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Review: WILD GRASS – We Are Movie Geeks

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Review: WILD GRASS

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WILD GRASS is a French movie being released by Sony Classics to theaters in Saint Louis on August 6, 2010. It is the final film directed by Alan Resnais. He is well known for directing films in the French New Wave Movement. If you know and understand the French New Wave Movement, please disregard this review.

First let me tell you something about myself. I love movies and books. I am that person in the theater who figures out the ending of the movie before the half way point. I need to tell who I am with what I have figured out so that they know that I am right at the end. I also figure out the ending of books and write my thoughts down and the page that I figured it out on. I get foreshadowing and I understand clues. However, I did not understand this film. I guess that means I am not French enough.

The film’s action revolves around the theft of Marguerite Muir’s wallet and the finding of it by Georges Palet. The events unfold through the characters’ actions and reactions to each other’s actions thus elevating a small incident into ever larger ones. I couldn’t figure this movie out. I can’t tell you exactly what it was about because it was the weirdest movie I have ever seen. The plot is impossible to figure out. Is Georges Palet a thief, a serial murderer or a discontented middle aged man? Is Marguerite Muir happy or sad, good dentist or bad, and how does her love of flying figure in? Why do Georges’ wife and Marguerite’s friend play the roles they do? Are they important? What pull do Georges and Marguerite have over each other to cause them to have such an impact on each other’s lives? And, do we care? No, not really. The characters are so two-dimensional that you never connect with them. The film’s plot is so bizarre that it is impossible to figure out what is going on.

Visually, the film is beautiful and vibrant. The camera angles cause bewilderment and confusion. First the film is idyllic and then a crime murder scene – which is it? It is difficult to figure out what the montage of the grass throughout the film means overall and symbolically. Is it something to do with the title, or does it have something to do with ordinary life compared to the extra-ordinary? Why does one’s life take the turns that it does? Do you have control over the twists and turns? Or, is life just mischance?

Am I glad I saw it? Not sure really. It was an interesting experience that left me feeling confused. Would I watch it again? Not really sure. It is like having a really weird experience that you are sort of glad you had but wouldn’t waste a beautiful day on again. But a day with a snow storm, forced to stay in, cable is out and it is the only DVD available… maybe.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Find the film on Facebook here.