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Private Fears in Public Places
R1 - America - Genius Products Review written by and copyright: Pat Pilon (20th September 2007). |
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The Film
 Director Alain Renais is most famous for being a part of the French New Wave with 'Hiroshima mon amour'. Unsurprisingly, he has kept making movies since then. In 2006, he directed his most recent movie, 'Coeurs' (literally, 'Hearts', though inexplicably translated to 'Private Fears in Public Places' for its English-language release), which was nominated for eight Cesar Awards. Though it didn't win any, it certainly deserved every single one of them. Mr. Renais himself was nominated for his directing duties, and he still has an incredible touch, even almost 4 decades after his breakout work. The movie concerns 6 people in their quest to find love in snow-covered Paris. The way he interweaves and interconnects the stories is very masterful. Some stories are happier than others, but all of them are well done, and the pacing is very nice. Every character is something different and they become real people by the end of the film. Some stories are happier than others, but the dialogue is realistic and engaging. This was rewarded with a best adaptation nomination. Helping bring everybody to life are the actors. Lambert Wilson, to me, is the most interesting. His character is the deepest and the one that seems the most engaging. He and his wife are having marital difficulties and he ties to find love somewhere else, ending up with Isabelle Carre, who is the saddest character of all. Throughout the movie, she tries very hard to find love, but ends up being stood up most of the time. Her father, a real estate agent, is thinking of doing something with his secretary, from whom he got perhaps-accidental racy videos. This secretary, at night, is taking care of a dying father, annoying and crude. The father's son happens to be a bartender at a club where Lambert Wilson goes to drink instead of looking for a job. More help to bring everything together is the cinematography, also nominated for an award. Giving the movie a somewhat-magical feel, the soft lighting and blown out whites halo the whole proceeding. The movie feels light and airy, and though the subject may get sad at time, the tone is definitely one of lightness. The music by 'X-Files' composer Mark Snow was also rewarded with a nomination. It's quite a score and probably the most mysterious thing about the movie. It's downright eerie at times, as it is in the very first scene. At the end of the big, sweeping first shot, the music turns a bit dark, which leaves a strange impression. From start to finish, the movie is a nice watch. The engaging characters, their lives and their loves are very easy to watch. Everybody wants somebody to love and to be loved. Everybody just wants to be happy, but sometimes that's easier said than done. The lesser of two evils is not necessarily an easy choice to make. However, happiness is also simply a state of mind at times. All the characters go through their lives, trying to find love. Director Alain Renais never has some great insights into love, but his movie is a great experience.
Video
2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. With the cinematography being quite soft, the backgrounds (especially whites) are generally slightly blown out. The picture is also a big soft, but then again, that may be what the director wanted. The colours are fairly accurate, but may be a bit faded. Print defects are not a problem, though. There aren't any specs, scratches or anything of the sort. It's a proper NTSC transfer, so that's also good. Compression artifacts are never a problem, as well. Overall, it's not a bad picture, but it could be a bit better.
Audio
The only track is a French Dolby Digital 5.1 track, and for this movie that came from a play, most of those speakers aren't needed. The play aspect really shows through and all the dialogue is centered. To be fair, it is crystal clear and the track has no problem handling the sound it needs to handle. The music and other small sounds are as clear as the dialogue. It's not a great, dynamic audio track, but you hear what you need to hear. English, English HoH and Spanish subtitles are provided.
Extras
There are only some Start-up Trailers: 'Penelope' (2:31), 'My Best Friend' (2:31), 'Snow Cake' (1:57), 'After the Wedding' (2:16) and 'Russian Dolls' (2:07).
Overall
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