By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Delphine Gleize
Starring: Angela Molina | Chiara Mastroianni | Clovis Cornillac | Jacques Gamblin | Lio | Pascal Bongard
Original language title: Carnages
Country: belgium, france, spain, switzerland
Year: 2003
Running time: 130
IMDB: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0280523/combined
Ivy says: “This feature film debut is a daring challenge following 5 story lines as they intersect and eventually overlap starting with the simple connection of a bullfighting bull’s body parts after it has fought and been slaughtered.
“The cinematography is wonderful and the characters are well drawn. The birth of a strong director has happened and I can’t wait to see what her next film contains and how she grows as a filmmaker. (Currently she is just 30 years old.) This is the exact film that Chlotrudis normally takes a chance with
and enjoys. I think that it will be on my list for ensemble, cinematography, and direction.” 4 cats
Michael says: “This week’s Sunday Eye Opener was an interesting and decidedly international first film from director Delphine Gleize. Visceral, yet vague, Carnage is in the vein of such popular independent films as 13 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING, AMORES PERROS, and MAGNOLIA, where disparate characters and storylines interweave and find connections, in this case, through a slaughtered bull.
“After a bullfight, where the young bullfighter is severley wounded, the parts of the slaughtered bull travel to different European countries, linking different people in various circumstances. In France, a young girl, Winnie, who suffers from a seizure disorder, yet is profoundly perceptive, views
the bullfight on the television. Her school teacher receives a visit from her mother (Spanish actress Angela Molina from Almodovar’s LIVE FLESH) who carries the burden of a terrible secret. Carlotta (Chiara Mastroianni, daughter of Marcello Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve) is a struggling actress, who befriends a suicidal ex-philosopher named Alexis, who helps her find the couple who inadvertently damage her car in a supermarket parking lot. That couple turn out to be Winnie’s parents. And in the Belgian (I think) countryside, a man living with his elderly mother, is disappointed when his brother fails to call on his birthday. There are more storylines, and more characters, and the film unfolds at a leisurely pace, introducing them and slowly drawing them together.
“The film suffers from a bit of first-film indulgence, and the themes running through the story never really come to a clear resolution, or even explanation. Still there are some great performances, funny moments, and gorgeous cinematography here that make Gleize’s first film worthwhile, and an indicator of potentially great films to come. CARNAGE enjoys a week-run at the Brattle next week, so you may want to check it out.” 3 cats