Archive
Qui a Tué Bambi? (Who Killed Bambi)
Sophie Quinton, Laurent Lucas. Directed by Gilles Marchand
Who Killed Bambi is a thriller set in a hospital, without the gratuitous slicing, scalpels and botched dissections in films like the German horror, Anatomy. Isabelle is a nursing student who suspects that Doctor Philippe, a young, attractive surgeon in her hospital (Laurent Lucas from Lemming, Harry), is stealing anesthetic to drug patients and covering his tracks by filling up the anesthetic bottles with some other fluid. One patient goes missing. Others start waking up during surgery because they weren’t administered the right dose of anesthetic.
"Bambi" is the nickname the doctor gives Isabelle, because of her fainting spells, or tendency to "go weak in the knees," like the Disney deer.
The movie has its flaws. For one thing it’s not very realistic. I did, however, find it suspenseful (we know early on who is stealing anesthetic and there are no plot twists) and Laurent Lucas – creepy Docteur Philippe – is so intriguing.
More things I don’t like / Des choses anodines qui m’enervent
Low-rise pants. On men and women. Same goes for the revived skinny jeans, and the updated low-rise, skinny jeans.
Sexy Halloween costumes. Bunnies, French maids, Cheerleaders. Too creepy.
Questionable, optional insurance products that provide coverage against risks/charges you wouldn’t think you’d be exposed to/liable for in the first place. Grocery shopper’s insurance. Movie renter’s insurance in case the dvd gets warped.
Pet outfits, footwear and fragrance. Dogs do not need cologne!
That 80s rock band, Wire Crates or Tire Traits or something…
“Cool” cell phones. Cell phone gadgets.
Cheez-it’s.
The tendency to place the word “man” in front of the names of things/traits considered feminine, when they are used in reference to a man. I cringe every time I hear the expression “man purse.” Why not a satchel?
Required tipping.
Pleather items. Coats. Couches. Anything in fake leather.
The sun is gone
Winter is coming back. Six months of gray skies and rain are ahead of us… Oh well, at least summer here is great.
Pumpkin Patch
This weekend, we visited the South 47 Farm in Redmond, Washington. We didn’t walk through the Corns of the Americas corn maze but we did pick out a perfect pumpkin from the patch and I got some great gourds (coloquintes in French).
What a fun fall activity!
Rois et Reine (Kings and Queen)
Rois et Reine (Kings and Queen), Emmanuelle Devos, Mathieu Amalnic, Catherine Deneuve
Directed by Arnaud Desplechin
I can’t unravel the mysteries of the movie. Rois et Reine is a character-driven drama with a confusing plot. It centers on two protagonists: Nora, who suddenly has to deal with her father’s terminal illness (what was thought to be an ulcer turns out to be stomach cancer), and Ismael, who has been involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital. Nora’s character is complex yet incredibly convincing. She’s 35, has a decent job running an art gallery in Paris and she is about to get married for the third time. She claims that her son, Elias, is her life, yet the boy lives with Nora’s father in Grenoble – about 600 km from Paris – because he didn’t bond with her soon-to-be third husband. Elias’ father, Nora’s first husband, died while Nora was pregnant. Nora wants Ismael, her second husband, to adopt her son Elias because the two shared a special bond while she and Ishmael were a couple.
I couldn’t make heads or tails of Ismael’s character and thought some of his scenes ran too long. Is he really mentally unstable or just eccentric and really animated? Why is he so misogynistic?
The film makes several references to literature and mythology, probably for more reasons than just to add some color. Perhaps if I understood these references, the plot would have made more sense.
Rois et Reine is long-winded but intriguing. I still can’t stop thinking about the characters.
Favorite Films by French Directors
Things I don’t Like
Bodies…The Exhibition
Last Saturday, my husband and I went to see the Bodies exhibit hosted by the Seattle Theatre Group on Eighth and Pike. The collection of skinned and dissected cadavers and organs on display are posed to llustrate how the human body works. Wall panels explain the systems being showcased and the role each specimen plays in a vital function or process.
Is the exhibit provocative or educational? I guess it depends on who’s doing the looking. A lot of people are curious. Some want shock and awe. A woman next to us last Saturday kept pointing at the cadavers and trying to “accidentally” touch them, all while expressing disgust and feigning attempts to lose her lunch. My husband, on the other hand, wanted to understand the human body. He read all the explanations provided about the workings of the nervous system and the other systems and contemplated the specimens. The woman in front of us might have been annoying but it’s thanks in part to the many curious and the freak-seekers these shows attract, and the money at stake for the exhibit organizers, that we were able to take advantage of this rare educational opportunity.
V, A, A, T and D family blog 