Mar 23, 2010

the controlled chaos of it all

Think of Arnaud Desplechin's A Christmas Tale as the more serious, much more French version of The Royal Tenenbaums. Then forget I even said that.

Never have I seen such a controlled portrayal of the chaos of real life, love, family, etc. This masterpiece is a crisp, utterly beautiful depiction of a family, with all its many eccentricities, reuniting for Christmas after many years of induced separation. Brought together by the family's dying mother, played brilliantly by the stunning Catherine Deneuve, the roller coaster Desplechin puts the viewer through is harrowing, grueling, touching, transcendental, and ultimately uplifting in a way few films are. It exalts one's heart with something quite unquantifiable but all too warm and real.

The film's techniques are understated and refined. The shifts in background music from one scene to the next. The way we don't really relate, or want to relate, to any single character. The use of jump cuts, split screen, and many other New Wave camera approaches. It all melds effortlessly and nearly unnoticeably, always in favor of a greater cause, a great film I feel the need to see at least... eh, twice more.

No comments:

Post a Comment