L'année des méduses (1984)

English title: Year of the Jellyfish

At a beach in the South of France, mother and 18-year-old daughter are spending some time. The mother gets involved with a younger man. The daughter has a wild sexual behavior and some psychological issues.

A lot of gorgeous women flaunting their breasts most of the time, and occasionally all her bodies. Total amorality. The young govern the old. It is well directed and flows nicely, despite the thinness and reticency of the plot. I knew there was a flashback somewhere because the daughter is sixteen in some scenes and eighteen in others, but I couldn't discern the exact point when real time transitions to flashback and vice-versa. Reportedly there is a novel that could shed light on some of those doubts.

Rating: 51

Update: rewatched on April 13, 2016. There is a new blog entry on that date.

Avec le sourire (1936)

American title: With a Smile.

A man arrives penniless in Paris. He meets a young woman who is a dancer at a nightclub, and manages to get employed there.  Step by step, he climbs to the top of the social ladder, using his sense of opportunity, his lack of scruples, and his smile.

There isn't much to say about this film which isn't already in its dialogue. In a strictly moral sense, it is refreshing: it doesn't stray from objectivity for one second. You could call it a perfectly amoral film, or, if you do not like this terminology, you may call it an essay in social Darwinism. Even though it may look unique in that sense, I suspect it was not far from the standards of film writing in the 30s. Although I do not know a lot of that period's filmography, one needs only think of Hollywood's pre-code period for an approximate parallel. In America, however, the frankness was mostly sexual (and ended in 1934 with the strict enforcement of the Hays code), whereas in this film it is predominantly economical. Anyway, both in France and in America, films became more moralistic in later years. It was only in the late fifties that a certain spirit of boldness was to resume, but I doubt it would ever have the same free spirit again. For example, to pick a movie with a similar theme as this one, Room at the Top (1959) is a good movie, but is not without a certain implicit moralism, if memory serves me right.

Rating: 64

The Big Land (1957)

After the American Civil War, some Southerner cattle ranchers drive their cattle North to sell it. One of them befriends a drunken architect who has a businessman friend; they make a deal with said businessman, involving the building of a railroad. There are some rivals who do not like it.

Fairly routine yet watchable western.

Rating: 35

Quem Matou Anabela? (1956)

A police inspector is summoned to a boarding house to investigate a murder. A corpse, found at a dam, is said to belong to one of the boarding house's inmates, a struggling actress. The boarding house's owner, the inmates, and the actress's fiancé, are interviewed by the police inspector. He is surprised by many conflicting confessions.

Mystery drama with satirical elements. The plot does not make much sense, but there are a few touches of formal playfulness which are refreshing.

Rating: 34

Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970)

Woman married to a sarcastic, egocentric, shallow, ungrateful, and exploitative husband takes a lover who doesn't treat her much better.

Drama based on a novel which, judging from the movie, was clearly written by a woman with a deep-seated hatred of men. There is no attempt to situate these people culturally; they celebrate Christmas but there is not a hint of any religious convictions or social roots. As an abstract exercise on conjugal sadomasochism, it is not bad, and is even sort of funny.

Rating: 51

Ma pomme (1950)

American title: Just Me.

A treasure is found at a construction site, with a will attached to it. After a search, the inheritors are found. The will establishes that one particular line of the bequeather's descendancy is to be empowered with the decision concerning the transmission of the inheritance. This man happens to be a tramp who thinks money brings mostly problems. He is initially inclined towards not accepting the inheritance, to the consternation of the other inheritors, who would thus be also deprived of it. However, when a new inheritor is found, he changes his mind.

Weakly scripted musical comedy with some interesting philosophical points, which are poorly explored.

Rating: 31

A Família Lero-Lero (1953)

Second viewing; first viewed on November 15, 1992

Based on the play by Raimundo Magalhães Jr., first performed in 1941

A civil servant is constantly mistreated by his wife and leeched upon by his two sons and daughter who dream of impossible careers instead of settling down on modest yet reliable jobs. At work things are no better: he is a poorly paid civil servant who endures terrible working conditions. One day he decides to get away from it all.

Comedy which satirizes the Brazilian lower middle class and the infernal public service which was (and, in at least some aspects, still is) typical of that country. It is above-average for Brazilian standards in comicity and technical accomplishment. Its main actor, by his physical traits and demeanor, looks remarkably Japanese.

Rating: 56 (unchanged)

Le roi (1949)

Based on the play by Gaston Arman de Caillavet, Robert de Flers, and Émile Arène, first performed in 1908.

A foreign monarch is visiting France and gets pastry in the face thrown by a woman who happens to be the wife of a congressman. His party colleagues approach the politician and suggest ways to neutralize the embarrassing incident, which involve hunting and -- profiting from the monarch's philandering proclivities -- women.

Well-made comedy which sheds some light on the curious phenomenon of cuckolds in high places.

Rating: 52

Mr. Turner (2014)

Biopic about an English painter. He never marries and is something of a maverick and a curmudgeon.

Big disappointment from a diretor who had been consistently good up to this point. To be accurate, Vera Drake had an absurd plot, but scene by scene it was interesting. Not so this one, which has a plausible story (inevitable since it is a real one) but hardly any interesting scene. If you are curious of how Turner humped the maid from behind, or are particularly excited about absolutely trivial dialogue, this is for you. On the plus side, this is a photogenic film, even for digital which is a step backwards in film history. P.S. I am anxious for the DVD extras which will no doubt include Turner in the john, Turner's daughter's death in childbirth, the maid getting undressed in the dermatologist's office, and an extended version of the sequence where Turner discusses the evils of slavery with the traumatized slave merchant.

Rating: 40