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Hell Reviews

2005

60
from 2608 members

In Paris in the 1980s, a man, fresh from his release from prison, is rejected by his wife. After a violent confrontation he throws himself from his apartment window, witnessed by his three young daughters. In present day Paris, the sisters, now grown up, live their own lives. The family bonds are broken. Sophie, the eldest, .. Read more

Starring	Emmanuelle Beart, Karin Viard, Marie Gillain, Carole Bouquet
Director	Danis Tanovic
Genres	Drama, World Cinema

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Most helpful member's review of Hell
View all members' reviews (28)
- - 34
  - 2
  Typically existentialist French film
  
  In a previous film with the same French title (Claude Chabrol's 1994 film L'Enfer) Emmanuelle Beart played a woman stalked by her own obsessively jealous husband, who is convinced that she is having an affair. In the present film, Emmanuelle Beart plays a woman, who is obsessively jealous of her husband, who she believes is having an affair! However, here the similarities end. Hell is about far more than the failings of one marriage. It's not really about relationships either. Although there are three sisters who are each involved in their own 'love story', the core of the film is the children's attitude toward their parents; in particular their father who was mysteriously jailed for doing something which their mother cannot forgive. The mother is a cripple who has been put in a nursing home. She cannot speak and communicates by writing on a notepad. Only one of the three sisters, Celine, regularly visits her and this seems to be done purely out of a sense of duty. The relationship between the sisters is not much better. They live separate lives and have not seen each other in years. Sophie, the oldest of the three is a housewife with two of her own children. Anne, the youngest sister is a philosophy student who is involved with her middle-aged tutor. We meet the professor as he is giving a lecture about the differences between chance and fate in literature and life, and hear his view that on aesthetic considerations alone, fate should always be preferred ahead of chance. Therefore to die as a result of an accident is the worst death possible. Yes, this is a typically existentialist French film, all about death and the far-reaching consequences of making choices.
  
  Fans of French Cinema, especially those who have liked previous Emmanuelle Beart films such as ‘L’Enfer’, ‘Un Coeur En Hiver’, ‘La Belle Noiseuse’ and ‘Nelly and Mr Arnaud’ will probably enjoy this one.... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 395142
- [Highly rated reviewer]
  - David T
  - Wirral, England
  - 16 Dec 2006 at 01:54
Most recent members' reviews of Hell
View all members' reviews (28)
- - 0
  - 0
  Give it a miss
  
  I've become a bit of a fan of French cinema but this one really was hard work. Several strands slowly weave together excrutiatingly slowly and, if you ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 1110304
- - papatez
  - 228 reviews
  - folkestone
  - 11 Apr 2012 at 16:51
- - 0
  - 1
  hell hath no fury... period
  
  THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS | Show review anywayHide
  
  Relationships are hellish things since you cannot be sure where they have originated. Three sisters have men troubles and life has been less than easy on every ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 996948
- - juradino
  - 701 reviews
  - London
  - 25 May 2011 at 19:01
- - 4
  - 0
  Truly shocking and shockingly believable
  
  This is the terrible story of one family, told through flashbacks and the adult daughters' appalling attempts at relationships.
  
  In true French ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 874911
- - jesssproxmill
  - 8 reviews
  - Henfield
  - 21 Mar 2010 at 10:46
- - 1
  - 0
  Hell is a place on earth
  
  Hell (L'Enfer as it's known in its native France) is the second film in a planned trilogy that began with the underrated Heaven directed by Tom Tykwer ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 844325
- - danieljparsons
  - 113 reviews
  - Ashford
  - 02 Jan 2010 at 16:43
- - 0
  - 1
  Not for a rainy day!
  
  God! This film was so bleak, it made me happy, in comparison!! Crikey, stay away from this if you want a film you can actually ENJOY!
  
  Fine ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 766987
- - Rosster
  - 39 reviews
  - Airdrie
  - 05 Jun 2009 at 23:05
- - 1
  - 0
  Hell? Well almost..
  
  Unf Kieslowski didn't live to see the fulfilment of this project but maybe that's just as well. The final film comes across as a flaccid attempt to ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 759729
- - a customer
  - Bath
  - 19 May 2009 at 16:21
- - 0
  - 0
  Almost a parody
  
  With a fantastic cast of some of France's leading actresses I was hoping for much better.
  
  Everybody was so miserable and over-acting.
  
  ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 742905
- - a customer
  - Rowlands Gill
  - 14 Apr 2009 at 15:32
- - 0
  - 1
  Heaven was very good, this one really is hell
  
  Extremely slow and only gets interesting towards the end when you finally find out what happened in their childhood.
  
