In 'Love Like Poison', a schoolgirl returns home from boarding school, to face her depressed mother (who advises her, not to never doubt her beauty but rather, that when she doubts her beauty, never to tell a man!), her peripatetic father, a boy who fancies her, her ailing grandfather (who might do the same), and the local parish priest. It's not badly done, but there doesn't seem much point to the story: life (and death) happens, but nothing seems more dramatic or pointed than any particular sequence of real life where you can't quite get everything you want. The use of music in the soundtrack is also overdone, as it seems to be punching at a higher emotional weight than the underlying film. This is not a long film, but it feels more like opening scenes from a real story, over-extended, than a movie in itself.
10 Reviews
Slowpoke
writers_reign21 May 2011
Warning: Spoilers
You probably need to be in the mood to get the best out of yet another bildungsroman. In terms of pace it's like Erich Rohmer on crutches; in terms of plot it's like Erich Rohmer stuck for ideas. In no particular order Anna, a young girl at Convent school returns home for the holidays to learn that her father has taken it on the Jesse Owens, possibly with another woman, leaving her mother devastated and seeking solace with a local priest who is also a family friend. Meanwhile in terms of old life grandfather is dying by inches and in terms of new life there's a boy of Anna's age in close proximity. And that's about it. Nothing much happens and takes its time about it. On the right day the viewer will find something in it that speaks to him; on the wrong day ... well, let's not go there.
Uncomfortable the whole way through...
eyeintrees28 January 2016
I would have been so much happier without all the rubbish that is religion banging, crashing, looming and forcing itself on the viewer like a mangled corpse that you can't escape the stench of.
However, having said that, that is exactly what the point of the movie is about... the distortion of religion... how it forces young children to make decisions about their future opinions, thoughts and ideologies, way before they are even at an age where those decisions should be made... where nothing is left to choice, that most important of all human aspects.
How a young teenage girl must deal with a mother who's husband has left her for another woman, how she herself must deal with a father who has upped and gone, how her rather thought-provoking grandfather dies and how to deal with her first love and feelings of awakening sexuality. All very important and real aspects piling on to a young girl's life... but where she is also valiantly struggling to retain that all important 'choice.'
Interesting. I would have rated it higher except for having to sit through two sermons and listen to the wailing of communion.
However, having said that, that is exactly what the point of the movie is about... the distortion of religion... how it forces young children to make decisions about their future opinions, thoughts and ideologies, way before they are even at an age where those decisions should be made... where nothing is left to choice, that most important of all human aspects.
How a young teenage girl must deal with a mother who's husband has left her for another woman, how she herself must deal with a father who has upped and gone, how her rather thought-provoking grandfather dies and how to deal with her first love and feelings of awakening sexuality. All very important and real aspects piling on to a young girl's life... but where she is also valiantly struggling to retain that all important 'choice.'
Interesting. I would have rated it higher except for having to sit through two sermons and listen to the wailing of communion.
Catholic Guilt
billcr1210 October 2022
As a cradle Catholic, I am familiar with the concept of Catholic guilt. We are taught in our youth of sin , especially of those of the flesh.
Anna is a teenage girl living in France who attends a boarding school but is on vacation living with her mother who has separated from her father. The husband's father is gravely ill and living with them.
Anna is preparing for her Confirmation amidst the turmoil of her family's squabbles. She is also involved with a local boy in her first teen romance.
Grandpa is a cranky and funny old man with an unusual request of Anna . I found it a particularly disturbing part of an otherwise touching drama.
It did bring back memories of my own Confirmation and I thought that the cast was excellent.
Anna is a teenage girl living in France who attends a boarding school but is on vacation living with her mother who has separated from her father. The husband's father is gravely ill and living with them.
Anna is preparing for her Confirmation amidst the turmoil of her family's squabbles. She is also involved with a local boy in her first teen romance.
Grandpa is a cranky and funny old man with an unusual request of Anna . I found it a particularly disturbing part of an otherwise touching drama.
