Scene of the Crime
by André Téchiné
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Catherine Deneuve, Danielle Darrieux, Jean-Claude Adelin, Nicolas Giraudi, Wadeck StanczakDirector: André Téchiné
Brand: Kino International
Writer: André Téchiné
Producer: Alain Terzian
Writer: Pascal Bonitzer
Writer: Olivier Assayas
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); French (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.20:1
Running Time: 90 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-09-04
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Kino International
Movie Reviews of Scene of the Crime
Movie Review: Lost souls try to find their way
Summary: 4 Stars
I saw this movie years ago and I remember that I enjoyed it and felt intrigued by it but felt a bit disappointed by the ending. My question at that time was, why such an ending?
Having seen that this film was re-released on DVD, I bought it and watched with the desire to see what it was about this story that culminates to such an ending. This movie is basically about lost souls whom are all trying to fit into worlds that they don't inherently relate to and the consequences of trying to do so.
Thomas is a young moody and troubled boy who is a victim in his parents divorce and is trying to find his place in the situation. He lies, causes trouble, has no friends and brutally and honestly says what he thinks just to piss people off. One day he accidentally happens upon a young thief hiding out in a crypt in the local cemetery and this thief threatens to harm him if he doesn't bring him money. Being scared, Thomas takes some money to this man, but another thief is there and tries to kill Thomas. The first thief saves Thomas by killing the second thief, his partner in crime. Thomas tells his mother what happened, but she doesn't believe him as most don't, because he's a known liar.
Lili, Thomas' mother, is a woman who is in a legal fight to keep Thomas from the father, who wants to take him from her. She owns a club that the locals don't like and has a reputation as being a bit different. Her parents, especially her mother who is all about being proper, keep trying to get her back with her ex husband, a man whom she despises and who feels no problem about using her vulnerability in wanting to keep their son, to force himself on her.
Feeling lost and depressed, Lili constantly struggles between her desire to keep her son, which means she has to feign provincial normality, and wanting to be who she really is, someone who does not fit into that mold. When the thief shows up at her bar, she finds herself attracted to him in a way that she hasn't felt up until now because of her constant stifling of who she is. Both she and thief find something in each other that they both relate too and need, and come together. The consequence of this attraction though, is something that will change everyone's life forever.
This film was written and directed by Andre Techine, whom I've mentioned before is one of my favorite directors. He brings to this film his usual insight and ability to access and express the psychology and human nature of the characters, which is as profound as usual.
What I loved about this film, as I do many French films, is that the ending follows the theme of the story and is not fixed, nor does it try to pacify the audience with an unrealistic good feeling. The characters are all in a flux, all reacting to each other and events and making choices according to who they are and their unconscious psychological needs. For me, the second viewing of this film, many years later, gave me insight into why Lili does what she does in the end, and it makes sense to me even if it's unsettling.
I don't think this is one of the best films of Techine or Deneuve; however there was something about the quiet complexity of it that had a huge appeal to me and it's become one of my favorite films.
Summary of Scene of the Crime
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