You would think that a film called "Barbe Bleue" ("Bluebeard") would be an exciting and high energy film. Yet, somehow, the filmmakers have managed to make a story bereft of energy and lifeless--and you are left wondering why they made the film in the first place. There's a funny contrast, however. Although the film is 'lifeless', the dead father (seen early in the film) can be seen breathing as he lies there on the bed! The film has a very odd non-linear style. Although the film seems to be set around 1500 (judging by the clothing), some things (such as the carriage) are from a later period--making it hard to place the film. What makes it harder is that the films keeps cutting to a much, much later time where two young girls talk about the story of Bluebeard. These more modern moments seem pretty irrelevant to the film and are confusing. At first, I thought the very young girls who were the sisters living around the 16th century--but they apparently were not. Why this was done, I have no idea and it really detracted from the film.
"Barbe Bleue" begins with two sisters in a convent school. The head mistress is a cold fish and announces, completely dispassionately, that their father just died and they are no longer welcome in the school, as it's 'not a charity' and they can no longer afford the tuition. The two return home to their mother and they are impoverished. Soon a way out arrives--the notorious 'Bluebeard' invites a group of girls to his château in order to pick a new wife. Now considering he's married several times before and his wives all disappeared soon after the wedding, he's not exactly a prime candidate for a new husband. But, the youngest daughter isn't afraid of him and his reputation and soon marries him. She appears about age 12 and rather small. He's at least 40 and rather huge--a strange match indeed.
Now if you know the story, you know that sooner or later the new wife will discover Bluebeard's room filled with dead wives hanging from hooks. But before this, Bluebeard treats his new wife sort of like a student--and teachers her about nature and astronomy. Eventually, like the original story, the new wife finds the bodies and he discovers that she's learned this secret because traces of blood (from all the corpses) is on the key he left her. Now I know that this is a very old story (recorded by Charles Perrault), but why would a crazy serial killer leave his new wife all the keys to the château--including the one for the room of bodies?! Well, I can't blame the film makers for this--but the original tale doesn't make a lot of sense. But, like in the old story, rescuers come and same the wife--and destroy the dreaded Bluebeard. All that happens in the movie has almost zero energy--and it's hard to imagine so much could transpire with only a few tears but nothing more.
There were a few other mistakes and problems in the film and I want to mention a couple. First, note when Bluebeard and his wife are walking up the staircase, each time they round the corner, they walk up the exact same set of stairs. They try to make it look as if the characters are walking up a long winding set of stairs--but it is the same small number of steps filmed again and again. Sloppy. Just plain sloppy. Also, in a case of obvious foreshadowing, you get to see a duck beheaded. It's graphic and unnecessary--and seems to be a bit of a recent trend, as I've seen quite a few recent European films showing animals being killed. Considering they are killing the animal just for the film, it seems pretty cruel (it's not like it's being used for food--just for a gratuitous scene). I am sure more sensitive viewers will NOT enjoy this portion of the film. It occurs soon after the folks arrive at the dance--about half an hour into the movie.
Because the movie is so dull, lifeless and has many dumb mistakes, I cannot at all recommend it. The bottom line is that the story is a hard one to make into a film, but surely they should have done a lot better than this!
"Barbe Bleue" begins with two sisters in a convent school. The head mistress is a cold fish and announces, completely dispassionately, that their father just died and they are no longer welcome in the school, as it's 'not a charity' and they can no longer afford the tuition. The two return home to their mother and they are impoverished. Soon a way out arrives--the notorious 'Bluebeard' invites a group of girls to his château in order to pick a new wife. Now considering he's married several times before and his wives all disappeared soon after the wedding, he's not exactly a prime candidate for a new husband. But, the youngest daughter isn't afraid of him and his reputation and soon marries him. She appears about age 12 and rather small. He's at least 40 and rather huge--a strange match indeed.
Now if you know the story, you know that sooner or later the new wife will discover Bluebeard's room filled with dead wives hanging from hooks. But before this, Bluebeard treats his new wife sort of like a student--and teachers her about nature and astronomy. Eventually, like the original story, the new wife finds the bodies and he discovers that she's learned this secret because traces of blood (from all the corpses) is on the key he left her. Now I know that this is a very old story (recorded by Charles Perrault), but why would a crazy serial killer leave his new wife all the keys to the château--including the one for the room of bodies?! Well, I can't blame the film makers for this--but the original tale doesn't make a lot of sense. But, like in the old story, rescuers come and same the wife--and destroy the dreaded Bluebeard. All that happens in the movie has almost zero energy--and it's hard to imagine so much could transpire with only a few tears but nothing more.
There were a few other mistakes and problems in the film and I want to mention a couple. First, note when Bluebeard and his wife are walking up the staircase, each time they round the corner, they walk up the exact same set of stairs. They try to make it look as if the characters are walking up a long winding set of stairs--but it is the same small number of steps filmed again and again. Sloppy. Just plain sloppy. Also, in a case of obvious foreshadowing, you get to see a duck beheaded. It's graphic and unnecessary--and seems to be a bit of a recent trend, as I've seen quite a few recent European films showing animals being killed. Considering they are killing the animal just for the film, it seems pretty cruel (it's not like it's being used for food--just for a gratuitous scene). I am sure more sensitive viewers will NOT enjoy this portion of the film. It occurs soon after the folks arrive at the dance--about half an hour into the movie.
Because the movie is so dull, lifeless and has many dumb mistakes, I cannot at all recommend it. The bottom line is that the story is a hard one to make into a film, but surely they should have done a lot better than this!