Belle Épine

BELLE ÉPINE           B                                     
France  (80 mi)  2010  ‘Scope  d:  Rebecca Zlotowski 

Every generation seems to have a teen angst movie like this one, from THE WILD ONE (1953), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), The 400 Blows (Les quatre cents coups) (1959), to the film this most resembles stylistically, Cold Water (L’eau Froide) (1994), where the role of Léa Seydoux as Prudence most definitely resembles Virginie Ledoyen, both 16-year olds with absent parents who go on a binge of inappropriate behavior, where Assayas’s film carries more weight and complexity, as it has a better script and his use of iconic music is more cultural and a reflection of the times, while this first time director has a searing lead performance from Seydoux, a girl who will throw herself at anything in order to forget how empty she feels inside, but her life as well as the secondary characters remain largely undefined, where we only view them in passing instead of feel intensely immersed in their lives and affected by the outcome.  Prudence is largely indifferent to her circumstances, numb from the recent death of her mother, where in an early scene she’s caught shoplifting, meets another petty thief in holding, Maryline (Agathe Schlenker), where perhaps the shot of the film is watching her on her way out the door, as she hesitates before walking outside, remaining hidden behind a wall while the audience sees Maryline join a group of awaiting bikers, where all the action is interestingly kept out of focus as we see a series of guys on motorcycles doing wheelies, revving their engines, just generally showing off in front of the girl before she climbs on the back of a bike and they all ride away, creating quite a spectacle—apparently arousing Prudence’s interest.  Shot by Georges Lechaptois, the film is very much in the style of hand held Steadicam cameras closely following the rhythms and natural movements of the kids, where they have an easygoing attitude about sex and nudity, where frank discussions about sex, especially from the female point of view, are the norm.  If ever there was a movie ripe for the song Dear Prudence The Beatles - Dear Prudence YouTube (4:00), this is it, but sadly it was not to be.   

Prudence lives alone in her parent’s spacious house with her father continually absent except by phone, where her older sister Frédérique (Anna Sigalevitch) keeps an eye on her, but her life is an open door of new opportunities, expressing little interest in school, where she typically finds parties every night instead.  When she runs into Maryline, she expresses an interest in meeting the bikers, who are the kinds of guys more interested in bikes than girls, who will pay attention to girls when they have nothing better to do, but will drop them flat the minute any biking event is happening, where they hold impromptu races every night, some of them daredevil, all illegal, where it’s not uncommon for people to get seriously injured or killed, often due to poor maintenance standards, where the carelessness of one rider will kill another.  Somehow, they’re all immune to even talking about this gruesome subject, yakking and having a good time over beers instead, where together they display a 50’s homoerotic camaraderie.  It’s never made clear what interest this holds for Prudence except there are cloisters of guys, any number of whom would be happy to hang out with her, so she pretty much has the pick of the litter other than Maryline’s guy.  While this is nothing like Band of Outsiders (Bande à Part) (1964), for instance, as it lacks the wild optimism and free-spirited energy and humor of the 60’s and instead projects an endless dreariness and monotony, bordering on fatalism, where kids are simply bored with the same things happening in their lives every day, where the idea of tempting death doesn’t feel like such a bad idea.  Any happiness expressed on the screen lasts only for a brief instant, like a quick thrill, whether on motorcycles or in bed, and then it’s over.             

There’s only the briefest hint of a storyline, clocking in at only 80 minutes, where sexual attraction may hold the audience’s attention briefly, but then it quickly wanes, as Prudence isn’t really interested in any guy, but that doesn’t stop her from having sex, or even from taking unnecessary abuse, as she can barely tell the difference.  There’s a cloud of gloom hanging over her shoulder, where her family is still grieving over her mother’s passing, but Prudence is living like there’s no tomorrow, where her sexual behavior looks like a textbook on how to obtain sexually transmitted diseases.  You’d think high school kids should be smarter and more careful, due to increased awareness and available information, but this girl simply doesn’t care what happens to her.  Despite the downbeat subject matter, the film has a fresh, near documentary style, where the awkward, uninhibited nature of teenagers is always appealing, and a good deal of the film has an upbeat musical backdrop that throbs and pulsates with a kind of electric energy.  Seydoux couldn’t be more committed to the role, where it looks like the part was written just for her, as her smoldering sexuality is always expressed in a low-key, offhanded manner, where she’s comfortable, relaxed, and even nonchalant while naked in front of the camera, but gives an edgy performance of moodiness, forever feeling like she’s lost in a rapidly descending sea-change of self-absorption, where it’s easy to see how everyone misunderstands her, continually thinking she’s selfish, as they’re missing the pain she’s trying so hard to avoid.  Of course the inevitable happens, where the end couldn’t be more predictable, even if told in a starkly unanticipated manner, where despite many excellent qualities in this film, especially the unflinching and naturalistic portrait of a glum teenage girl, the script is too bare-bones, never really fleshing out anyone else’s story or offering any new insights into grief or adolescence. 

