First of all let me say when I hear "Patrice Leconte" I think about "Ridicule", which to me was one of the best films I've ever seen, so I am biased for the director. That being said, I hardly recognized his work here. The characters were cold, their emotions either over the top (Pauline/Madame La), subdued to extremes (Jean, the captain) or simply idealized (Ariel Neel Auguste). What I liked most about this film is the way that "traditional societies" are depicted.
Besides the beautiful lighting (the scenes at the stables, with the snow and the sea) and correct music (when the captain listens to violin music, there's a dissonant background melody, hinting at what will come next subtly) I felt common sense was missing from the story from the start, with such unusual circumstances of a captain taking for a victim just because... he loved his wife so much? But how could he not realize he was undermining his position in a traditional society?
I agree with the IMDb reviewer "rps-2" that it's a "morality tale" and a melodrama (all things surrounding the famous guillotine are tart and repetitive). I think that makes its "point" ("yet another plea against death penalty") fade in the fog of the plot. The Governor's last scene is another case in point.
Overall... I liked having watched it. But I'd never buy it!
PS: Try to watch it on a big wide screen, the landscapes are probably lost on a 21' TV screen like the one I saw it.
Besides the beautiful lighting (the scenes at the stables, with the snow and the sea) and correct music (when the captain listens to violin music, there's a dissonant background melody, hinting at what will come next subtly) I felt common sense was missing from the story from the start, with such unusual circumstances of a captain taking for a victim just because... he loved his wife so much? But how could he not realize he was undermining his position in a traditional society?
I agree with the IMDb reviewer "rps-2" that it's a "morality tale" and a melodrama (all things surrounding the famous guillotine are tart and repetitive). I think that makes its "point" ("yet another plea against death penalty") fade in the fog of the plot. The Governor's last scene is another case in point.
Overall... I liked having watched it. But I'd never buy it!
PS: Try to watch it on a big wide screen, the landscapes are probably lost on a 21' TV screen like the one I saw it.