david-1299 Reviews

The Libertine (2000)

Read the packet before consuming

[8/10 · 1 June 2006]

It is quite important to remember when watching comedies that humor is a very personal thing.

If you are offended by vulgarity; if you hate Benny Hill, and can't see the fun of Barbara Windsor's bikini popping off; and think that concept that breasts have nipples is outrageous; if you think broad humor is a pointless waste of time then this really is not the film for you.

If you thought that France = sophistication, therefore this must be high-brow: then I simply suggest that you get out a bit more.

But if you had read the packet before you watched it you would already know this.

This film is a 'diversion'. A farce. An enjoyment. Treat it as such and you'll be rewarded.

Indochine (1992)

Such an opportunity missed.

[4/10 · 30 March 2005]

What could have been a wonderful film about the twilight of French Indochina is irretrievably lost in the turgid pot boiler of a melodramatic boy-girl-mom 'love' triangle that seems to have been plotted and scripted (even in the original French) by a first year drama student. Cinematography 100% though: it makes you weep. Such an opportunity missed.

Perhaps the film should be considered as a precursor of the late 90s series of 'classic' films where location and the reproduction of period detail become the focus of the production, overlooking the need for realistic - or at least believable - dramatic progression. The characters are beautiful people (Catherine Deneuve is spectacular as always), the location shots are wonderful, but the storyline is only just this side of trite. The film could be used as a classroom example of style-over-substance.