ABOUT THE FILM
Main Idea/Topic:
The main idea of the film is to show how in France people everyone is quiet and submissive and nobody talks about the things that shocks or are a problem to their society. For example the pressure of work, but even more the pressure of loosing a job could become an unfortunate event such as suicide, which is more and more common among France, but less and less spoken about by French people. It is a movie that portrays the repressiveness in which the common French citizen lives in.
Main Characters:
François Durrieux
Flora Lesbun
Simon Lacaze
Bruner
Marie
Benjamin Durrieux
PERSONAL RESPONSES
Initial Responses:
It was a really slow movie, with a topic that could have been really exploited, but it wasn’t, it stayed in a sort of documentary face. Boring and shamefully misdirectioned, it really irritates me the fact that a theme such as the explosion of a repressed member of society which gets sick of the silence of this same society was so shortly used.
Later Responses:
I still keep my initial response to the film.
Who is the writer on the film? / Has the screenplay been adapted from another work?
Fabienne Godet
Juliette Sales
Franck Vassal
The film screenplay is has not been adapted from another work.
Background on the director:
Burnt Out marks Godet's first foray into directing/writing feature films. As a shorts director, her film The Temptation of Innocence won Emmanuelle Devos (Read My Lips) the Best Actress prize in Clermont-Ferrand, and was selected at Cannes Director's fortnight. Fabienne's first short, A Certain Scent of Fresh Grass, was shown at numerous international festivals. Her documentary, The Sixth Man with 13EME RUE (Universal TV Channel), premiered at Biarritz' FIPA in January 2006.
(http://www.miamifilmfestival.com)
When was the film made? / What is/was the social and political climate like at the time in that country and the world?
The Left, led by Socialist Party leader Lionel Jospin, whom Chirac had defeated in the 1995 presidential race-unexpectedly won a solid National Assembly majority (319 seats, with 289 required for an absolute majority). President Chirac named Jospin prime minister on June 2, and Jospin went on to form a government composed primarily of Socialist ministers, along with some ministers from allied parties of the Left, such as the Communist Party and the Greens. Jospin stated his support for continued European integration and his intention to keep France on the path towards Economic and Monetary Union, albeit with greater attention to social concerns. The tradition in periods of "cohabitation" (a President of one party, prime minister of another) is for the President to exercise the primary role in foreign and security policy, with the dominant role in domestic policy falling to the prime minister and his government. Jospin stated, however, that he would not a priori leave any domain exclusively to the President. Chirac and Jospin worked together, for the most part, in the foreign affairs field with representatives of the presidency and the government pursuing a single, agreed French policy. Their "cohabitation" arrangement was the longest-lasting in the history of the Fifth Republic. However, it ended following the National Assembly elections that followed Chirac's decisive defeat of Jospin (who failed even to make it through to the second round of voting) in the 2002 presidential election. This led to President Chirac's appointment of Jean-Pierre Raffarin as the new prime minister. On May 29, 2005, French voters in the referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe turned down the proposed charter by a wide margin. This was generally regarded as a rebuke to Chirac and his government. Two days later, Raffarin resigned and Chirac appointed Dominique de Villepin, formerly Foreign Minister as Prime Minister of France. A enduring issue is Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front party, whose anti-immigration, isolationist policies have him accused of racism and xenophobia. It managed to face Chirac's UMP in the 2002 presidential election second ballot, which many had thought only Chirac and Jospin would reach.
The modern social structure in France started late 1950's and is based on three distinct classes. The first and highest class is made up of the high level politicians, the wealthy families and the also powerful business owners. Such examples are the president Jacques Chirac, and the CEO of Airbus Noel Forgeard. Following the higher class people, the middle class group comprises of two different types of white-collar jobs. Senior executives of companies and the groups in which the professional jobs are included which include high income and are more or less stable. The lower class comprises of blue-collar jobs where many people are in food-service jobs or work in retail. The unemployment level and the low living standards are very common in this group. Due to the shift to industry, the number of blue-collar jobs has decreased and the workforce in the civil service section has steadily increased.
