Movie Review – Water Lilies (2007)

Director: Céline Sciamma

Stars: Pauline Acquart, Louise Blachére, Adéle Haenel, Warren Jacquin

Marie (Acquart) is an awkward 15 year old girl who wants to join the synchronised swimming team because she has a crush on the captain, Floriane (Haenel), who is more mature in body and experience. Marie’s friend Anne (Blachére) has a crush on Francois (Jacquain), who is also trying  it on with Floriane.

Water Lilies is a story about the despair of teenage yearnings and the blossoming of sexual feelings. Although the film deals with mainly homosexual feelings, it’s done so in a way that feels universal, so even as a straight male I could identify with the characters and it brought back the painful memories of liking someone so much that it completely crushes the soul.

There’s a lot of visual storytelling here, so there’s minimal dialogue and we learn about the characters through their expressions and actions. Sometimes with other films this style doesn’t work for me because it feels pretentious and slow, but it’s pulled off brilliantly here and it’s so absorbing. All the actors are really good Acquart is the most girlish looking of the three main girls, and with every secret, yearning glance she perfectly highlights the vulnerability of liking someone that you know won’t feel the same. Yet through the film she grows stronger, at first she rallies against the immaturity of Anne but then sees it as a comforting retreat.

Floriane represents womanhood. She has a reputation as a slut yet she feels it is undeserved and she’s a character that you will love to hate. From the first time Marie looks at her she knows how she can manipulate Marie into doing what she wants, and throughout the film she plays on Marie’s feelings. At times it’s cruel, at times there seems to be some genuine emotion involved but you get the sense that because of who she is there’s no hope for Marie to get what she most desires. Anne has the subplot of trying to get with Francois. At first it feels disconnected from the main plot of the film but at the end it comes together and she probably has the most satisfying ending, and one that was surprising and funny.

There’s a great comment that one of the characters makes about the ceiling being the last thing most people see. I’m wondering if the director (who also wrote the film) was making a connection with sex and death, since in some of the sex scenes the girls were shown to be lying on their back, staring at the ceiling.

It seems to generalize when it comes to the male characters since they’re portrayed as solely wanting sex and not caring about anything else. I suppose though since the film is through the lens of these girls that’s how it seems, and given the type of guys that Floriane attracts and wants the attention of it’s easy to see how these guys surround them.

The soundtrack is really cool too, there’s an absence of sound through a lot of the film so when the music does come in it has a lot of impact. Overall it’s a fantastic film and I think French films are my favourite type of foreign films. They just have this elegance about them that I find so interesting. Water Lilies is one that I really enjoyed. The performances were great and although it’s a relatively short film there’s a lot of depth to it. I’m strongly recommending this one.

Movie Review – The Sea Inside (2004)

The Sea Inside is a film based on the true story of Ramon Sampedro, a Spaniard who was a quadriplegic for almost thirty years and campaigned strongly for the right to end his life. It stars Javier Bardem and focuses on the relationships that Ramon forms with other people and how he affects their lives.

This film is absolutely brilliant. It’s poetic and philosophical, thought-provoking, heart-wrenching but also has moments of levity. If I had to sum up this film in one word it would be ‘human’. The subject of euthanasia brings up a lot of debate and strong opinions and I’m not going to put forward my position in this review but I was worried at first because sometimes when films deal with an issue like this it overwhelms the story and the movie becomes more about the agenda than the actual subject. I’m glad to say that The Sea Inside does not suffer from this problem and while the legal issues are explored the focus of the story is Ramon. Javier Bardem gives a wonderful, nuanced performance as Ramon. There’s so much complexity given in each expression and so much joy given in a smile. He comes across as very real and whether you agree with his decision or not you at least understand his reasons. 

The supporting cast is also incredible and we see how Ramon has affected the people around him. There are some very powerful, emotionally-charged scenes and each character has a different perspective of what Ramon should do. The different opinions are given equal weight and the whole issue of whether he should be allowed to die or not is handled delicately and you can see why everyone feels the way they do. 

This film could have been quite morbid but it’s not about death at all. It’s about life and freedom and the ability to love, and how you can love and others love you in return. The score is haunting in places and evocative, and every music cue helps to amplify the emotional core of the scene. Even though the film revolved around Ramon in one room it did have a wide scope so we’re treated to a lot of gorgeous scenery. 

Honestly this film is just majestic and it works on every level. The subject matter may be too controversial for some and people may be put off by the fact that it has subtitles but you are doing yourself a disservice if you don’t watch The Sea Inside. I was impressed with every level of the movie so if you like thought-provoking, human dramas then you should definitely check this out. 

Movie Review – Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring (2003)

This is a Korean film that focuses on a small monastery located in the middle of a lake, framed with high mountains covered in trees. In the monastery there lives an adult monk and a young boy. The adult monk is teaching the young boy the ways of Buddha, and the film progresses through different seasons and different stages of their lives. 

This film is absolutely beautiful, and I’m not just talking about the cinematography. It’s so elegant and on the surface it’s a simple film because there isn’t much dialogue and we never see any part of the world outside this monastery. Yet it’s so deceptive, because despite it’s apparent limitations it explores concepts like death, rebirth, innocence, guilt, love, lust..really it explores the whole complexity of life. It drips with symbolism and metaphor and allusions and there’s just so much to ponder and contemplate. I watched it a couple of nights ago and I’m still thinking about some of the scenes and what the meaning was. This isn’t just a movie for entertainment, this can nourish the soul too.

When I watched it I was wrapped up in the gorgeous scenery, and then the story crept up on me and even though the pace was gentle it still felt tense and I was hanging on my seat to find out what happened next. The music really adds to the atmosphere as well, and when it’s punctuated by silence it feels deliberate. This is just an expertly crafted movie and the depth is handled with such delicate grace that you don’t even realize it’s there until you find yourself actively thinking about what you’ve just seen, and you’re trying to find the meaning in it.

It’s definitely worth a watch, especially if you’re interesting in spirituality and philosophy. There’s so much you can take from this film, it’s simply a work of art. That feels the only apt way I can describe it.