Les Diables (The Devils)

Les Diables: They're no angels....

I didn't think there would be a better film than City of God that juxtaposes children with violence/sex, but here it is - Les Diables (2002).

A disturbing but emotional film, Les Diables follows the brother & sister pair of Joseph and Chloe in an Of Mice And Men like journey to find the elusive dream home that Chloe is able to piece together from broken coloured glass.

Be warned. This is not a feel good film. There are themes of violence, nudity and incest, but that is not the end of it....

The clincher - the two leads are children, underaged and barely hitting puberty. Chloe is autistic and completely incapable of caring for herself, while Joseph is fiercely protective of his sister - to their own detriment. Abandoned from young, they have been continually outcast from a society that fails to treat them with the respect and care that they need.

In consequence, they have wandered from place to place, children's home to children's home - never staying long because the adults cannot understand that Joseph simply will not be kept apart from his sister, and vice versa.

Vincent Rottiers as Joseph; Adele Haenel as Chloe.

Hell hath no fury like a boy on a rampage.

Autistic and in heat.

It is heart wrenching to see how, in a huge and frightening world, how alone the two children are and how much mistrust they have in the adults and society around them. If only they would place their trust in someone!

These are the archetypal 'wild childs' - the 'Devils' that make the film's name.

Homeless, uncontrollable and fearful of social contact, they become a 'Bonnie & Clyde' style wrecking ball, descending into petty crime and anarchy - yet all the while we are painfully aware that it is part of their survival instincts rather than childish willfulness.

Couple that with Chloe's growing sexuality and her discovery for the pleasures of 'touch', plus Joseph's own dim notion of what it means to get too close to one's sister, and we have a controversial and potentially explosive European film.

Innocence lost?

And just what are you thinking, you damn perverts?

Will they ever find a place they can call home?

While not particularly strong in terms of production quality, plus the presence of some incredulously laughable scenes, such as the riot caused by a gang of children - what truly makes Les Diables arresting is the performance of the two leads, Vincent Rottiers as Joseph and Adele Haenal as Chloe. In particular, director Christophe Ruggia's treatment and portrayal of autism is simply oh so poignant and believable.

The film may be violent, but it is not a film about violence. It is about two children trying to find their way in life, trying to survive the harsh realities, all the while still maintaining the innocence that they bear as children.

The final scene may be a little predictable, but it is nonetheless deeply meaningful, and we are left wondering if they have truly at last found the peace and home that they are looking for....

Moometer Reading:

Moo-ooo..?!!

Exclamation for:

! Outstanding Lead Actor: It is a great pity that Adele Haenel was the one to receive the plaudits for her portrayal of an autistic girl, which she admittedly deserves, but in my opinion the true outstanding performer is Vincent Rottiers. In any other setting he would play a cuddly little boy, but here he delivers an out of the world performance as a boy filled with rage and mistrust, yet tentative, fearful and loving (of his sister) at the same time. And there is innocence as well, when his character shares a moment with his sister. His range of emotions are so complete - it is practically the most mature performance I have ever seen coming from a child less than 14 years old. Never mind Hollywood, Vincent Rottiers has set the standard for child actors everywhere.

! Outstanding Direction / Lead Actress: How should I put it? I wouldn't say that Christophe Ruggia has made an outstanding performance as a director. However, when it comes to Adele Haenel's portrayal of an autistic girl, which is yet another out of the world performance, there I have to give credit to the direction. Adele undoubtedly acted very well, and she has gone on to achieve some fame for herself, but her range of expressions are not as complicated as her co-actor. It really isn't that tough to act silly you know. But here, Christophe's own experience dealing with autism I suspect is a huge influence. The portrayal is superb beyond measure. Truly realistic and more so, the portrayal of Chloe's budding sexuality. And I don't mean this in a suggestive way. Indeed, as an adult, you'll be truly alarmed at how Chloe expresses herself, and yet you'll sense that this really is how an autistic child behaves. You have to watch the film to see what I mean. 

Query for:

? Incredulous Riot: When Joseph needs to enter a mental institution to save Chloe, he finds an old ally from a previous children's home, who activates an entire gang of children to break into the institution. Yeah right. What can I say? Viva la France!

