FilmCriticLalitRao
In his first film "Nue Propriété"/"Private Property" Belgian director Joachim Lafosse films the progressive disintegration of a discontented middle class family.His film is a tragic tale of fragile relationships wherein all characters are weak and easily subdued due to their inseparable internal weaknesses.One can expect that a film with family breakdown would be incendiary.However,in "Private Property" rabble rousing is confined to a bare minimum level in order to make this film a veritable low key affair.This is done by quietly filming many scenes in which cinematically speaking nothing much happens.It is in these scenes that audiences are able to witness simple human activities such as family members eating their meals and two brothers playing an amusing Ping Pong game.As usual grand dame of French cinema Isabelle Huppert is brilliant in her role of a mother who has to deal with many different men in her life.Her character is developed in such a manner that it hangs between three different extremes.However,"Nue Propriete" appears credible due to strong acting performances by actors Jérémie Renier and Yannick Rénier who are brothers in real life.This is a film to watch in case if somebody is interested in witnessing how families are ruined.PS : Film critic Lalit Rao would like to thank a good friend Mr.Philippe Pham for having gifted a DVD of this film for detailed analysis.
Harry T. Yung
While "Private property" can be loosely brought under the umbrella of "dysfunctional family drama" (a recent good one, in the English language, is "The squid and the whale") – divorced single mother, emotionally immature just-turned-adult sons, the family's lacking in general purpose and direction – it probes the psychology of the protagonist in a way more subtle than you would find in Hollywood.The plot and events are not important here, just anchors for character development. While the twin sons are just turning adult, the mother, Pascale, who has been working as an employee wants to start her own business elsewhere, with a modest B&B operation. The pre-requisite for her dream is selling their house, which meets immediately with objections from the sons, Tierry and Francois. The divorced father lives within driving distance, with his own family now, but is still on good terms with the sons, something the mother loathes. The mother is having her second romance, seeing a neighbour regularly. Tierry has a girlfriend, not a serious relationship. There you have all the characters. Nothing much happens. As I said, the events serve only to anchor the depiction of relationships between the various people. At the end, something does happen, an accident which is left open-ended.The movie starts in a mood that you can almost call jovial, as the sons tease Pascale for her new dress. We see a lot of the family in a mundane daily activity – eating at the kitchen table. It's only upon reflection that it occurs to me that these scenes perhaps underscore the dependence of the sons on their mother, as do the scenes that repeatedly remind us that they often need a ride from the mother as they live in a remote location and their motorcycle is not a reliable piece of machinery. The message finally sinks in that although Tierry and Francois have just attained adulthood, they are still children in more ways than one. Sitting in front of the TV seems to be their major activity, particularly after Pascale has left the house to stay temporarily with a girl friend after a quarrel with Tierry. The pair become very much like the little kid in "Home alone" (but less resourceful).The distinction between the tow sons also unfolds gradually, but very clearly. Tierry is the rebellious one with an explosive temper while Francois is introvert, shy and more caring for his mother. There is surprisingly little sibling rivalry, despite their regular fight for the motorbike and adolescence jealousy from Tierry when his girlfriend receives a little attention from Francois. The more significant thing, however, is that despite the obvious fact that Francois is Pascale's favourite, Tierry does not seem to be jealous, probably because he does not care enough about his mother to be so disposed.The file is shot in a simple, straight forward style, using mostly a static camera, with average-length scenes – a day-to-day story told in a simple manner, the way it should be. Consistent with this, and apt, is the decision of not having any background music, until the ending 3 minutes (which in itself is quite interesting because the powerful, overwhelming and disturbing strings would be consider by some as an unnecessary distraction but by others as a brilliant coda to the emotion-charged conclusion).Playing Tierry is Jeremie Renier who had a similar (but less explosive) role in last year's Cannes winner "L'enfant", demonstrating that he is a top choice for playing a young man facing a huge mental obstacle, however caused, in attaining maturity. Yannick Renier, his real brother, turns in an appropriately subdued, gentle persona. But it is of course Isabelle Huppert, as one poster points out, that is the main attraction for most viewers buying a ticket, including this one. All that I can say is no matter what role she has been given, Huppert always brings to it something that makes it more memorable.
Raj Doctor
Nue Propriete Isabelle Huppert. She was the only reason why I selected to see this movie. She is a brilliant actress and provides such a natural relief by her screen presence. She has got those tricks up her sleeve to glue audience's attention on her – always! The story is about a divorced mother- played obviously by Isabelle; and her two sons – Thierry (ill-tempered) and Francios (sensitive) who live together and the special relationship they share. When the mother wants to sell the house to start a new life with her lover Jan (Kris Cuppens), Thierry is one who apposes the move and this results in dividing the family and a touching ending.The Director – Joachim Lafosse has also written the story and this is just his fourth movie as a director, yet he shows class. I think the forte of Joachim is the drama woven around his characters. The director lets all the characters in the movie let loose, relaxed and all characters give an astounding real performance. I think each character's brief stands out on its own with crucial expressions and emotions; and at times we feel like missing on one expression while seeing the other. I obviously was always hooked on Isabelle's acting talent.All the actors have played their role with punctual brief, but the show is stolen with a very good acting done by Jeremie Renier playing Thierry. He shows the vulnerability and childish temperament with ease.I would like to mention a special scene that is brilliant in the movie - when Jeremie is hiding in the bush, with the camera focused on him, and the hazy background running the actual scene – all taken in one shot. I think this was a true winner shot of the movie.Go and see the movie, you will enjoy it.(Stars 7 out of 10)
Solkawage
This movie tells the story of a family collapsing on its own equilibrium. The director chooses a series of very essential and meaningful scenes and we seldom see close ups. The camera is almost always fixed in one point, and this gives the viewer the sensation of being a hidden witness to the events. Real life brothers Jérémie and Yannick Renier play 2 twin brothers that couldn't be more different. One is instinctive, passionate, ill-tempered and self-confident, while the other is more sensitive, shy and withdrawn. Their divorced mother is played by a brilliant Isabelle Huppert, and is experiencing a second wind in her life and believes that her sons are pinning her down. When she decides to sell their house to start a new life with her lover, tension rises and the family bursts apart. Lafosse has proved to have talent as a director. I give it a 6/10.