(www.wikipedia.com)
What does the title mean in relation with the film as a whole?
Try to establish a connection –sometimes clear, sometimes metaphorical.
Burnt out makes relation to the film as a whole in the matter that this particular individual of society becomes deviant and decides to speak out his kind and because of this he gets burnt out, not only because he goes to jail, but he gets burnt in the head.
Describe how the opening credits are presented? / How do they relate to meaning?
At first the credits appear centered in white letters with a black background, then a scene breaks thru in which the phone rings and a woman answers saying hello but no one responds, then she asks: François, Is that you?, still no response, but a hung up on the other side, then again the black background and the white letters. Possibly the credits relate to the movie as a whole in the way that the people in the film live in a dark world because of their silence, then someone is brave enough to speak out, but just for a few moments; perhaps because of anger, then he turns back into mute again, into a dark silence.
What three or four sequences are most important in the film? / Why?
The scene in which François gets to a motel and after talking to the house keeper and saying that he doesn’t know how long he is going to stay there he looks himself at the mirror, terrified and disturbed because of the uncertainty of his future. Is an important scene because in that moment François enters in a phase of introspection about what he has done. Perhaps he sees an image of himself in the mirror totally different from what he used to see, and image that he could not escape nor mix with his old essence.
After Simon Lacaze gets fired he stays at his office and in his loneliness he sharpens two pencils, very slow almost in a ritualistic way, then he puts a pencil in each nasal fosse, and in a really disturbing and unpleasant to watch way, he crashes his head towards the table pushing the two pencils into his brain, committing suicide. This is an important sequence because is the biggest turning point in the films, this is the reason why François, speaks out and gets in trouble. In others words, this is the event that triggers the little movement and tension that we see in the movie.
The scene in which François is eating at the table and puts away the carrots, because they make him sick, as he relates them with blood, because at the begging there was a scene in which a girl was pealing a carrot and cut herself. This is important, because in this relation we of blood, carrot and death, we can perceive what is happening in the troubled mind of François.
The scene in which François gives Flora Lesbun a chess bishop and tells her to give it to his son, and then he says that his son will understand. He is referring to a prior scene in which he was playing chess with his son and when he is not looking the son takes a piece away from the game but François notices. Then when he is in jail he does the same to another prisoner, but this one does not notices. This sequence is important because the film is establishing that father and son are alike, perhaps darkening the future of the little kid by saying than when he gets older hell share the same fate; that is, being so repressed that someday hell explode and go to jail.
What were your expectations from your knowledge of that country’s cinema or director’s work? / Where they confirmed or disappointed? Explain.
I expected a really visual movie, with great esthetic. I expected a movie which was shocking, insightful and intriguing. I consider none of these later things I found in the film that is why I was so disappointed with it.
In your opinion, what was the aim/purpose of this film? Be specific.
The purpose of this film was to critique France’s silence about the increasing social problems. It is a movie about the importance of speaking out.
Give at least five examples from the film (besides the language) which signal it’s being labeled a film from _____________________ (country).
It presents a critical vision of contemporary society
Focuses on educated, middle-class milieu
Portrays the darker or marginal areas of French society
The fear of unemployment and poverty
Presents an individualistic point of view
How does the film try to make its case? (e.g. by emotional appeal, alienation, manipulation of point of view, documentary authority, symbolism, etc.) Give examples. / Is it persuasive?
The movie makes its case through symbolism, and is not persuasive in my concern, but is really subtle. Such cases are for example the scenes latter explained in which François gives Flora a chess bishop for her to give his son; or, while François is eating the fact that he puts the carrots aside because they bring the memoir of blood, which transfers to Simon’s death. The fact that Simone kills himself with pencils, because he works as a designer in an editorial house; in other words, he kills himself with the tool he uses to work, work which he has no more and made him commit suicide, very symbolic and ironic in deed. Or the fact that François and Simon drive the same brand of car which is Peugeot, symbolizes in an occult way that hey are more than friends brothers and that they might like the same things in life, which gives another dark prophecy, that of which François would commit suicide too under the same circumstances.
