Bleu

I decided to watch this French movie because the back cover contained the phrases “drawn into an ever-widening web of lies,” “dark, secret life,” and “startling discovery and heartstopping surprise.” I was made a fool of because the story was totally linear with no surprises or webs of lies. The maddening part is that there were plenty of places for surprises; like when the hooker calls Juliette Binoche out of her apartment in the middle of the night because she “needs someone to talk to,” you think “she is totally helping someone else break in and plant a wiretap.” Nope! Everything’s above board!

Also, two movie-making notes for the French:

1. Americans already invented a way of indicating the passing of time in a movie (i.e. hands on a clock moving really fast). No need to reinvent the wheel with your close up on a coffee cup with shadows passing over it.

2. If your scenes don’t have a direct relation to the plot, and that plot isn’t even about a hidden map on the back of the Declaration of Independence, what are you even doing?