Thursday, November 20, 2003
The Wild Child or Enfant sauvage, L' (1969)
Directed by Francois Truffaut
Based on a true story about a boy found in a jungle and who was soon named Victor (Jean-Pierre Cargol ) after he was adopted by Le Dr Jean Itard (Francois Truffaut) who hopes to educate him and integrate him into the civilized world, The Wild Child is a searing fictional documentary that will pull your heart strings at times.
Especially when Dr Itard had to inflict punishment on Victor even though the boy had given him a correct answer and was to receive praise. When Victor returned home after escaping into the wilds, Dr Itard was so full of concern for the boy that we feel an overwhelming sense of pride and joy for the former, who had been a surrogate father.
Truffaut belongs to directing and not acting. It is hard to see his emotions for the wild boy given he was constantly taking notes and his acting feels a little stunted. Jean-Pierre Cargol as the wild boy had more meat to act and he carried it off naturally either stooping and shaking around like an ape or quietly waiting for instructions from Dr Itard.
The Wild Child entertained the question of human in civilization; of whether how much of it is nurture or nature.
The Aviator’s Wife or Femme de l'aviateur, La (1981)
Directed by Eric Rohmer
First in Rohmer’s love and proverbs series, the aviator’s wife is an urban tale of misrequited love crisscrossed with emotions, lies, guilt and hope.
François (Philippe Marlaud) accidentally run into his girlfriend, Anne (Marie Rivière) whom was seen spotting with her married ex Christian (Mathieu Carrière) one morning. Anne who still had feelings for Christian tried to avoid a messy confrontation with François who demanded an explanation. At a cafe, Francois saw Christian and decided to follow him. His detective work was usurped by a chance encounter with a student Lucie (Anne-Laure Meury) who deduced pieces of Christian, his wife and Anne’s messy relationship.
The Aviator’s wife reminds me of Ingmar Bergman’s Scenes of a Marriage in which couples engaged in lengthy talks about their relationships. François who loves Anne is insecure and sticky but strangely liberal when she meets another guy whom she claimed that they were purely platonic friends. The story rests basically on him and Lucie, who borders on flirting with him and being flaky at the same time. Anne does not believe in marriage but is wrecked when she realizes that a single life is not exactly what she desired as well.
The Aviator’s wife is funny in the sense that the characters are very much wrapped up in themselves. They constantly fall into the cliches of modern men and women, who, on one hand desires a perfect relationship; but ends up not knowing what it is exactly that they want.
Directed by Francois Truffaut
Based on a true story about a boy found in a jungle and who was soon named Victor (Jean-Pierre Cargol ) after he was adopted by Le Dr Jean Itard (Francois Truffaut) who hopes to educate him and integrate him into the civilized world, The Wild Child is a searing fictional documentary that will pull your heart strings at times.
Especially when Dr Itard had to inflict punishment on Victor even though the boy had given him a correct answer and was to receive praise. When Victor returned home after escaping into the wilds, Dr Itard was so full of concern for the boy that we feel an overwhelming sense of pride and joy for the former, who had been a surrogate father.
Truffaut belongs to directing and not acting. It is hard to see his emotions for the wild boy given he was constantly taking notes and his acting feels a little stunted. Jean-Pierre Cargol as the wild boy had more meat to act and he carried it off naturally either stooping and shaking around like an ape or quietly waiting for instructions from Dr Itard.
The Wild Child entertained the question of human in civilization; of whether how much of it is nurture or nature.
The Aviator’s Wife or Femme de l'aviateur, La (1981)
Directed by Eric Rohmer
First in Rohmer’s love and proverbs series, the aviator’s wife is an urban tale of misrequited love crisscrossed with emotions, lies, guilt and hope.
François (Philippe Marlaud) accidentally run into his girlfriend, Anne (Marie Rivière) whom was seen spotting with her married ex Christian (Mathieu Carrière) one morning. Anne who still had feelings for Christian tried to avoid a messy confrontation with François who demanded an explanation. At a cafe, Francois saw Christian and decided to follow him. His detective work was usurped by a chance encounter with a student Lucie (Anne-Laure Meury) who deduced pieces of Christian, his wife and Anne’s messy relationship.
The Aviator’s wife reminds me of Ingmar Bergman’s Scenes of a Marriage in which couples engaged in lengthy talks about their relationships. François who loves Anne is insecure and sticky but strangely liberal when she meets another guy whom she claimed that they were purely platonic friends. The story rests basically on him and Lucie, who borders on flirting with him and being flaky at the same time. Anne does not believe in marriage but is wrecked when she realizes that a single life is not exactly what she desired as well.
The Aviator’s wife is funny in the sense that the characters are very much wrapped up in themselves. They constantly fall into the cliches of modern men and women, who, on one hand desires a perfect relationship; but ends up not knowing what it is exactly that they want.