It did bring back memories of my own Confirmation and I thought that the cast was excellent.
Slow and sleazy, no doubt a serious message
joachimokeefe30 July 2016
Warning: Spoilers
At first I thought the premise was: which of these two pretty French girls will be first to, um, - no, won't go there. Is this film meant to be a kind of soft-pron teaseathon? Synopsis: A hot, flame-haired damsel awaits her confirmation. Her father has run off with somebody: her mother is kind of hot. The hot priest (if you go for beard and glasses - but he's also Lionel Messi on the soccer pitch and he knows all about Mother Teresa) takes all their confessions, except for hot, cheeky young whoever, who (playfully) sexually assaults our heroine but she quite likes it really.
Her equally hot friend goes away somewhere.
Her grandpa gets excited when she gives him a sponge bath.
After that, I fell asleep.
Plot-required bosoms, old/young and pre-confirmation eroticism, pretty sleazy actually. This film will make you feel creepy. All in the best possible taste, of course. 1 star for production budget, which wasn't awful.
Her equally hot friend goes away somewhere.
Her grandpa gets excited when she gives him a sponge bath.
After that, I fell asleep.
Plot-required bosoms, old/young and pre-confirmation eroticism, pretty sleazy actually. This film will make you feel creepy. All in the best possible taste, of course. 1 star for production budget, which wasn't awful.
Beautiful and charming
Mordred66612 February 2011
Love Like Poison is a fascinating little film. I viewed it at a small French Film Festival (in South Africa no less), and did not expect too much. And honestly, that is what I received - not too much, but brilliantly presented and charmingly executed.
Following the story of young Anna as she struggles with becoming a woman, her grandfather's mortality and a young boy's affection, Love Like Poison captured me from the start. The film plays with the idea of childhood innocence and the fragility of adulthood. It delves deep into the flaws of every human being, but accentuates the beauty of its naivety. It does all this with a wonderful charm about it.
Many of the scenes might make certain viewers slightly uncomfortable, but that is where the film succeeds, and where it needs to go in order to explore the themes that it presents. Furthermore, it does not place judgment on the actions and conversations of the characters as they reflect what is in all of us.
Lastly, I will mention that the film would never have succeeded as it did, without its subtle hint of comedy. These very subtle bits are sometimes, in fact, laugh-out-loud, regardless of the circumstances. All the more reason to take life less seriously, and be able to laugh at the perfections and flaws of the human condition. The speech by Anna near the end in particular is beautiful and laugh-out-loud hilarious.
8/10 I loved it...
Following the story of young Anna as she struggles with becoming a woman, her grandfather's mortality and a young boy's affection, Love Like Poison captured me from the start. The film plays with the idea of childhood innocence and the fragility of adulthood. It delves deep into the flaws of every human being, but accentuates the beauty of its naivety. It does all this with a wonderful charm about it.
Many of the scenes might make certain viewers slightly uncomfortable, but that is where the film succeeds, and where it needs to go in order to explore the themes that it presents. Furthermore, it does not place judgment on the actions and conversations of the characters as they reflect what is in all of us.
Lastly, I will mention that the film would never have succeeded as it did, without its subtle hint of comedy. These very subtle bits are sometimes, in fact, laugh-out-loud, regardless of the circumstances. All the more reason to take life less seriously, and be able to laugh at the perfections and flaws of the human condition. The speech by Anna near the end in particular is beautiful and laugh-out-loud hilarious.
8/10 I loved it...
Ordeal by teen-aging
aethomson8 April 2012
Teening can be tough. But most of the angst of adolescence is (for the rest of us, forever having to hear about it) a big yawn. What makes "Love Like Poison" (in French with English subtitles) worth watching? Brace yourself for stress (hers, not yours). It's all a bit too much (and too much all at once) for this fourteen year old girl: her parents are splitting up, her grandad is on his deathbed, her confirmation (Catholic) is looming, and then there's physical maturing at a gallop, an ambiguous relationship with her mother, an ambiguous relationship with the local priest, an ambiguous relationship with a local boy who seems to be even younger than she is. You name it, the agony is piled on. And yet the luminous personality of Anna (Clara Augarde) shines through. This isn't a splurge of self pity. We care about what's happening to her, because she's worth caring about.
