Dans Paris

A film about two young men who a living in Paris with their father. It lurches between being difficult to follow and quite moving and, apart from a nicely personal piece-to-camera at the start, the first 30 minutes is pretty excruciating and even dull with one of the men consumed in a self-obsessed tantrum. After that it is more bearable and there are some good bits, particularly when the two young men interact with their father. Not highly recommended.

A French cinematic Burroughs cut up which beguiles with its clumsy narrative which despite having a brilliant post-modern active audience awareness of the viewer's presence and the fictional construction of the narrative which follows in the form of an introductory soliloquy which persists for part of the movie, it doesn't add much to the whole which is just very boring. (Near the beginning Garrel says something along the lines of 'okay i will go back to being a character again', which i found very cool)

The boredom stems i think from the plethora of redundant, trivial and silly scenes which are cut very fast and provide little characterization or gravitas to care about anything happening, the mise en scene of paris back streets and apartment misty mornings were appealing and some scenes in particular the back drop is stunning.

I would have preferred less slapstick comedic relief from Garrel who seems to occupy this role way to often. I am aware that the path to seriousness is strewn with jokes but i just find it very vacuous. It is also too melodramatic for my tastes. I also think the music score removed emotion at times as it remained throughout a jovial, ambivalent elevator like jingle, so in scenes where there is heartfelt revelations, the music seems to suck some of the potential feeling away.

With all that said however, i did like the experience and felt like despite its flaws, it was a good film.

Whilst in the end I was glad watched this film, found the direct narration interesting, much of it was over indulgent and not that convinvincing and I did not feel it delivered all it promised.

Although it is pretentious in a few places...at the beginning where Louis Garrel speaks to camera...then later when his brother and his estranged girlfriend sing to each other on the phone...aaaaghhh, it went on forever, I cringed all the way through. Nevertheless this really is a film worth watching, just don't expect anything to HAPPEN as such, it's a snapshot of their lives.

I cannot believe I wasted part of my life watching this awful film. I have given the film a half for the poor father who had to suffer two dreadful sons and a nutty wife. Egotistical morons.

The poor women who suffer these dreadful brothers should be sectioned.

What was the point of the story at all? It was like a poor stage play which would have bored an audience. I can understand why people gave up on the film half way though.

There are so many great French films and this is not one of them.