Loverboy

LOVERBOY – video               B                     

Romania  Sweden  (94 mi)  2011  d:  Catalin Mitulescu             Official Facebook

This starts out as perhaps the ugliest looking film seen in years, dirty, brownish, washed out video, where it appears they used the cheapest film stock available, as the focus is slightly blurred throughout, creating what amounts to a horrible-to-look-at film.  Other Romanian films have a similar washed out color palette, but they depict a certain Eastern European realism, a throwback to the days of the Soviets when the entrenched Kafkaesque bureaucracy reflected bland and soulless times.  But this isn’t like that, as this movie quickly displays a French New Wave sensibility in terms of a breakout, free wheeling film style, hot looking guys and sexy women on motorcycles drinking and hanging out at the beach, cavorting like there’s no tomorrow, but set in a grim Eastern European miserablism, as we soon learn the guys are brutes, treating women like scum, reflecting the Serbian or Russian gangster sensibility where these men are thugs.  Actually, as it turns out, the style this most closely resembles is that of Emir Kusterica in his more low key moments of humiliating devastation, as this expresses a kind of outlaw Eastern European art, where these violent criminals are all outside the law and the original Balkan music by Pablo Malaurie is simply outstanding, perhaps the best thing in the film, as it perfectly describes the essential lowlife character of these men who like to drink, have sex, and party all night long with girls for sale who work for them, whose lives are defined by being treated like shit, while the guys sit around on the beach and rake in all the money they earn. 

No matter what films you see, nowhere is there an economic abyss on display like the former Soviet Bloc black market reality, where they thrive on sex trafficking of teenage girls, kept in line by the excessive use of violence, where lies, deceit, rape, drugs and murder are an everyday reality.  Once hooked these girls don’t stand a chance.  This movie is a kind of behind the scenes exposé of the methods they use to find the girls, the broken promises they make pretending to be something they’re not with macho behavior, sunglasses, fast cars, and sex, where those girls that stick around pay the price while those that choose initially to leave by their own accord, often quite by chance, are surprisingly saved from this debasement.  The hook is the use of cute guys who express an air of indifference, like Luca (George Pistereanu), a Brando or James Dean like figure who is all sexual presence, a kind of prized stable boy owned by the bosses whose job is to lure in the girls, where they know these are bad boys, but they can’t help themselves, and by the time they figure out what’s happening it’s too late.  Luca even works on motorbikes, like a Romanian THE WILD ONE (1953), used to impress the women with his cool demeanor and sexually liberated lifestyle where he’s quick to seduce them.  The twist here is when he meets Veli (Ada Condeescu), a cute country girl that Luca appears to protect from the more edgy and raucous behavior of the lowlife brutes on display, whose thoroughly noxious treatment of women should tell anyone all they need to know, but Veli finds Luca as a kind of chivalrous thug, a guy who will stand up to the others, making her feel safe in his arms.  This apparently works, as Veli’s feelings are inexplicably reciprocated by the kindness of Luca, actually penetrating that emotional armor, but just barely, as he remains ambivalent and standoffish, but loath to release her to the bosses. 

The rest of the film plays out like a couple on the run, even though they inhabit Luca’s own private domain, a small family owned café by the side of the road and a garage where he can work on bikes.  Their sexual chemistry onscreen sizzles and is potent medicine, as they grow increasingly affectionate, though Luca continues to struggle with what this is costing him.  He and Veli become an item, where the others come by to visit and party and check out the merchandise, making little snide comments about the lovebirds in the making, suggesting Luca has finally met his match, but all they are really doing is reporting back to the boss what’s going on with the girl, because Luca keeping the girl to himself is costing the business money.  Keeping her around is only increasing his debt, like interest on a loan, until eventually he can’t afford to keep her.  She volunteers to work off his debt, believing in him so strongly that she would do anything.  He knows just exactly what would happen to her, as these guys wear women out quick, crushing their confidence and destroying all that is beautiful about them, continually having to replenish the business with new girls.  While the movie highlights the actions and behavior of the young attractive couple, the real story behind it all is the harsh realism of the criminal thugs running the operation, whose nightmarish sex slave ring defies comprehension, but provides a perfect backdrop for the current mafia-style business model developing in Eastern Europe.