Mauvais Sang (1986)
Genre: Crime / Romance
Duration: 116 minuten
Alternative titles: Bad Blood / The Night Is Young
Country:
France / Switzerland
Directed by: Leos Carax
Stars: Michel Piccoli, Juliette Binoche and Denis Lavant
IMDb score:
7,1 (10.376)
Releasedate: 26 November 1986
Mauvais Sang plot
"Love that burns fast but lasts forever."
At the end of the 20th century, Paris was ravaged by STBO, a disease transmitted when people make love to each other without actually loving. Two rival groups set out to steal a culture of the dreaded virus. Alex is a dexterous young man who will replace his father, a murdered mobster, in the planned theft. Everything goes according to plan until Alex meets Anna. He is overwhelmed by her beauty. When the time comes to steal the breeding, he suddenly has a reason to live again; only the arrival of an elderly American mobster threatens to disrupt his new life plans.
Actors and actresses
Anna
Alex
Marc
Hans
Lise
American Woman
Boris
Young Mother
Charlie
Thomas
Reviews & comments
BBarbie
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- 12893 messages
- 7675 votes
I find the middle film of Léos Carax's trilogy centering on the Alex character (Denis Lavant) to be the weakest of the three. The cinematography is quite beautiful. But the idiosyncratic Carax apparently considered playing with colors, lighting, and music more important than a story.
Apart from Denis Lavant, the cameraman shows great interest in Carax's then-girlfriend Juliette Binoche and occasionally in the still very young Julie Delpy, who unfortunately appears only rarely on screen. Michel Piccoli seems to constantly wonder what he has gotten himself into.
I can understand that some people find this a very beautiful, artistic film. But it is not my thing. The last part of the trilogy, Les Amants du Pont-Neuf, appeals to me much more, although logic is sometimes hard to find in that film as well.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Ferdydurke
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- 1353 messages
- 854 votes
Christians? Where then?
Girls & Guns, I can certainly see that, in a modern, stylized (contrived, if you will) ode to film noir and the hyper-romance of Hollywood (and French cinema) of yesteryear, with Denis Lavant—for a hero with a reputation for taciturnity—sometimes chattering away quite a bit, all captured with a camera that is otherwise mostly in love with Anna, just as it once was with Nana.
Even Anna (with lips like those of a silent movie star) can't keep her mouth shut at some point, but what does it matter: it may all be romantic poetry way over the top, but it is beautiful nonetheless, and there is plenty to laugh at; such as a very young Julie Delpy with a cigarette between her lips as if it were a piece of leek, a crying Boris Boef, and the hotelier's very impressive underwear.
'Don't look back, but there, with that gray hair, sits the great poet Jean Cocteau!'
- 'Jean Cocteau is dead'.
'No, look, it's moving!'
Translated from Dutch · View original
leatherhead
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- 3556 messages
- 1813 votes
A peculiar film, in my opinion even a bit better than Les Amants, which I saw recently.
Some similarities between the two films are evident, yet plenty of differences can be detected as well. Where Amants remained largely realistic, this one has more surreal traits, plus a kind of latent tension. At times it actually verges on the bizarre, with scenes that seem quite taken out of context, but are no less impressive for it. A scene in which Lavant ambles through the streets half dancing, half running is downright brilliant.
Visually, Mauvais Sang can also be described as somewhat striking. Stylized to the bone, grim and colorful at the same time, and featuring ingenious camerawork. It all contributes in its own way to the dark atmosphere the film exudes; it is only the soundtrack that, once again, feels somewhat dissonant. But fortunately, it does not become annoying.
A bit on the long side again; the length could have been trimmed a little, but apart from that, I am very pleased with this film. A solid 4.0* for now.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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