Greetings from latetotheshow . . .
I never read a book by this French lady - I've seen 'bluebeard' movies - only the cliche bad-boy pirate-on-a-ship type - so this movie was different . . .
I simply picked this DVD up at a thrift store - no expectations - didn't even read the synopsis - So now that I've seen it - in a word - it was 'interesting' . . .
Intetesting in that - it made me ask a lot of questions . . .
I thought production, costumes, scenes and all were great - of course, the two modern day sisters are adorable - the younger highly precocious one reads the story to the older sister - and, as the story plays out - we realize we are guest viewers into her vivid imagination.
Just as an aside - I didn't think bluebeard was ugly at all - lol - coulda lost 75lbs and been good lookin'! . . . but of course - to young girls - very scary. I found his size humorous too bc if he gets any bigger he wouod not fit down the very narrow hall at the top of the stairs.
The character as the Beard's new young wife was really good. Her face and eyes were so incredibley, expressively confident. - she was the teen embodiment of the little story teller (more on that).
Meanwhile, much of the movie seems to be filmed as simple brief moments with scant dialogue. It's almost like watching a silent movie but rather in the opposite way - we have some talkie-dialogue and rather frozen-brief scenes in place of where a silent-movie would flash written words. A great way to portray a child's imagination. Thats why I call it an art house movie.
There's some humor which I think could have been stepped up - but juxtaposed against the serial-killer theme - the balance - tho precarious, seems to hold steady.
I thought the repeated scenes of going up the spiral staircase were hilarious. It was the same location being repeated over & over - but remember - it was the child telling the story - we are in her imagination - so it was really cute. And also, the guys beard is eventually actually blue - not even all the time, just some times, so again, this reveals the fluid imagination of the story teller.
I don't know much about the French - at least nothing contemporary - but I like a lot of their thinking & creativity in all things renaissance; writing, art, movies, & furniture.
As for questions: More than sexual tension - which I didn't think was very tense at all - bc of realizing it thru a child's eyes - the overall movie seemed more like a deeper exploration of sisters - rivalry, competition, loving devotion, jealousy, betrayal, and all the many dynamics involved between sisters . . . Including, we see - light banter, eye-rolling arguing & 'deep' discussions on love & marriage thru totally innocent eyes between the two modern sisters.
But - big question - I still did not understand at all why the older (modern day) sister is accidently killed at the end . . . ??? The ending seems really strange.
I was also interested in why the step mom (in the imagined story) seemed much closer & more affectionate to the older sister than to the younger . . . ? Then, the bride gives a clue - the older sister is spoiled . . .
Is this the answer to the big question? The younger modern sister, regardless of her advanced intelligence, was jealous of affection given to her older sister?
Was the fall from the attic an accident, or planned????
Although the movie is titled Blue beard - it's not really about him. We do not go into his psychology - I suppose this is because we are seeing him thru the story tellers imagination - we see he is sad, isolated, & tortured as even a child would know he is. At first we think it might be that he's really a gentle guy who's been mis-read. But what a vivid way to actually portray his psychology when we see he is a serial killer who is driven to sate his need again.
The movie also seems to portray how a young child overcomes fears in that as the story teller- she creates a way for the bride to be saved from this villian, and he is given no sympathy - the bride strokes his severed, plattered head and her facial expression is not sadness - it seems to imply great pride and a knowing, victorious, avenged glow. This poor guy was no match for the likes of her, as prophetically described by Bluebeard, She is 'innocent as a dove, proud as an eagle'.
Now, our adorable story teller? She also infuses her young heroine with all her own traits; an open, objective mind, eager to learn, very non-judgemental, and yet crafty & very wise, highly confident, all while pure & innocent, and as imagination would allow, her heroine-self is treated special & patiently by her groom. So this is interesting to realize, given the ending. Does the story teller feel she is, or actually is she is not treated special & spoiled by her parents?
The bride comments that her sister was spoiled bc she was the older one.
Is that French culture? It's opposite in American culture - typically the youngest is the most spoiled. But the younger modern sister - being so intelligent & cute - is she trying to be noticed and spoiled too?
I might go back and give this 8 or 9 stars now that I've pondered out all these subtley art house-portrayed psychological ideas . . . : )
A keeper I will def watch at least one more time . . .
I never read a book by this French lady - I've seen 'bluebeard' movies - only the cliche bad-boy pirate-on-a-ship type - so this movie was different . . .
I simply picked this DVD up at a thrift store - no expectations - didn't even read the synopsis - So now that I've seen it - in a word - it was 'interesting' . . .
Intetesting in that - it made me ask a lot of questions . . .
I thought production, costumes, scenes and all were great - of course, the two modern day sisters are adorable - the younger highly precocious one reads the story to the older sister - and, as the story plays out - we realize we are guest viewers into her vivid imagination.
Just as an aside - I didn't think bluebeard was ugly at all - lol - coulda lost 75lbs and been good lookin'! . . . but of course - to young girls - very scary. I found his size humorous too bc if he gets any bigger he wouod not fit down the very narrow hall at the top of the stairs.
The character as the Beard's new young wife was really good. Her face and eyes were so incredibley, expressively confident. - she was the teen embodiment of the little story teller (more on that).
Meanwhile, much of the movie seems to be filmed as simple brief moments with scant dialogue. It's almost like watching a silent movie but rather in the opposite way - we have some talkie-dialogue and rather frozen-brief scenes in place of where a silent-movie would flash written words. A great way to portray a child's imagination. Thats why I call it an art house movie.
There's some humor which I think could have been stepped up - but juxtaposed against the serial-killer theme - the balance - tho precarious, seems to hold steady.
I thought the repeated scenes of going up the spiral staircase were hilarious. It was the same location being repeated over & over - but remember - it was the child telling the story - we are in her imagination - so it was really cute. And also, the guys beard is eventually actually blue - not even all the time, just some times, so again, this reveals the fluid imagination of the story teller.
I don't know much about the French - at least nothing contemporary - but I like a lot of their thinking & creativity in all things renaissance; writing, art, movies, & furniture.
As for questions: More than sexual tension - which I didn't think was very tense at all - bc of realizing it thru a child's eyes - the overall movie seemed more like a deeper exploration of sisters - rivalry, competition, loving devotion, jealousy, betrayal, and all the many dynamics involved between sisters . . . Including, we see - light banter, eye-rolling arguing & 'deep' discussions on love & marriage thru totally innocent eyes between the two modern sisters.
But - big question - I still did not understand at all why the older (modern day) sister is accidently killed at the end . . . ??? The ending seems really strange.
I was also interested in why the step mom (in the imagined story) seemed much closer & more affectionate to the older sister than to the younger . . . ? Then, the bride gives a clue - the older sister is spoiled . . .
Is this the answer to the big question? The younger modern sister, regardless of her advanced intelligence, was jealous of affection given to her older sister?
Was the fall from the attic an accident, or planned????
Although the movie is titled Blue beard - it's not really about him. We do not go into his psychology - I suppose this is because we are seeing him thru the story tellers imagination - we see he is sad, isolated, & tortured as even a child would know he is. At first we think it might be that he's really a gentle guy who's been mis-read. But what a vivid way to actually portray his psychology when we see he is a serial killer who is driven to sate his need again.
The movie also seems to portray how a young child overcomes fears in that as the story teller- she creates a way for the bride to be saved from this villian, and he is given no sympathy - the bride strokes his severed, plattered head and her facial expression is not sadness - it seems to imply great pride and a knowing, victorious, avenged glow. This poor guy was no match for the likes of her, as prophetically described by Bluebeard, She is 'innocent as a dove, proud as an eagle'.
Now, our adorable story teller? She also infuses her young heroine with all her own traits; an open, objective mind, eager to learn, very non-judgemental, and yet crafty & very wise, highly confident, all while pure & innocent, and as imagination would allow, her heroine-self is treated special & patiently by her groom. So this is interesting to realize, given the ending. Does the story teller feel she is, or actually is she is not treated special & spoiled by her parents?
The bride comments that her sister was spoiled bc she was the older one.
Is that French culture? It's opposite in American culture - typically the youngest is the most spoiled. But the younger modern sister - being so intelligent & cute - is she trying to be noticed and spoiled too?
I might go back and give this 8 or 9 stars now that I've pondered out all these subtley art house-portrayed psychological ideas . . . : )
A keeper I will def watch at least one more time . . .