Since childhood, everybody likes to be told a story. Be it orally, in print or by film, people crave a good tale delivered by a good storyteller.
Unfortunately, there seems to be a shortage of good troubadours lately, especially among the French. Many of their movies reach an inconclusive and frustrating ending, and Gallic directors seem to have made a specialty of this sadistic genre.
There is nothing more exasperating than spending ninety minutes getting involved with the characters and suddenly being dumped into a dark dungeon full of unanswered questions.
I don’t know about other people, but personally I want a clear-cut ending. I demand to know who the murderer is, if the priest will marry the widow or if the heroine will walk again.
I don’t want an ambiguous ending leaving me wondering what happened, or what will possibly happen. It is not in my contract. My contract demands a neatly wrapped, bow tied ending.
At the end of the movie, I want a seamless conclusion or my money back.
I am not sure why some movies remain sketchy.
Could it be that the director was dealt an unfinished script? Or that the producers ran out of cash? Or that the main character walked off the set for artistic differences?
Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn!
What I care about is a finished product. I want a well-told, realistic, believable movie with a plausible ending.
The French don’t have a monopoly of this non-sense either. They have many disciples.
I just watched an overwrought, (award winning?), Iranian movie called “A Separation” and like its French counterparts it leaves the most important question of the story unanswered. Verdammt!
What’s wrong with these people? Is it a religious thing?
I am not saying that all French movies are bad; some like “The Artist” or “Les Intouchables » are excellent, but too many badly scripted movies are released giving the public an impression of petulant callousness.
As I always said, vote with your wallet. Tell your friends to boycott a bad movie and let it die an ignominious slow death, ignored and forgotten by all.
Alain