Anna is intense. In past ages her vocation would have been obvious: she would become a nun. The "burden of spirituality" weighs upon her - she literally faints when it overwhelms. But who or what will win her soul? - God and the ache of her idealistic young spirit (she encounters an appealing "young church" and an unappealing "old church"); or will it be the sharp tingle of the body, symbolised by her sensual grandfather (who wants her to read an erotic poem at his funeral); or will it be the love she has for her agreeable but ineffectual father; or the love she has for her dominating mother (who is experiencing her own crisis of identity); or will it be possible for Anna to achieve a level of autonomy and win her own soul? From French cinema we expect tension, balance and clarity. The subtlety in "Love Like Poison" seems to demand that we watch it at least twice, in order to fit all the pieces together properly. But do the pieces fit? - that will depend on you.
Anna is intense. In past ages her vocation would have been obvious: she would become a nun. The "burden of spirituality" weighs upon her - she literally faints when it overwhelms. But who or what will win her soul? - God and the ache of her idealistic young spirit (she encounters an appealing "young church" and an unappealing "old church"); or will it be the sharp tingle of the body, symbolised by her sensual grandfather (who wants her to read an erotic poem at his funeral); or will it be the love she has for her agreeable but ineffectual father; or the love she has for her dominating mother (who is experiencing her own crisis of identity); or will it be possible for Anna to achieve a level of autonomy and win her own soul? From French cinema we expect tension, balance and clarity. The subtlety in "Love Like Poison" seems to demand that we watch it at least twice, in order to fit all the pieces together properly. But do the pieces fit? - that will depend on you.
A little French gem.
punishmentpark28 September 2015
Warning: Spoilers
'Un poison violent' (literally translated: 'A violent poison'; the title was taken from a song by Serge Gainsbourg) has a lot going on in the lives of quite a few characters in a rural French village, but the focus stays well-proportioned on that of a teenage girl named Anna.
Anna experiences many troubles; her devotion to a Catholic life versus a more earthly life (boyfriend, sex, body), her father just left his mother for a younger woman (which causes her mother much grief that rubs off on her as well), she helps nursing her sick grandfather (who is also burdening her with his unadulterated sex-drive) and a close (girl)friend is leaving her for a while. Quite miraculously, all these problems never amount to an indiscernible heap, but each trouble gets its fair share of attention in all of the many small and fragile scenes.
There is frequent, but terrific use of a cappella songs, mostly covers (as far as I could tell), such as 'Greensleeves' (a traditional) and 'Creep' (by Radiohead). The film has a very natural feel to it (very French, if that would mean anything), is at times quite melancholic, and - Hallelujah - none too prudish, either. A pleasure to behold as things unfold.
A good 8 out of 10.
Anna experiences many troubles; her devotion to a Catholic life versus a more earthly life (boyfriend, sex, body), her father just left his mother for a younger woman (which causes her mother much grief that rubs off on her as well), she helps nursing her sick grandfather (who is also burdening her with his unadulterated sex-drive) and a close (girl)friend is leaving her for a while. Quite miraculously, all these problems never amount to an indiscernible heap, but each trouble gets its fair share of attention in all of the many small and fragile scenes.
There is frequent, but terrific use of a cappella songs, mostly covers (as far as I could tell), such as 'Greensleeves' (a traditional) and 'Creep' (by Radiohead). The film has a very natural feel to it (very French, if that would mean anything), is at times quite melancholic, and - Hallelujah - none too prudish, either. A pleasure to behold as things unfold.
A good 8 out of 10.
Quirky, compelling and I love it!
allyatherton31 July 2016
A young girl comes home from school to find her father has left.
Starring Clara Augarde, Lio and Michel Galabru
Written by Mariette Desert and Katell Quillevere
Directed by Katell Quillevere
I am really falling in love with these French subtitled films.
