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La Boum Review

Fany Savina — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:53:01 +0000

La Boum, a French 1980 teen flick starring Sophie Marceau, was directed by Claude Pinoteau. It tells the story, quite simply, of a teenage girl falling in love and all the little hardships she will experience with the first love, such as a lack of parents' permission and jealousy. It is a very simple movie, with no other underlying meanings other than first love and finding love again. This is not recommended for men, as most will find it of the upmost boring. Indeed, there is no plot per se, but it is a nice story of teen romance, and married life. The only thing this movie gives you intellectually is the certainty that boys will never understand girls, even though it is not all that complicated! Regardless of the simplicity of the movie, it leaves you in a happy mood. The theme song also gets stuck in your head. For a long time.

Again, this story concentrates solely on first loves and a teenager's life, in the 80's, forgot to mention that, but it is an enjoyable movie which I would recommend to anybody, or rather, any girl, not to be too stereotypical.

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Les Tontons Flingueurs

Fany Savina — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 23:07:31 +0000

FRANCAIS:

J'ai eu l'occasion de regarder le film culte, Les Tontons Flingueurs. L'histoire raconte les aventures de Fernand Naudin, un ex-truand, qui se rend au chevet de son ami d'enfance. Celui-ci, mourant, lui demande de s'occuper de ses affaires et de sa fille, Patricia. Fernand accepte et renonce malgré lui à sa petite vie tranquille et honnête pour diriger les affaires frauduleuses de son ami maintenant décédé.
Ce film, sorti en 1963, est un peu bizarre. Par exemple, certaines scènes de bagarres sont interminables, alors que d'autres scènes plus importantes par rapport à l'histoire sont trop courtes. De plus, je trouve que la fin du film est coupée court. On ne sait pas si Fernand retourne à sa petite vie tranquille qu'il avait avant, ou bien, s'il décide de rester pour s'occuper de ses nouvelles affaires. Malgré une histoire un peu simpliste, les dialogues, écrits par Michel Audiard, étaient excellents. Mon personnage préféré, au niveau du dialogue, est Raoul, un truand qui veut prendre la place de Fernand. Ma scène préférée est montrée dans la vidéo ci-dessous. Dans un autre registre, Antoine, le petit ami de Patricia, était particulièrement amusant, surtout en disant ceci: "Monsieur Naudin, vous faites sans doute autorité en matière de bulldozer, de tracteur et caterpillar, mais vos opinions sur la musique moderne et sur l'art en général, je vous conseille de ne les utiliser qu'en suppositoire."

ENGLISH:

The other day I watched the classic French cult movie (I watched it in French), 'Les Tontons Flingueurs'. Fernand Naudin, a man who managed to turn his life around for the better, gets called back to Paris to meet his dying childhood and criminal friend, Le Mexicain. He is asked by his ex-comrade to come back to his old life of crime and take care of Le Mexicain's covert businesses, including taking care of his daughter, Patricia.
I did not really like this movie's plot. I think it was shallow, and the ending was very unsatisfactory. It almost felt as if someone had suddenly advanced halfway through the movie and went directly to the credits. Story-wise, this movie was weak. Things I did enjoy however, include the dialogue and the music. Every musical composition was excellent and I was moving my feet in time with the rhythm everytime. The dialogue was written by Michel Audiard, and although I did not understand all of it, what I did understand was hilarious. It was cunning, sometimes stupid, sometimes witty. The characters, especially the main one, Fernand Naudin, was very shallow, but the only thing keeping you from disliking the movie is the funny retorts said throughout the entire thing (along with the music, for me personally). My favorite character by far, the one that was the funniest, was Raoul, Le Mexicain's old second in command who wants to be the leader in the place of Fernand. He could be described as the comic relief within a comedy. My favorite scene with him would most definitely be the one below. My second favorite character was Antoine, Patricia's boyfriend. He was witty and the complete opposite of vulgar when insulting Fernand for being so inconsiderate. My favorite quote from Antoine would be: "Monsieur Naudin, vous faites sans doute autorité en matière de bulldozer, de tracteur et caterpillar, mais vos opinions sur la musique moderne et sur l'art en général, je vous conseille de ne les utiliser qu'en suppositoire." (You know bulldozers, tractors, but your opinions on art, you can use them as suppositories.)

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