Audience Member
(From"TIFF11 - chapter the 3rd":)
A pointless bit of violent dystopia which leaves me trying to even remember what made me curious about it in the first place. At least I have learned to avoid anything programmed by Colin Geddes in the future. (If I had clicked on his name and reached http://tiff.net/thefestival/filmprogramming/programmers/colin, I would have realized this sooner.)
http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/carreblanc
Rated 1/5 Stars •
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
02/13/23
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Audience Member
Beautifully, coldly composed, riveting portrait of dystopia chills with dark truths, and manages flashes of sly wit.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
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Audience Member
A dystopian vision of office life in the future, Carrà (C) blanc is combination of George Orwellâ(TM)s 1984 and Delicatessen. Jean-Baptiste Là (C)onetti spent nearly five years putting together his stark film that combines ubiquitous corporations, sycophant co-workers and greed. The planet resources have been consumed and world is controlled by a single-minded company which seems to be a combination of Apple and Starbucks. Humanity faces a paradox: the population is plummeting but people are most valued as food.
Philippe is a mid-level manager who is charged with performance evaluation, delivering tests which vary from sadistic to absurd to his colleagues. Earlier in his life, he had an independent spirit but now he is content to maintain the status quo. His wife, Marie, has become dissatisfied with their superficial marriage, lives and existence and begins rebelling against the system.
When culture has become faceless, replaced with generic elevator music and an obsession with croquet, how does an individual find an identity? Throughout the film, Philippe begins to realize that he has been lying to himself and he can no longer continue in the same role. When Philippe and Marie rediscover their love and passion and choose to devote themselves to each other, it should be the end of the rising action and the beginning of a thrilling climax, perhaps along the lines of Bonnie and Clyde or A Clockwork Orange. Instead, this development signals the end of the film, leaving the audience with memorable imagery but no real plot or character development.
Là (C)onetti should be commended for his unique vision and the care that was taken to create this bleak post-modern landscape. Still shots focus on Philippe as he performs his repetitive job or the smiling security guard whose duties are controlled by a machine. They carry on as the world seems frozen around them. Carrà (C) blanc shows that uniformity does not equate with conformity as each character lives on an island, facing an existence bereft of meaningful social interaction.
Ideas like greed and selfishness have turned society into a pathetic charade. Despite the odds, some characters persist and display the empathy sorely lacked by their peers. Their efforts occur in a vacuum as the showdown between distinctiveness and conformity never materializes. The audience may laugh occasionally but they are never moved as Carrà (C) blanc never becomes a true film; it is a detailed postcard.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/16/23
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Audience Member
I saw this at Fantastic Fest, and it blew me away! It was such a surprise. Part of the problem American audiences are having is that they're not fast readers, and so are missing subtle details onscreen while they read subtitles. (I know this is true from discussions I had with other Fest-goers at FF.) The story is much, much more complex than IMBD would have you believe. It's also a terrifically successful pitch-black comedy. If you are a fan of dark comedy and sci-fi, and understand that this may take two viewings for you to REALLY get what's going on, I recommend it. If you only like mainstream, blockbuster sci-fi give it a pass. That doesn't mean it isn't a wonderful film.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/26/23
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Audience Member
A futuristic psychological action thriller that pays cinematographic homage to that of the 1970's American movies. More style than substance (the Matrix comes to mind), the plot is quite confusing as it tries to establish a parallel world that is quite bleak. However, the film is a constant montage of visually compelling imagery that is meant to shock and awe, a bit like Fellini's earlier cubist work. Shocking and unnerving yes, but at the same time, it's also very carnal so I found it both exciting and very sexy. It'd be an understatement to call it one hella rollercoaster ride and you too will feel that the Matrix was simplistic compared to Carre Blanc.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/21/23
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Audience Member
dystopian sci-fi(the third I watched at the festival) this time in a future France, that uses the dead for hamburger meat, and has constant broadcasts encouraging people to get pregnant, due to though never mentioned outright, what seems a very high suicide and mortality rate. after his mothers suicide and his own attempt, a boy becomes a businessman in some nameless corporate machinery, where he performs cruel Milgrim like experiments on his employees to test often fatally the limits of their trust in the company. his wife hates him, and when a security guard saves, the two of them from some of his fellow employees who drunkenly for a lark decide to rape and murder them, the man begins to see world in it's cruelty and ugliness. the final act is too short and too little for the redemption to feel palpable. this was my least favorite film at the festival, and the only one I wouldn't really recommend, unless your just in the mood for "something dystopian never mind what", but after the visual assualt of "Beyond The Black Rainbow" and the emotional and intellectual cleverness of "Target" you can do better.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/18/23
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