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Two French successes

71.203.126.20

Posted on May 27, 2021 at 07:52:55
Victor Khomenko
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The first one - Paris by Night - I have seen before, but watched it with great pleasure - a strong hard core police thriller with great cast.

The second one - Un Village Français - a 6 season TV series, dealing with German occupation during WW2 and the difficult subject of Holocaust in France. While the theme of Holocaust has been present in many movies, here the makers managed to give it new sense of poignancy by eliminating the time limit. That allows them to gradually and relentlessly build it up - from the first and insignificant signs all the way to... I presume... as we have not finished this long journey yet. One of the darkest spots on French history.

Many will find that uncomfortable. The gradual descent into murderous reality is paralleled by another difficult subject - the communist Resistance. It is uncommon to see the communists shown for what they truly are - the bloodthirsty murderers, in mad pursuit of their own goals... and here the film accomplishes this task brilliantly.

Both highly recommended, and both available on Amazon Prime.


 

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Un Village Français. Good recommendation Victor. Finished 1st two tonite. As an added bonus to a great story, posted on May 27, 2021 at 22:07:44
Road Warrior
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same damn fine and fetching lasses.
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"E Burres Stigano?"


 

Like many movies, based on historic events..., posted on May 28, 2021 at 06:35:41
Victor Khomenko
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...this one has slight issue with the writers trying to incorporate the human stories. With important events one must be careful - the human stories must be of appropriate caliber, in order to enhance, not to water down, to distract from the main line. There are some weaknesses to this otherwise very fine work in that regard, as they sometimes slide into pure sentimentality.

This is not a significant weakness, though, just at times getting in the way of its serious narration.

As usually is the case with such films, one should do some background reading.


 

Those personal stories sometimes give us a connection with the characters, posted on May 28, 2021 at 11:47:36
Road Warrior
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that would otherwise be lacking were the narrative just a clinical representation of events, no? I do agree that personal stories are sometimes overemphasized but, based on 2 epis, I haven't seen that, yet. 2 more on tap for later today before roundball takes precedence.
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"E Burres Stigano?"


 

I am not against personal stories, posted on May 28, 2021 at 11:55:09
Victor Khomenko
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Posts: 55294
Joined: April 5, 2000
But the caliber of such stories better be at the same level with the main one. In some episodes you feel like those sub-stories were written by the junior writer team. As I mentioned that to my wife, her replay was that she also noticed that.

The main drive, however, is powerful and relentless... there is probably not much I don't know about the Holocaust, but the sheer scope of this presentation is something you don't normally encounter. And the fact I am familiar with the French story does not reduce the pain.


 

Un source? *, posted on May 28, 2021 at 13:08:36
Billy Wonka
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Contributor
  Since:
October 15, 2013
.

 

Do you ever bother..., posted on May 28, 2021 at 15:48:08
Victor Khomenko
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Posts: 55294
Joined: April 5, 2000
...to read the first post? :)

Amazon Prime.


 

Ever watch; 'Arch of Triumph' (1948)?, posted on May 28, 2021 at 19:29:00
ArdRi
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgF-sV9ITuA

Not French but in France and with a great Frenchman, Charles Boyer. A personal story with the backdrop of Germany looming over the horizon and life as a refugee without a country.

 

Case in point, in an otherwise excellent(!!) series, Mare of Eastown, the main character's daughter, posted on May 28, 2021 at 20:04:40
Road Warrior
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has a love interest that gets several minutes of airtime/episode that is utterly unrelated to the plot and does not, in any way, shape, or form, further the plot. I fast forward thru any scenes in which she appears. And don't get me started on the "Dana" subplot in Season 3 of Homeland.
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"E Burres Stigano?"


 

Le (la?) Amazon ^, posted on May 28, 2021 at 20:06:41
Road Warrior
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Posts: 21652
Location: Dallas
Joined: August 31, 2004

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"E Burres Stigano?"


 

Not when they are yours. *, posted on May 28, 2021 at 21:30:58
Billy Wonka
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Joined: April 25, 2013
Contributor
  Since:
October 15, 2013
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Long, long ago... , posted on May 29, 2021 at 05:00:36
Victor Khomenko
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Posts: 55294
Joined: April 5, 2000
We have our Criterion down for now (TV damaged by lightning), will look when it gets working again.


 

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