Main Idea/Topic:
The main idea of the film is to show how in France people everyone is quiet and submissive and nobody talks about the things that shocks or are a problem to their society. For example the pressure of work, but even more the pressure of loosing a job could become an unfortunate event such as suicide, which is more and more common among France, but less and less spoken about by French people. It is a movie that portrays the repressiveness in which the common French citizen lives in.
Main Characters:
François Durrieux
Flora Lesbun
Simon Lacaze
Bruner
Marie
Benjamin Durrieux
PERSONAL RESPONSES
Initial Responses:
It was a really slow movie, with a topic that could have been really exploited, but it wasn’t, it stayed in a sort of documentary face. Boring and shamefully misdirectioned, it really irritates me the fact that a theme such as the explosion of a repressed member of society which gets sick of the silence of this same society was so shortly used.
Later Responses:
I still keep my initial response to the film.
Who is the writer on the film? / Has the screenplay been adapted from another work?
Fabienne Godet
Juliette Sales
Franck Vassal
The film screenplay is has not been adapted from another work.
Background on the director:
Burnt Out marks Godet's first foray into directing/writing feature films. As a shorts director, her film The Temptation of Innocence won Emmanuelle Devos (Read My Lips) the Best Actress prize in Clermont-Ferrand, and was selected at Cannes Director's fortnight. Fabienne's first short, A Certain Scent of Fresh Grass, was shown at numerous international festivals. Her documentary, The Sixth Man with 13EME RUE (Universal TV Channel), premiered at Biarritz' FIPA in January 2006.
(http://www.miamifilmfestival.com)
When was the film made? / What is/was the social and political climate like at the time in that country and the world?
The Left, led by Socialist Party leader Lionel Jospin, whom Chirac had defeated in the 1995 presidential race-unexpectedly won a solid National Assembly majority (319 seats, with 289 required for an absolute majority). President Chirac named Jospin prime minister on June 2, and Jospin went on to form a government composed primarily of Socialist ministers, along with some ministers from allied parties of the Left, such as the Communist Party and the Greens. Jospin stated his support for continued European integration and his intention to keep France on the path towards Economic and Monetary Union, albeit with greater attention to social concerns. The tradition in periods of "cohabitation" (a President of one party, prime minister of another) is for the President to exercise the primary role in foreign and security policy, with the dominant role in domestic policy falling to the prime minister and his government. Jospin stated, however, that he would not a priori leave any domain exclusively to the President. Chirac and Jospin worked together, for the most part, in the foreign affairs field with representatives of the presidency and the government pursuing a single, agreed French policy. Their "cohabitation" arrangement was the longest-lasting in the history of the Fifth Republic. However, it ended following the National Assembly elections that followed Chirac's decisive defeat of Jospin (who failed even to make it through to the second round of voting) in the 2002 presidential election. This led to President Chirac's appointment of Jean-Pierre Raffarin as the new prime minister. On May 29, 2005, French voters in the referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe turned down the proposed charter by a wide margin. This was generally regarded as a rebuke to Chirac and his government. Two days later, Raffarin resigned and Chirac appointed Dominique de Villepin, formerly Foreign Minister as Prime Minister of France. A enduring issue is Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front party, whose anti-immigration, isolationist policies have him accused of racism and xenophobia. It managed to face Chirac's UMP in the 2002 presidential election second ballot, which many had thought only Chirac and Jospin would reach.
The modern social structure in France started late 1950's and is based on three distinct classes. The first and highest class is made up of the high level politicians, the wealthy families and the also powerful business owners. Such examples are the president Jacques Chirac, and the CEO of Airbus Noel Forgeard. Following the higher class people, the middle class group comprises of two different types of white-collar jobs. Senior executives of companies and the groups in which the professional jobs are included which include high income and are more or less stable. The lower class comprises of blue-collar jobs where many people are in food-service jobs or work in retail. The unemployment level and the low living standards are very common in this group. Due to the shift to industry, the number of blue-collar jobs has decreased and the workforce in the civil service section has steadily increased.
