. They think the tough part’s over.” 

A flush stung my cheeks, because I was certainly guilty as charged.” 

(PATILLO, Beth. Jane Austen Ruined My Life. New York: Guideposts, 2009, p. 21/22, e-book).