... which is more than I can say for my attempts at "Citizen Kane", which this has recently replaced as the "greatest film of all time" in the latest Sight & Sound 10-year poll.
At one level, I can see why it's rated by so many critics and directors, and the voyeur-level intensity of focus on some of Jeanne's mundane daily tasks does get to a mood that might otherwise be out of reach. It did verge on the boring at times though.
Another (contemporary?) issue I had with it was the attitude of the son. Whilst not explicitly "ungrateful", he does seem basically useless round the house and not really to be contributing anything. Maybe because he looked about 30, rather than the 17-ish I guess he's supposed to be, I found this a bit of a problem. Was this deliberately overplayed as a contributing factor to the denouement? Or not? I'm not sure.
Sort-of glad I've now seen it - but I won't be recommending it to anyone.
At one level, I can see why it's rated by so many critics and directors, and the voyeur-level intensity of focus on some of Jeanne's mundane daily tasks does get to a mood that might otherwise be out of reach. It did verge on the boring at times though.
Another (contemporary?) issue I had with it was the attitude of the son. Whilst not explicitly "ungrateful", he does seem basically useless round the house and not really to be contributing anything. Maybe because he looked about 30, rather than the 17-ish I guess he's supposed to be, I found this a bit of a problem. Was this deliberately overplayed as a contributing factor to the denouement? Or not? I'm not sure.
Sort-of glad I've now seen it - but I won't be recommending it to anyone.