  If they do purgatory it better ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 660397
- - a customer
  - London
  - 17 Nov 2008 at 22:24
- - 1
  - 0
  Exquisite
  
  What a little gem this turned out to be - all the right ingredients for a slow cooking masterpiece. Real characters, and a fantastic allegorical tale woven ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 634508
- - a customer
  - COVENTRY
  - 24 Sep 2008 at 21:00
- - 0
  - 0
  cliche in the rain
  
  Everybody in this film is so bloody miserable you just want to grab them by the throat and scream 'For Gods sake go to the Pub!' - not that they would ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 622450
- - a customer
  - London
  - 01 Sep 2008 at 18:04
View all members' reviews (28)

- - 34
  - 2
  Typically existentialist French film
  
  In a previous film with the same French title (Claude Chabrol's 1994 film L'Enfer) Emmanuelle Beart played a woman stalked by her own obsessively jealous husband, who is convinced that she is having an affair. In the present film, Emmanuelle Beart plays a woman, who is obsessively jealous of her husband, who she believes is having an affair! However, here the similarities end. Hell is about far more than the failings of one marriage. It's not really about relationships either. Although there are three sisters who are each involved in their own 'love story', the core of the film is the children's attitude toward their parents; in particular their father who was mysteriously jailed for doing something which their mother cannot forgive. The mother is a cripple who has been put in a nursing home. She cannot speak and communicates by writing on a notepad. Only one of the three sisters, Celine, regularly visits her and this seems to be done purely out of a sense of duty. The relationship between the sisters is not much better. They live separate lives and have not seen each other in years. Sophie, the oldest of the three is a housewife with two of her own children. Anne, the youngest sister is a philosophy student who is involved with her middle-aged tutor. We meet the professor as he is giving a lecture about the differences between chance and fate in literature and life, and hear his view that on aesthetic considerations alone, fate should always be preferred ahead of chance. Therefore to die as a result of an accident is the worst death possible. Yes, this is a typically existentialist French film, all about death and the far-reaching consequences of making choices.
  
  Fans of French Cinema, especially those who have liked previous Emmanuelle Beart films such as ‘L’Enfer’, ‘Un Coeur En Hiver’, ‘La Belle Noiseuse’ and ‘Nelly and Mr Arnaud’ will probably enjoy this one.... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 395142
- [Highly rated reviewer]
  - David T
  - Wirral, England
  - 16 Dec 2006 at 01:54
- - 9
  - 2
  Heaven to watch?
  
  -- Well not quite, come on it's French- but it's certainly not Hell.
  
  Worth the rent if you like French films
  
  Report this review
- 282767
- - a customer
  - Ross-on-Wye
  - 05 Sep 2006 at 18:30
- - 5
  - 0
  L'Enfer
  
  A really enjoyable film that delivers on many levels. From the tell tale start in the opening sequence you have to pay attention to catch the subtleties of the ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 442090
- - a customer
  - Bournemouth
  - 21 May 2007 at 14:00
- - 4
  - 0
  Truly shocking and shockingly believable
  
  This is the terrible story of one family, told through flashbacks and the adult daughters' appalling attempts at relationships.
  
  In true French ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 874911
- - jesssproxmill
  - 8 reviews
  - Henfield
  - 21 Mar 2010 at 10:46
- - 2
  - 0
  Brilliant
  
  Post existentialist interplay on reality. Quite Brilliant but I am not sure I understood all of it.
  
  Report this review
- 378408
- - a customer
  - London, England
  - 26 Oct 2006 at 21:48
- - 1
  - 0
  A disappointment
  
  Apparently, Tanovic had to rewrite a sketchy treatment left by Kieslowski and Piesiewicz of a story loosely based on the Medea legend. Even then, he didn't... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 493411
- - rififi
  - 24 reviews
  - Middlesex
  - 11 Nov 2007 at 16:38
- - 1
  - 0
  Exquisite
  
  What a little gem this turned out to be - all the right ingredients for a slow cooking masterpiece. Real characters, and a fantastic allegorical tale woven ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 634508
- - a customer
  - COVENTRY
  - 24 Sep 2008 at 21:00
- - 1
  - 0
  Hell? Well almost..
  
  Unf Kieslowski didn't live to see the fulfilment of this project but maybe that's just as well. The final film comes across as a flaccid attempt to ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 759729
- - a customer
  - Bath
  - 19 May 2009 at 16:21
- - 1
  - 0
  Hell is a place on earth
  
  Hell (L'Enfer as it's known in its native France) is the second film in a planned trilogy that began with the underrated Heaven directed by Tom Tykwer ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 844325
- - danieljparsons
  - 113 reviews
  - Ashford
  - 02 Jan 2010 at 16:43
- - 5
  - 5
  TOTAL YAWN FROM START TO FINISH
  
  DONT BOTHER, KEPT WATCHING THINKING IT WOULD IMPROVE, TRUST ME IT DIDINT NOT WORTH WATCHING, SAVE YOURSELF THE BOTHER AND CHOOSE SOMETHING ELSE.
  
  Report this review
- 374306
- - a customer
  - ENGLAND
  - 15 Oct 2006 at 14:15

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Buy from Amazon.co.uk

- - Buy
- Hell
  
  In Paris in the 1980s, a man, fresh from his release from prison, is rejected by his wife. After a violent confrontation he throws himself from his apartment window, witnessed by his three young daughters. In present day Paris, the sisters, now grown up, live their own lives. The family bonds ...