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Hitchcock would've been proud... I think...
The third Netflix movie arrived, probably Saturday, but I only saw it this morning at the store. Drew opened the store and I showed up around 10 or so to lend a hand (it was slow) and do the report. I saw the DVD envelope before Drew got back from downtown.
I just finished watching the film with Galina a few minutes ago. It's Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien (literally (I think): Harry, a friend who wishes you the best), which the distributors decided would go well under the name With a Friend Like Harry. Puh-leeze!
Of course, it doesn't help that the blurb on the DVD sleeve suggests there is something not at all right about a chance encounter between our hero - a 34-year old fellow named Mike (Michel, in French) with a wife and three bratty preschool daughters - and a personable fellow, named Harry, on his way to Switzerland with his fiancé to see the Matterhorn.
The best description I can give to the film is that it's... quirky. Harry goes about solving all of our hero's problems, starting with buying him a brand new SUV to replace the late-model, un-air-conditioned clunker that we first see Mike and his family in before the opening credits. His help continues, but I'd be strewing spoilers on six-inch centers if I elaborated.
It's definitely an interesting film. My first impression, upon seeing the final credits and thinking back over the film, was that with the exception of "physical evidence" (e.g., the gifted car), Harry and his girlfriend really don't have to have existed at all as real people in the film. I mean, despite what ostensibly appear to be gross abuses of trust, all that Harry really seems to have at heart are Mike's best interests.
And the more I think about it, there are two sequences - the first, where Harry seems to be driving like a maniac down a French country road, and the second, soon after, centering on what Harry and Mike find at the top of the stairs after Harry gets a plastic shopping bag out from under the sink - that leads me to believe that, somehow, Harry isn't really real. Most of the evidence, including that car, can be explained away with relatively little effort, but I digress...
I would venture to guess that Harry is the Darth Vadery side of Mike that all of us have, and that most of us keep under very tight control.
Indeed, viewed in that light, everything that Harry says to Mike becomes a form of talking to oneself, and the single-mindedness of that talk seems far too focused for it to be coming out of the mouth of a stranger. Eventually, Mike regains control after, perhaps, undergoing a kind of mid-life crisis. In any event, piecing together a scenario for a grand mind game played by the director and writer of this film on the audience is a whole lot easier than trying to do the same thing for, say, Mulholland Drive.
So I wonder what, if anything, is at the bottom of that well?
Cheers...
I just finished watching the film with Galina a few minutes ago. It's Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien (literally (I think): Harry, a friend who wishes you the best), which the distributors decided would go well under the name With a Friend Like Harry. Puh-leeze!
Of course, it doesn't help that the blurb on the DVD sleeve suggests there is something not at all right about a chance encounter between our hero - a 34-year old fellow named Mike (Michel, in French) with a wife and three bratty preschool daughters - and a personable fellow, named Harry, on his way to Switzerland with his fiancé to see the Matterhorn.
The best description I can give to the film is that it's... quirky. Harry goes about solving all of our hero's problems, starting with buying him a brand new SUV to replace the late-model, un-air-conditioned clunker that we first see Mike and his family in before the opening credits. His help continues, but I'd be strewing spoilers on six-inch centers if I elaborated.
It's definitely an interesting film. My first impression, upon seeing the final credits and thinking back over the film, was that with the exception of "physical evidence" (e.g., the gifted car), Harry and his girlfriend really don't have to have existed at all as real people in the film. I mean, despite what ostensibly appear to be gross abuses of trust, all that Harry really seems to have at heart are Mike's best interests.
And the more I think about it, there are two sequences - the first, where Harry seems to be driving like a maniac down a French country road, and the second, soon after, centering on what Harry and Mike find at the top of the stairs after Harry gets a plastic shopping bag out from under the sink - that leads me to believe that, somehow, Harry isn't really real. Most of the evidence, including that car, can be explained away with relatively little effort, but I digress...
I would venture to guess that Harry is the Darth Vadery side of Mike that all of us have, and that most of us keep under very tight control.
Indeed, viewed in that light, everything that Harry says to Mike becomes a form of talking to oneself, and the single-mindedness of that talk seems far too focused for it to be coming out of the mouth of a stranger. Eventually, Mike regains control after, perhaps, undergoing a kind of mid-life crisis. In any event, piecing together a scenario for a grand mind game played by the director and writer of this film on the audience is a whole lot easier than trying to do the same thing for, say, Mulholland Drive.
So I wonder what, if anything, is at the bottom of that well?
Cheers...
Bizarre
Re: Bizarre
:^)
Cheers...
Thanks for the review Alex ...
Today is the last day of my two week free trial ... and i'm gonna stay with NetFlix ...its worked quite well and the fact that i can drop them at anytime makes it easier to wanna stay ... have been working my way through E. Rohmer's films - they're slow, sorta boring and just right for me!
Re: Thanks for the review Alex ...
But I'm not at all sure Netflix really works well enough to keep it. After spending a little time browsing their selections, it's obvious to me that the bulk of their 12,000 selections are of little or no interest to me.
I already blow $40 a month on DirecTV, which offers pay-per-view for $4 a pop extra, which means I can watch 5 new films per month for what it costs me to do Netflix. We average maybe one PPV purchase every couple of months or so, and rent stuff from the video store not much more often at $2.50 a film.
I can see where, if I had the time and inclination (as you apparently do, working your way through Rohmer), Netflix would be pretty attractive. In a way, it still is, as I can activate my account any time I want to.
Cheers...