The quote from COOL HAND Luke seems quite appropriate here. While some adore "Préparez Vos Mouchoirs" (as typified by the mostly favorable reviews and the Oscar win for Best Foreign Film in 1979), others probably see the film in such a radically different light. To see it in this other light is perhaps seen by the "with it" crowd as evidence that an individual is devoid of taste and a Neanderthal. Yet, to those who hate it, the film is not just bad but evil...or at least very, very morally suspect.
What I am talking about here is that in the second half of this comedy(?), the leading lady has an "affair" with a 13 year-old boy--and this seems to be a good thing according to the film. This is very reminiscent of "Le Soufflé au Coeur"--another French film that is adored by most "with it" people. However, in "Le Soufflé", the boy is not just a teen having sex with an adult but the adult in question is his own mother!!! Yet, review after review on IMDb for "Le Soufflé" describe the movie with such words as 'vibrant' and 'marvelous' as well as saying that it's 'a beautiful coming of age film'. For "Préparez Vos Mouchoirs", there are such appellations as 'clever', 'amusing' as well as 'fresh and surprisingly intelligent'. What part of morally wrong don't they understand?! Even if the rest of the film had been good (which, incidentally, it was not), how can such praised be heaped on a film that glamorizes or excuses sexual abuse?
Now understand that I am NOT a French-basher. I love French films and they are my among favorite type of films (surpassing even the Japanese--which I also adore) and I have taken French classes to learn the language. But, in this one way, I think the French film makers have it all wrong. In fact, the recent glowing praise and support of Roman Polanski (who admitted to drugging and sodomizing a 13 year-old) illustrates this divide. Having worked as a social worker and then therapist with sexual abuse victims, this 19th century attitude towards the sexualization of children is quite sad. Sometimes and with some issues we provincial Americans are wrong...in this case, however, I suspect the French have something to learn from us about the way we have taken sexual abuse cases more seriously in recent years (though, of course, we still have a way to go).
So if I was totally offended by the scenes that involved the 13 groping and leering at a beautiful (and willing) adult woman, what did I think about the rest of the film? Well, sadly, I didn't like it. The film has many absurdist elements that might appeal to some but will also leave many cold. Like director Blier's follow-up film, "Buffet Froid", so much of the film deliberately makes no sense and is intended to shock. If you like this sort of craziness, so be it, but the average person out there will not be particularly pleased with the film as it just seemed dumb and the characters seemed so unreal. I know that is the point the film makers intended, but that still doesn't mean I have to like it. If I want something goofy and insane, I'll watch a comedy like "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"--this is absurdism but with the aim to make people laugh. "Préparez Vos Mouchoirs" does not seem to have any such intention. It seems more intent on confusion and bizarreness instead of being a comedy--sort of like performance art instead of film.
Overall, there is almost nothing to recommend this film (unless you want to see a young looking 13 year-old making it with an adult). Incidentally, the actress was 30 and the child was actually 14. Would you let your 14 year-old participate in sex scenes with a 30 year-old in a film? Wouldn't this seem like pandering?
What I am talking about here is that in the second half of this comedy(?), the leading lady has an "affair" with a 13 year-old boy--and this seems to be a good thing according to the film. This is very reminiscent of "Le Soufflé au Coeur"--another French film that is adored by most "with it" people. However, in "Le Soufflé", the boy is not just a teen having sex with an adult but the adult in question is his own mother!!! Yet, review after review on IMDb for "Le Soufflé" describe the movie with such words as 'vibrant' and 'marvelous' as well as saying that it's 'a beautiful coming of age film'. For "Préparez Vos Mouchoirs", there are such appellations as 'clever', 'amusing' as well as 'fresh and surprisingly intelligent'. What part of morally wrong don't they understand?! Even if the rest of the film had been good (which, incidentally, it was not), how can such praised be heaped on a film that glamorizes or excuses sexual abuse?
Now understand that I am NOT a French-basher. I love French films and they are my among favorite type of films (surpassing even the Japanese--which I also adore) and I have taken French classes to learn the language. But, in this one way, I think the French film makers have it all wrong. In fact, the recent glowing praise and support of Roman Polanski (who admitted to drugging and sodomizing a 13 year-old) illustrates this divide. Having worked as a social worker and then therapist with sexual abuse victims, this 19th century attitude towards the sexualization of children is quite sad. Sometimes and with some issues we provincial Americans are wrong...in this case, however, I suspect the French have something to learn from us about the way we have taken sexual abuse cases more seriously in recent years (though, of course, we still have a way to go).
So if I was totally offended by the scenes that involved the 13 groping and leering at a beautiful (and willing) adult woman, what did I think about the rest of the film? Well, sadly, I didn't like it. The film has many absurdist elements that might appeal to some but will also leave many cold. Like director Blier's follow-up film, "Buffet Froid", so much of the film deliberately makes no sense and is intended to shock. If you like this sort of craziness, so be it, but the average person out there will not be particularly pleased with the film as it just seemed dumb and the characters seemed so unreal. I know that is the point the film makers intended, but that still doesn't mean I have to like it. If I want something goofy and insane, I'll watch a comedy like "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"--this is absurdism but with the aim to make people laugh. "Préparez Vos Mouchoirs" does not seem to have any such intention. It seems more intent on confusion and bizarreness instead of being a comedy--sort of like performance art instead of film.
Overall, there is almost nothing to recommend this film (unless you want to see a young looking 13 year-old making it with an adult). Incidentally, the actress was 30 and the child was actually 14. Would you let your 14 year-old participate in sex scenes with a 30 year-old in a film? Wouldn't this seem like pandering?