Currently on IMDb, "Mouchette" has an overall rating of 7.8 and some incredibly glowing reviews. It's also from the fancy-shmancy Criterion Collection--so I expected much, much more than I saw. While many loved it, I sure thought the film was very dull and could have been much better.
The film is about a young girl, Mouchette. She appears to be about 12 or perhaps 13 and her life stinks. She doesn't fit in at school and her home life is awful. Her father seems abusive and her mother is dying. To top all this off, later she gets raped. And, to wrap up all this joy, Mouchette rolls into the creeks and drowns herself. Wow...talk about an upbeat film!
I noticed that some praised the film for its use of realism--with non-actors and natural surroundings. This didn't really impress me, as the Italians had been making such films for some time--and most of them were much, much more engaging. I would strongly suggest you see "Umberto D" or "The Children Are Watching Us" to see that you can make a sad story with non-actors and STILL have a film that worth seeing and has much more point to it. Sorry. I just didn't enjoy "Mouchette" nor did I see why it is a great film. It was a bit vague and confusing at the beginning and ultimately made me feel miserable and unfulfilled.
The film is about a young girl, Mouchette. She appears to be about 12 or perhaps 13 and her life stinks. She doesn't fit in at school and her home life is awful. Her father seems abusive and her mother is dying. To top all this off, later she gets raped. And, to wrap up all this joy, Mouchette rolls into the creeks and drowns herself. Wow...talk about an upbeat film!
I noticed that some praised the film for its use of realism--with non-actors and natural surroundings. This didn't really impress me, as the Italians had been making such films for some time--and most of them were much, much more engaging. I would strongly suggest you see "Umberto D" or "The Children Are Watching Us" to see that you can make a sad story with non-actors and STILL have a film that worth seeing and has much more point to it. Sorry. I just didn't enjoy "Mouchette" nor did I see why it is a great film. It was a bit vague and confusing at the beginning and ultimately made me feel miserable and unfulfilled.