(www.wikipedia.com)
What does the title mean in relation with the film as a whole?
Try to establish a connection –sometimes clear, sometimes metaphorical.
Burnt out makes relation to the film as a whole in the matter that this particular individual of society becomes deviant and decides to speak out his kind and because of this he gets burnt out, not only because he goes to jail, but he gets burnt in the head.
Describe how the opening credits are presented? / How do they relate to meaning?
At first the credits appear centered in white letters with a black background, then a scene breaks thru in which the phone rings and a woman answers saying hello but no one responds, then she asks: François, Is that you?, still no response, but a hung up on the other side, then again the black background and the white letters. Possibly the credits relate to the movie as a whole in the way that the people in the film live in a dark world because of their silence, then someone is brave enough to speak out, but just for a few moments; perhaps because of anger, then he turns back into mute again, into a dark silence.
What three or four sequences are most important in the film? / Why?
The scene in which François gets to a motel and after talking to the house keeper and saying that he doesn’t know how long he is going to stay there he looks himself at the mirror, terrified and disturbed because of the uncertainty of his future. Is an important scene because in that moment François enters in a phase of introspection about what he has done. Perhaps he sees an image of himself in the mirror totally different from what he used to see, and image that he could not escape nor mix with his old essence.
After Simon Lacaze gets fired he stays at his office and in his loneliness he sharpens two pencils, very slow almost in a ritualistic way, then he puts a pencil in each nasal fosse, and in a really disturbing and unpleasant to watch way, he crashes his head towards the table pushing the two pencils into his brain, committing suicide. This is an important sequence because is the biggest turning point in the films, this is the reason why François, speaks out and gets in trouble. In others words, this is the event that triggers the little movement and tension that we see in the movie.
The scene in which François is eating at the table and puts away the carrots, because they make him sick, as he relates them with blood, because at the begging there was a scene in which a girl was pealing a carrot and cut herself. This is important, because in this relation we of blood, carrot and death, we can perceive what is happening in the troubled mind of François.
The scene in which François gives Flora Lesbun a chess bishop and tells her to give it to his son, and then he says that his son will understand. He is referring to a prior scene in which he was playing chess with his son and when he is not looking the son takes a piece away from the game but François notices. Then when he is in jail he does the same to another prisoner, but this one does not notices. This sequence is important because the film is establishing that father and son are alike, perhaps darkening the future of the little kid by saying than when he gets older hell share the same fate; that is, being so repressed that someday hell explode and go to jail.
What were your expectations from your knowledge of that country’s cinema or director’s work? / Where they confirmed or disappointed? Explain.
I expected a really visual movie, with great esthetic. I expected a movie which was shocking, insightful and intriguing. I consider none of these later things I found in the film that is why I was so disappointed with it.
In your opinion, what was the aim/purpose of this film? Be specific.
The purpose of this film was to critique France’s silence about the increasing social problems. It is a movie about the importance of speaking out.
Give at least five examples from the film (besides the language) which signal it’s being labeled a film from _____________________ (country).
It presents a critical vision of contemporary society
Focuses on educated, middle-class milieu
Portrays the darker or marginal areas of French society
The fear of unemployment and poverty
Presents an individualistic point of view
How does the film try to make its case? (e.g. by emotional appeal, alienation, manipulation of point of view, documentary authority, symbolism, etc.) Give examples. / Is it persuasive?
The movie makes its case through symbolism, and is not persuasive in my concern, but is really subtle. Such cases are for example the scenes latter explained in which François gives Flora a chess bishop for her to give his son; or, while François is eating the fact that he puts the carrots aside because they bring the memoir of blood, which transfers to Simon’s death. The fact that Simone kills himself with pencils, because he works as a designer in an editorial house; in other words, he kills himself with the tool he uses to work, work which he has no more and made him commit suicide, very symbolic and ironic in deed. Or the fact that François and Simon drive the same brand of car which is Peugeot, symbolizes in an occult way that hey are more than friends brothers and that they might like the same things in life, which gives another dark prophecy, that of which François would commit suicide too under the same circumstances.
No comments:
Post a Comment