This is a coming of age tale. A battle between religion and lust. It's quirky, dark and funny in places. It starts off slow but slowly creeps in and captivates you. It is well acted and it's one of those movies that makes you think about life and all kinds of stuff. It's packed full of symbolism and meaning.
I love it!
10/10
Starring Clara Augarde, Lio and Michel Galabru
Written by Mariette Desert and Katell Quillevere
Directed by Katell Quillevere
I am really falling in love with these French subtitled films.
This is a coming of age tale. A battle between religion and lust. It's quirky, dark and funny in places. It starts off slow but slowly creeps in and captivates you. It is well acted and it's one of those movies that makes you think about life and all kinds of stuff. It's packed full of symbolism and meaning.
I love it!
10/10
"If you have no mercy for yourself,how can you have mercy for others?"
morrison-dylan-fan8 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
After watching the magical Angel on My Shoulder,I decided to take a look at what other films on BBC iPlayer,and I spotted a short and sweet French title. Being pretty lucky with the French movies that have been on iPlayer,I decided to find out how poisonous love could be.
The plot:
Returning home for the holidays from her Catholic boarding school, Anna Falguères finds out that her dad has walked out on them,and that her mum Jeanne is in a burnt out state. Wanting to be with her dad,Anna secretly calls him in the hope sorting out some sort of arrangement,whilst the relationship with her mum continues to crumble. Surrounded by poisonous love,Anna is left breathless,when a boy called Pierre shows an interest in her.
View on the film:
Backed by a smooth Folk score from Olivier Mellano,co-writer/(along with Mariette Désert) director Katell Quillévéré & cinematographer Tom Harari drive into the suburbs on a wave of saturated colours,which stylishly reflects the Falguères's moods. Joining Anna in the woods, Quillévéré rubs the title in a lyrical rustic atmosphere lit up by shards of light being cast over Anna's face as the birds hum in the background.
While the house is painted in primary colours,the screenplay by Quillévéré and Désert draws darker hues on the events taking place within,by giving Anna and her mum Jeanne an excellent friction that becomes more abrasive as Anna moves from the sainthood in search of her own path. Taking their tops off,the writers display great care in the handling of Anna's romance with Pierre,whose curiosity with Anna is always kept on the right side of being sweet. Facing "Lio" giving a great,brittle performance as Jean, Clara Augarde gives a fantastic, expressive performance as Anna,via Augarde giving Anna a naturalistic intrigue over puberty,and a sharp frustration over family dramas,dipped in a love like poison.
The plot:
Returning home for the holidays from her Catholic boarding school, Anna Falguères finds out that her dad has walked out on them,and that her mum Jeanne is in a burnt out state. Wanting to be with her dad,Anna secretly calls him in the hope sorting out some sort of arrangement,whilst the relationship with her mum continues to crumble. Surrounded by poisonous love,Anna is left breathless,when a boy called Pierre shows an interest in her.
View on the film:
Backed by a smooth Folk score from Olivier Mellano,co-writer/(along with Mariette Désert) director Katell Quillévéré & cinematographer Tom Harari drive into the suburbs on a wave of saturated colours,which stylishly reflects the Falguères's moods. Joining Anna in the woods, Quillévéré rubs the title in a lyrical rustic atmosphere lit up by shards of light being cast over Anna's face as the birds hum in the background.
While the house is painted in primary colours,the screenplay by Quillévéré and Désert draws darker hues on the events taking place within,by giving Anna and her mum Jeanne an excellent friction that becomes more abrasive as Anna moves from the sainthood in search of her own path. Taking their tops off,the writers display great care in the handling of Anna's romance with Pierre,whose curiosity with Anna is always kept on the right side of being sweet. Facing "Lio" giving a great,brittle performance as Jean, Clara Augarde gives a fantastic, expressive performance as Anna,via Augarde giving Anna a naturalistic intrigue over puberty,and a sharp frustration over family dramas,dipped in a love like poison.
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