FEATURE: Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights

Before The English Patient there was Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights

One of my favourite movies of all time is The English Patient. It was this film that introduced me to the immense talents of Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche.

But The English Patient was not the first pairing of the two actors. Nor was it the first story to feature a tragic hero fallen from grace by an all-consuming passion.

For that we have to go back to the literary classic of Emily Brontë's Wurthering Heights. That is actually the title of the Paramount Pictures film adaptation to Wurthering Heights the novel (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer owned the rights to the original title due to their 1939 version).

In a sense, it is an apt title for the film, for it acknowledges the genius of Emily Brontë, the lesser known sister of Charlotte Brontë, whose own novel Jane Eyre stands as one of the most famous in English literature.

Likewise, this 1992 film adaptation was also not quite as well known as the blockbusters of its day, and yet there are several reasons to try and catch it, not least because it was Ralph Fiennes' film debut, and his role as the tragic villain Heathcliff led to later reknown in his portrayal of Amon Goeth in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List.

The film begins with a young unnamed woman (Emily Brontë played by Sinéad O'Connor), who visits an abandoned and rundown manor in the moors, and imagines a tale of what might have been....

Without going into detail on the story, Wikipedia probably describes both the film and novel best, as a narrative that "tells the tale of the all-encompassing and passionate, yet thwarted, love between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, and how this unresolved passion eventually destroys them and many around them."

Unlike earlier versions, the story in Emily Brontë's Wurthering Heights spans the full novel, telling the tale of not only Heathcliff (Ralph Fiennes) and Catherine (Juliette Binoche) but also of their descendants. Earlier versions had only focused on Heathcliff and Catherine (the senior).

What makes this film a must watch is also what makes the novel a must read. It is the story itself, so unusual in its dark, almost Gothic setting - and the terrible, terrible destructive love shared between the two lead characters.

The novel, as is the film, is everything that is negative; it stands against the goodness of man. Again and again the word 'destroy', for it destroys - the lives of those who have the misfortune of being related to Heathcliff and Catherine. And yet despite the inherent selfishness of the two lovers, how can one not realise the deep love and pain suffered by them? How can one not empathise?

"I am Heathcliff," Catherine Earnshaw proclaims, while Heathcliff himself thinks likewise.

"How can I live without my love; how can I live without my soul?" is his lament.

And of course, the performance of Ralph Fiennes - Ralph Fiennes IS Heathcliff. It is almost impossible after watching this version, to imagine any other actor portraying the dark, vengeful anti-hero.

Binoche too, is excellent in her dual roles of Catherine Earnshaw and her daughter, also called Catherine, or Cathy. The chemistry is also exemplary. My only grouse perhaps is that both Fiennes and Binoche looked a tad too old for their characters during younger days.

Set against the backdrop of a dark, lonely moor; and accompanied by a haunting Scottish soundtrack, Emily Brontë's Wurthering Heights is the definitive version of Brontë's novel, a classic hailed by some critics as superior even to Jane Eyre.

You may not have the patience for the novel, but watch it, for it is indeed, Emily Brontë's Wurthering Heights.


MooMeter Reading:
Moo-oo...?!!

Exclaimations for:
! Outstanding Storytelling: The story was all Brontë's - but kudos too to the film for managing to squeeze in the entire novel. The 1939 version only focused on the first generation story.
! Outstanding Actor: Ralph Fiennes IS Heathcliff. Period.
! Outstanding Soundtrack: The Soundtrack by Ryuichi Sakamoto is sad, haunting, and seems to whistle over the empty, desolate moors - a perfect blend with the Gothic elements in the cinematography.

Query for:
? Missing Scene: In one famous scene, Heathcliff's reaction to overhearing Catherine's declaration that she was too good for him, seems to be conspicuously missing. Is it also not in the novel? But even then, visually it should still have been in the film.

FEATURE: Joint Security Area - Simply the best of its genre....

Lee Byung-Hun, Lee Young Ae and So Kang-Ho as the film's main leads.

Does it look like the hero, villain and fair maiden? Can't be further from the truth....

I've been catching up on a few Korean (ie. South Korean) films lately. These include some of the horror ones, like R-Point, and some of the action thrillers, like The Chaser - both of which were quite highly rated. Suffice to say that Korean films in general are of very high production quality, well scripted, and nearly on par with Hollywood.

