I saw that film Hidden hier soir, and while it was undoubtedly gripping from the off, and there was a very nice white leather sofa in it, and Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche were commendably bourgeois throughout, am I the only person who didn't get it?
I mean, is it just me, or does the film just stop, without explaining anything? I still don't get who sent the tapes. But then I am quite remarkably stupid with films and telly.
Anyone wishing to explain the plot to me in words of one syllable enunciated very slowly, please feel free to do so via email (not in the comments, otherwise that would be terrible spoilers).
Oo, it's just like Memento all over again.
tags: hidden | memento
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Ah now, Memento. The wife wasn't dead, was she?
Thanks BF - of course I missed that big clue, despite watching the final scene *assiduously*, but I have now received an exhaustive email from Chuffy! with lots and lots of interesting observations about said film, which means I must watch it again IMMEDIATELY and discuss it ad nauseam with anyone who'll listen. Stay tuned...
Indeed, the final scene. My question was rhetorical. I'm glad someone else spotted the big clue because I was beginning to think I had imagined it.
The wife was definitely dead, surely? The only question was who killed her. Sometimes I think it was Guy Pearce chappie, and sometimes I don't. But my grasp of films, as said in my post, is woefully feeble at the best of times, let alone when the film's going backwards. But! I am going to watch Hidden again tonight again, because it is clearly brilliant.
On a more facetious note, it's also up there with 'Igby Goes Down' in the canon of Films That Feature Lovely Interiors.
Being a bit of a Binoche fan, I watched "Bee Season" over the weekend. I can't really find any reason to recommend it, other than as a cure for insomnia. I enjoyed Memento, though I don't claim to understand it.
I have realised (took me quite a while I admit) that trying to understand is not always the point. I enjoyed Memento very much and that was enough for me. There is little enough film/telly that is any good and if I am prompted by something I've seen to think at all or to go and read or see something else then that's a bonus.
Mmm, 'Igby Goes Down' had some lovely loftwork...
dang, i thought i was finally going to get the lowdown on Memento in these comments :}
not that i want to understand it. it was perfectly enjoyable, and that's what i like best in a movie.
well, I could say what I saw in the final scene but then it would spoil it for people (Memento that is - haven't seen Hidden yet). Shall I? Your choice.
Skeadugenga: Yes, the oeuvre of La Binoche is certainly patchy, including as it does the appalling 'Chocolat', in which Johnny Depp inexplicably plays a French canalboat gypsy with a cod-Oirish accent. One of only a handful of films I haven't been able to watch to the end.
realdoc: I admire your pragmatic attitude. I am cursed with a burning desire to understand everything, coupled with a fuzzy, illogical brain that is unable to comprehend anything much.
James: And some very nice curtains, as far as I recall, or am I mixing it up with The Wicker Man?
GSE: I don't mind you saying what you saw, but others might. However, am intrigued now. Oh, go on then. Re. Hidden, you should definitely see it - it's brilliant. Totally gripping stuff, and *very* stylish.
Excellent, spoiler ahead.
The final shot as I recall it was of him in bed with his wife and with tattoos. Were we not led to believe that the whole tattooing lark (am trying to be obscure here) only started after the wife died?
Surely that's a definition of great art/stuff; it gets better the more times viewed/read/heard etc. And the opposite for the opposite.
I think that varies from genre to genre though - I can relisten to music a lot more than I can face rereading books, even great ones.
Oo, I don't remember that bit, GSE. Clearly I'm going to have to watch Memento again now, as well. Excellent.
Agree with cello that the quality stuff gets better on re-watching/re-listening - but rubbish can still remain entertaining/comforting on subsequent viewings/listenings. There just aren't new things to discover the second/third/fourth time around.
[was also checking in to see if anyone could offer up an explanation for what happened in 'memento' which i also enjoyed]
On the DVD of 'Memento' there are 'hidden' extras that give out lots of clues. Also (forgive me, since I've been ill...my memory is not as it was) I think on the DVD you can watch the film back in the right order, which is interesting but I prefer it in the original. I enjoyed it very much as it was. Just as I loved the mystery of 'Mulholland Drive' and 'Twin Peaks' and 'Eraserhead'.
After my second viewing of Memento, I was quite convinced Guy Pearce's character had murdered his wife. But that was about 5 years ago and I haven't a clue why now.
Anyway, more helpfully, I was going through some old newspapers yesterday and happened to spot an interview with the director of Hidden. Haven't seen the film yet, though, so not sure if it helps much.
>>I am cursed with a burning desire to understand everything, coupled with a fuzzy, illogical brain that is unable to comprehend anything much.<<
I know the feeling.
Thanks for that interview - that explains a lot, actually. And I can't really remember either why I know that Lenny killed his wife, but it had something to do with the guy who had supposedly killed *his* wife with repeated insulin injections, which turned out to be something Lenny had made up, didn't it?
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