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Va SavoirRating:
Release Date: 26 February, 2002 Retail Price: $29.95 OUR Price: $8.47 You SAVE: $21.48! Cast: |
Va Savoir Reviews
Here comes another litmus test in film viewing...
This is without doubt a very challenging movie to watch. To watch intelligently, with concentration, attention & focus. It is the very antithesis of American TV fodder & most Hollywood product. No quickly identifiable yuk-yuk archetypes: you know, the NERD, the BABE, the HUNK, etc etc.
Not even any references, subtle or otherwise, to The Honeymooners or I Love Lucy or Casablanca. No (gratuitous) use or mention of IPods or CellPhones. Good grief. How are people supposed to IDENTIFY?
Sorry gang. This one might even demand that one be a bit familiar with Pirandello or Ingmar Bergman (I'll bet Woody would give his eye-teeth to have made this) to say nothing of some fundamental understanding of the basic underpinnings of Western Culture (well, they did used to teach this things in better colleges not that long ago).
But that's the whole problem. It's a cerebral movie, as are most of the best French films going back about 80 years or so. It does take patience & focus to appreciate. But that's why I love it. It ain't fast food. It's not instant gratification. I don't mind watching it in segments. Even going back & replaying scenes.
It's almost like Reading A Good Book!
I look forward to watching this film another half dozen times, at least. The way I do all the best movies, from Top Hat to Children of Paradise to Woman of the Year to Seven Samurai. Or as I listen to Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Mozart. Or reading Murakami or Saramago or Banville.
I guess this is a film for grown-ups. Which I guess could be a marketing problem for its distributors.
Would be a treat at 1 hour 45 minutes...but not at 2 hrs 34 mins
At 154 (!) minutes, "Va Savoir" could use about about 40+ minutes of judicious editing. I'm open to French cinematic experiences - there's nothing like the thrill of discovering gems like "Read My Lips" or "The Dinner Game" - but at 2 hours 30 minutes plus, director Jacques Rivette here strains the patience of even the most hardened of cinephiles.
That's not to say it isn't fun to watch Jeanne Balibar ooze her way across the screen - she's such a silky-smooth, enchanting presence. And it's a treat to see Sergio Castellitto, who was spectacular in the winning 'Mostly Martha.' And how about an actor who can play leads in German (as he did in 'Martha') and Italian and French (he does both with aplomb here in 'Va Savoir')? This is one talented guy. But condensing the film down to a tighter 1 hr 45 minutes would have greating increased the viewing experience.
Also, viewers should take care not to get freaked out during the first 1 - 2 minutes of the film. It's in Italian, and the filmmakers (or its distributors?) don't start the subtitling until Camille (Balibar, on stage in the film, emoting in Italian) steps off stage and out of character and says "In French now." And, viola, at that point the subtitles kick in. It's a cute little effect, but it'll drive you crazy with your clicker if you're not aware of it.
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