Joint Security Area (JSA) is not a horror film, nor is it exactly an action vehicle. Released at the turn of the millenium (2000), it is not a new film either, and does not really boast the best production value - though it is still very good - as is already typical of South Korean films.

I could call it a military thriller - its premise almost a mirror image to Hollywood's Courage Under Fire - except the story and conclusion to JSA has to be infinitely better, as only a tale of two Koreas could be.

Joint Security Area is quite simply the best film of its genre. But then we would have to redefine its genre, because to call JSA a military thriller is akin to calling the former WTC Twin Towers in New York ex-buildings.

A shooting incident in a North Korean border house at the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea leaves two North Korean soldiers dead and implicates a South Korean soldier who had escaped from the said border house.

To avoid an already fragile relationship between the North and South escalating into violence, a Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission is called in to investigate and arbitrate a solution. Leading the commission is Major Sophie, a Swiss national of Korean heritage. As she delves deeper into the case, wading through the conflicting accounts from both sides of the border, she discovers that things are not what they appear to be, and must decide for herself what constitutes the truth, and what it is worth in light of the current situation.

Part of the film takes place at the infamous Joint Security Area or Panmunjeom, the only portion of the Korean Demilitarised Zone where North and South Korean forces stand face to face. JSA shows us how seriously both sides can take their duties at this highly sensitive area.

As an investigative thriller, JSA boasts all the usual twists, turns and flashbacks that one might expect, including details on forensic evidence and witness statements.

But what it really is, and what truly sets it apart from your run-of-mill blockbuster, is a touching tale of brotherhood woven into the narrative. So much so, that it becomes a major part of the film.

Think John Woo, complete with [SPOILER ALERT!] a Mexican standoff [SPOILER END] that the famed auteur so perfected, but which JSA has effectively outdone. In fact, in light of the more recent but so disappointing Red Cliff, I would even tell John Woo to "eat your heart out!" to JSA.

Joint Security Area in effect, explores the lives of the isolated men who guard the DMZ on both sides of the border, in the larger backdrop of a volatile political climate that these same men could not understand nor really care for, despite their own loyalties. Major Sophie belongs to that larger backdrop - and her goal is to take that step down, to see things from their own points of view, to understand why the incident had to play out the way it did.

JSA further succeeds because of the way it takes place on several different levels. There are two effective timelines - one exploring the events leading up to the incident, the other emphasises on the investigation. Each major character also has his or her own issues.

But what clinches it for me is actually a twist in the film which has actually confused many in the audience.

I have read several articles where reviewers had questioned the point, even the logic, behind the turn of events. In fact, the twist was never necessary. It was not actually relevant to the larger story, and would have made things easier to understand if it hadn't taken place. Perhaps it was a case of one too many?

Instead, I applaud the director (Park Chan-Wook) for adding that aspect, effectively further humanising the story's main character, yet leaving that question of 'what if' in our minds. As any film maker knows, a good twist needs preparation - a cunningly hidden clue - and it wasn't as if Park hadn't provided one.

In fact, he provided it twice. What it needs however, is understanding and context, which the film will not provide at the time. When Major Sophie interviews Sgt. Lee Soo-Hyeok (Lee Byung-Hun), the alleged shooter and survivor of the incident, she remarks how his comrades had praised him for being a very fast shot. Instead, his reply provides a haunting perpective - that in war, it is not the speed of action that counts, but the steadiness of the mind.

The comment is only so important that it is repeated just once more later in the film, albeit and ironically, by a different person. This single spoiler I impart to you, because it is what is needed to understand the final outcome, and perhaps then you'll see why I recommend Joint Security Area so highly.

Like fine wine that only a connoiseur can appreciate, JSA is a film that takes some getting used to. But like its very final still shot, it hits you suddenly, as it did me. And I know this is one film I will never forget.

MooMeter Reading:
Moo-oo-oo..!!

Exclaimations for:
! Outstanding Film/Storytelling: JSA won awards for Best Film and Best Director, but I'm not quite sure that's it. How to put it? A tremendous tale of brotherhood - how do you award that exactly? Best story for me... script was great too, but just a little suspect....
! Outstanding Final Shot: Those who have seen the film rave about the final end shot. I do too. Worth the price of a ticket, plus very probably the price of the DVD for good measure.