The Page Turner
by Denis Dercourt
List Price:
Our Price: $7.97
You Save: $15.01 (65%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.25 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Catherine Frot, Deborah Francois, Jacques Bonnaffe, Pascal Greggory, Xavier De GuillebonDirector: Denis Dercourt
Brand: Genius
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); French (Original Language); French (Dubbed)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 85 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-07-10
Audience Rating: Unrated
Model: TVD2032
Studio: Tartan Video
Product features:
- PAGE TURNER, THE (DVD MOVIE)
Movie Reviews of The Page Turner
Movie Review: Revenge is a dish best served cold
Summary: 5 Stars
[Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon.]
This French language film is about a revenge that is as cold as one could imagine short of some kind of physical violence. Melanie, the 10-year-old precocious child of a butcher and his wife, is set for an audition that will determine whether she gets into a prestigious musical academy. She is calm, cool, confident and very talented. All goes well until about halfway through when one of the students comes in to get the autograph of one of the judges (Ariane Fourchecourt played by Catherine Frot). Melanie is distracted and commits a finger-fault or two, and is not admitted. She leaves in tears but not before slamming the keyboard cover down on the student's fingers. Small revenge.
The backlighting as the opening credits roll emphasizes the butcher's trade: the cold, indifferent cutting of dead animal bodies. This is contrasted with the fine art of classical music. It is a beautiful setup for what is to come. My congratulations to director Denis Dercourt who orchestrated this petite cinematic masterwork. Everything is done with a minimum of explanation and certainly without any talking of the plot. We see and draw conclusions. The camera shows; the events reveal; and if we are astute we can guess what is to come. Maybe. But the plot plays out in unpredictable ways like a good thriller, and we are surprised by turns.
Some years pass and the preadolescent Melanie is now a young woman played by the bewitching Deborah Francois. We know she is the same person as the younger Melanie played by Julie Richalet because she affects the same severe hair style and the same cold, almost unfeeling countenance. By accident she goes to work as a nanny to a young boy whose mother is the very woman who signed the autograph and caused Melanie to misplay her piece. She is concert pianist herself and the rich wife of a successful lawyer. However she doesn't remember Melanie nor have any idea that her autograph-signing led to Melanie giving up playing the piano.
But enough of the plot. It is the kind of story that is best viewed cold without foreknowledge. Suffice it to say, big revenge to come. In addition to the denotative storyline there is a kind of satire on male-female relationships as usually depicted in film, on the world of the wealthy versus that of the masses, on the power of status and station versus that of raw animal beauty. As I watched Deborah Francois at work I kept thinking: she has the power even though Ariane has the money and the station.
Additionally there is a play on the idea of the smooth, nearly irresistible sociopath, usually in the form of a man on the make. Here that role belongs to a woman. What she does to Ariane is nonviolent, but we see in a couple of scenes just what sort of physical violence she is capable of. I should note that some of the plot is a bit unlikely, including the fact of the interruption, which would not have been allowed during a serious audition. Also the psychology of Ariane becoming nervous when she has to perform because of a traffic accident seems a bit off. Furthermore the boy is not likely to get a sore arm from playing the piano at too fast a tempo. Still these are quibbles when compared to the interesting psychology of the film.
Finally, I very much enjoyed Deborah Francois's performance and that of the other players. Her beauty captured the camera and my eyes. She intrigued and seemed entirely believable. If I were director Denis Dercourt I would make a follow up to this in which she again acts out her psychopathic nature, but maybe this time she is not so successful. However it would be hard to top the crisp, mesmerizing hour and 25 minutes of this film, one of the best psychological dramas I've seen in a while.
By the way, it is said that the popular expression, "revenge is a dish best served cold" really means not that the longer you wait to enact revenge the more you will enjoy it, but instead if you wait long enough you will realize the error of revenge and forgo it. I believe this latter interpretation is correct and wise.
Summary of The Page Turner
Ten year-old Melanie has a special gift for the piano. But during her entrance recital for the Conservatory, she is distracted by the thoughtless behavior of Ariane, a well-known concert pianist. Melanie fails the exam and decides to give up the piano foreverSimilar DVD Movies
TriggerWolfe; Release date: 2011-11-22; DVD
Best price: $8.26
Price in other shops:
Elena UndoneWolfe; Release date: 2011-02-01; DVD
Best price: $15.21
Price in other shops:
Desert Hearts (Two-Disc Vintage Collection)Wolfe; Release date: 2007-06-05; DVD
Best price: $12.05
Price in other shops:
The ApartmentLions Gate; Release date: 2006-08-22; DVD
Best price: $4.29
Price in other shops:
Swimming Pool (Unrated Version)UNI DIST CORP. (MCA); Release date: 2005-08-23; DVD
Best price: $3.54
Price in other shops:
BloomingtonWolfe; Release date: 2011-05-03; DVD
Best price: $15.08
Price in other shops:
L'enfant (The Child)Sony; Release date: 2006-08-15; DVD
Best price: $2.58
Price in other shops:
Unmade BedsMPI; Release date: 2011-02-08; DVD
Best price: $15.02
Price in other shops:
CircumstanceLGF; Release date: 2011-12-13; DVD
Best price: $19.06
Price in other shops:
Student ServicesMPI; Release date: 2011-04-26; DVD
Best price: $14.38
Price in other shops: