DVD Review - Mauvais Sang
I was so impressed with Leos Carax's Lovers on the Bridge that I wanted to see every film that he made. But that was not an easy task. First of all, he hasn't made many films. And second of all, his previous films were hard to find. I managed to see Pola X at the NY Film Festival and was treated to an interview with Carax. Time passed and I never got to see his earlier works. However, I recently decided to check out the two films that came before Lovers.
I just finished watching Mauvais Sang (Bad Blood) which came before Lovers. I thought that it was a wonderful film (although not as good as Lovers). The story is about two thieves, Marc (Michel Piccoli) and Hans (Hans Meyer). They owe quite a bit of money to an American woman (Carroll Brooke) and they are really getting nervous because their friend Jean just died. Although the death was listed as a suicide Marc thinks that the woman and her gang were behind it. They have two weeks to pay off their debt and the only way that can be done is by stealing a serum that is supposed to cure a sexually transmitted disease that is gotten by having sex without being in love (this film was made in 1986 before many people knew much about AIDS). They enlist the help of Jean's estranged son Alex (Denis Lavant). At first Alex is reluctant to get involved. But he eventually comes around leaving his heartbroken girlfriend Lise (Julie Delpy) in the lurch. Alex has hopes of getting a new start but things get complicated when he falls hard for Marc's lover Anna (Juliette Binoche).
The film is wonderfully bizarre and Carax does some amazing things with the camera. Some of my favorite scenes are the parachuting scene and the scene involving the shaving cream. The final scene in the film is breathtaking. Lavant is terrific and Binoche is luminous. And then there is Piccoli - what can one say except that this veteran French actor is brilliant. And the film is so romantic. Now that I've see it I want to see Carax's first film, Boy Meets Girl, in the not too distant future.
Carax has not made a film since Pola X. But I think that there is something in the works. Let's hope that we get a new piece of cinema from him soon.
I just finished watching Mauvais Sang (Bad Blood) which came before Lovers. I thought that it was a wonderful film (although not as good as Lovers). The story is about two thieves, Marc (Michel Piccoli) and Hans (Hans Meyer). They owe quite a bit of money to an American woman (Carroll Brooke) and they are really getting nervous because their friend Jean just died. Although the death was listed as a suicide Marc thinks that the woman and her gang were behind it. They have two weeks to pay off their debt and the only way that can be done is by stealing a serum that is supposed to cure a sexually transmitted disease that is gotten by having sex without being in love (this film was made in 1986 before many people knew much about AIDS). They enlist the help of Jean's estranged son Alex (Denis Lavant). At first Alex is reluctant to get involved. But he eventually comes around leaving his heartbroken girlfriend Lise (Julie Delpy) in the lurch. Alex has hopes of getting a new start but things get complicated when he falls hard for Marc's lover Anna (Juliette Binoche).
The film is wonderfully bizarre and Carax does some amazing things with the camera. Some of my favorite scenes are the parachuting scene and the scene involving the shaving cream. The final scene in the film is breathtaking. Lavant is terrific and Binoche is luminous. And then there is Piccoli - what can one say except that this veteran French actor is brilliant. And the film is so romantic. Now that I've see it I want to see Carax's first film, Boy Meets Girl, in the not too distant future.
Carax has not made a film since Pola X. But I think that there is something in the works. Let's hope that we get a new piece of cinema from him soon.
posted by Film Fanatic | 9:58 PM
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