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Post by Fading Fast on Sept 11, 2023 13:13:16 GMT
Great review, Fading Fast. One reason I picked this "letter" movie is that I hoped you would review it.
The first time I watched it, several years ago, I was completely caught up by Fontaine's acting and the deeply enveloping atmosphere. Then surprised by the ending and wondering what I had just seen.
I watched the Ken Burns documentary about The Blues a few years ago and someone said true romance (and the Blues) was unrequited love, it was about yearning. That was what I felt from Joan in this story and found it very moving.
It's something I'll watch again and again, but I'm afraid a re-make today would cause an uproar in the audience from people shouting, "He's just not that into you!" Thank you for the kind words, I'm glad you enjoyed my comments. I loved the movie and was excited to write it up. The words flowed easily for this one.
When we were watching it yesterday, it took a few moments to ping in, but once I saw it was a Romantic Era movie, it all made sense. It's a beautiful movie. I'm excited to see it again and to read the book now.
I'm a big Fontaine fan, too, as she has the quality of acting without seeming to act, she just is the character. "Suspicion" is, probably, still my favorite performance of hers, but this one is close. She's also quite enjoyable playing a not-nice character in "Born to be Bad."
I agree that a remake wouldn't work for the reason you note: we look at love differently today. It is very transactional; whereas, the Romantic Era saw it as a sublime experience that defied ration and logic. Being rational was the entire point of her husband's argument to her asking her to say in the marriage - it's good for you and the boy - and it's why it failed in a Romantic story.
Another problem for a remake is that, in this one, Fontaine gives / sacrifices all to the man she loves, which is politically unacceptable today and simply wouldn't get made. As we saw in "Peter Ibbetson," though, sacrifice for love was not gender specific in the Romantic Era. In the Romantic movie "We Live Again," it is the man, played by Fredric March, who sacrifices all - his career, family, money and country - for love.
You chose a great movie for us. While he won't admit it, I saw a few tears in the corner of our friend the Fawn's eyes. He's quite the romantic underneath his tough exterior.
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Post by topbilled on Sept 11, 2023 14:18:43 GMT
Excellent review.
I think I am still processing the film and what it means, at least what it may mean to me. What I do like most about it, is how deceptively simple the story seems...yet we have these complex layers of emotions AND consequences.
My only quibble is that Mady Christians' character just sort of disappears. I would have wanted to see the mother turn up in the scenes with Fontaine's husband, attempting a reconciliation with Fontaine because the husband, a good man, has facilitated they get along. The mother is now a widow, and she moves in with Fontaine and the general, and she develops a bond with her grandson. She's a bit more mellow now.
But then the mother reverts back to her original form, after Fontaine sees Jourdan at the opera house. She tries to prevent her daughter from traipsing after Jourdan...a semi-replay of when the daughter returned to Vienna the first time. I think a mother like that would be pulling out all the stops, when the stakes were so high (all that money, social standing and a child involved) to get her eternally lovestruck daughter to see sense. Of course, she fails as Fontaine goes off anyway. With the mother prompting the husband: "What are you going to do about what's happened?" Suggesting it is the mother who spurs the abandoned husband to challenge Jourdan to a duel.
I suppose if the movie had been expanded to two hours, then we could have had more elongated scenes with Fontaine, the husband and the mother...but because the film has no time for any extra embellishments, we don't really get to see the peripheral characters in any depth. It's all about Fontaine's character and her impulses.
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Post by Andrea Doria on Sept 11, 2023 16:15:52 GMT
Good ideas about the mother, Topbilled. She could have added so much and served as the audience's voice in trying to get Lisa to be more pragmatic. When Lisa was going into Stefan's apartment at the end of their first date I was screaming, "Noooo, Lisa," the whole time.
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Post by topbilled on Sept 11, 2023 16:26:32 GMT
Good ideas about the mother, Topbilled. She could have added so much and served as the audience's voice in trying to get Lisa to be more pragmatic. When Lisa was going into Stefan's apartment at the end of their first date I was screaming, "Noooo, Lisa," the whole time. Also I think the mother could have been used in a scene where the little boy is dying from typhus. He could be saying 'where's Mummy?' and she could be assuring him that his mother will be back soon. But of course, Fontaine doesn't get back in time and the boy dies with only his father and grandmother there.
Then when Fontaine returns, after realizing how foolish it was to traipse after Jourdan, she learns of the son's death and faces a tongue-lashing from the mother, who says the husband has gone off to challenge Jourdan to a duel. But Fontaine is unable to go after him to prevent a killing because she collapses, now diagnosed with typhus herself. In an ironic scene it could be the mother who is with Fontaine while Fontaine is on her deathbed, and it could be the mother who reluctantly agrees to send the written letter to Jourdan.
This way the mother has come full circle with Fontaine...there is some understanding and kindness, even if we still get the tragic ending the author intended.
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Post by topbilled on Oct 6, 2023 1:29:01 GMT
Andrea,
I have to say that even a few weeks later, I keep thinking about this film.
I am so grateful you selected it. One of my "new" faves.
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Post by Fading Fast on Oct 6, 2023 2:22:08 GMT
Andrea,
I have to say that even a few weeks later, I keep thinking about this film.
I am so grateful you selected it. One of my "new" faves. I agree, that was a special one and the book (really, long short story) is also quite good. Just to note, the copy of the book I bought had a few other Stephan Zweig short stories, which I read and thought were also good. I read them out loud to the Fawn at bedtime. He denies it, but he sometimes falls asleep and then we argue about where we have to start the next evening.
The other one of our Sunday Live movies I think back to often is "That Brennan Girl." That movie touched me or, really, Mona Freeman's character did.
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