Le Pays du Chien Qui Chante
Directors' Fortnight
CANNES — It has taken Yann Dedet 50 years to direct his first feature-length film, "Le Pays du Chien Qui Chante", but it's worth the wait. Dedet was a film editor for most of France's biggest directors — Francois Truffaut, Maurice Pialat, Cedric Kahn — and, clearly, has observed well.
This quirky film tells the tale of two Japanese scientists who come to a small village in eastern France to conduct research. Toyo (Gen Shimaoka) is a musicologist married to Yoshiko Mahiru (Katsuko Nakamura), who studied archeology. The couple are childless, and Toyo suspects he is infertile. He devises a plan for a young man in the village to father a child, providing the couple with an heir.
It's refreshing to watch Dedet bring together Japanese and French cultures without a whiff of stereotyping. Instead, the film unfolds with a poetic simplicity that is completely absorbing. Shimaoka and Nakamura play beautifully understated characters who seem completely at ease in a foreign land. Dedet directs with confidence, picking up the pace to move the story along while pausing to allow the two main characters time to develop.
Unfortunately, the French actors, compared with the Japanese duo, come across as wooden and two-dimensional. But there is plenty in the film to compensate. The stunning scenery of France's Jura region is used to full effect. And Dedet manages to portray a Japanese culture that has embraced the 21st century while remaining deeply rooted in tradition.
Bord de Mer
Directors' Fortnight
CANNES — "Bord de Mer" is a lifeless film that drags an audience into the lives of a group of people in Cayeux, a coastal town in northern France, during the summer. We leave them after 12 months with a sigh of relief.
The story revolves around Marie, a young woman who senses life has more to offer than working in a factory and living with her placid boyfriend, Paul. When not working, she moodily contemplates the skyline, searching for ways of escape. Not surprisingly, her behavior begins to grate, and she finds comfort in the arms of her former boss, Albert, who shares Marie's tendency to sky-gaze. Just sacked from his job, Albert rides off into the night with Marie in his sports car.
Director Julie Lopes-Curval has all too ably portrayed the suffocating, small-town atmosphere. No one knows why they stay, but the idea of leaving is unthinkable. Why Marie is different is never explained. Dialogue is kept to a minimum, so it comes as a shock when, three-quarters of the way through the movie, two characters manage a conversation.
The scenes follow in quick succession with barely time for the audience to identify characters and their relationships to each other. The cast is amateurish and badly rehearsed. Add to this the gray skies, cold winds and uninviting beach and this Cayeux is definitely a place to avoid.
Directors' Fortnight
CANNES — It has taken Yann Dedet 50 years to direct his first feature-length film, "Le Pays du Chien Qui Chante", but it's worth the wait. Dedet was a film editor for most of France's biggest directors — Francois Truffaut, Maurice Pialat, Cedric Kahn — and, clearly, has observed well.
This quirky film tells the tale of two Japanese scientists who come to a small village in eastern France to conduct research. Toyo (Gen Shimaoka) is a musicologist married to Yoshiko Mahiru (Katsuko Nakamura), who studied archeology. The couple are childless, and Toyo suspects he is infertile. He devises a plan for a young man in the village to father a child, providing the couple with an heir.
It's refreshing to watch Dedet bring together Japanese and French cultures without a whiff of stereotyping. Instead, the film unfolds with a poetic simplicity that is completely absorbing. Shimaoka and Nakamura play beautifully understated characters who seem completely at ease in a foreign land. Dedet directs with confidence, picking up the pace to move the story along while pausing to allow the two main characters time to develop.
Unfortunately, the French actors, compared with the Japanese duo, come across as wooden and two-dimensional. But there is plenty in the film to compensate. The stunning scenery of France's Jura region is used to full effect. And Dedet manages to portray a Japanese culture that has embraced the 21st century while remaining deeply rooted in tradition.
Bord de Mer
Directors' Fortnight
CANNES — "Bord de Mer" is a lifeless film that drags an audience into the lives of a group of people in Cayeux, a coastal town in northern France, during the summer. We leave them after 12 months with a sigh of relief.
The story revolves around Marie, a young woman who senses life has more to offer than working in a factory and living with her placid boyfriend, Paul. When not working, she moodily contemplates the skyline, searching for ways of escape. Not surprisingly, her behavior begins to grate, and she finds comfort in the arms of her former boss, Albert, who shares Marie's tendency to sky-gaze. Just sacked from his job, Albert rides off into the night with Marie in his sports car.
Director Julie Lopes-Curval has all too ably portrayed the suffocating, small-town atmosphere. No one knows why they stay, but the idea of leaving is unthinkable. Why Marie is different is never explained. Dialogue is kept to a minimum, so it comes as a shock when, three-quarters of the way through the movie, two characters manage a conversation.
The scenes follow in quick succession with barely time for the audience to identify characters and their relationships to each other. The cast is amateurish and badly rehearsed. Add to this the gray skies, cold winds and uninviting beach and this Cayeux is definitely a place to avoid.
- 5/16/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.