NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Flyerplesys Perfectly adorable

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Billie Morin This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

tedg I like Ruiz, I really do, and I'm glad there seems to be a bottomless bag of his films and a challenge to find.He's what I look for when I want that explicitly self-referential presentation style, plus some clever narrative tricks, but I don't want to have to wrestle angels to death. He's heavy in the way he works, and usually light in what he works toward. That allows me to see these as essays on storytelling instead of stories.The story here, which you won't understand until the end, is a simple conspiracy. Its remarkably simple and straightforward.But the way it is presented is remarkably puzzling, and ever so much more engaging than an ordinary narrative. It involves some crazy folks and "normal" folks that also seem logically impaired. There's the obvious, that this is seen as a demented mind would, all arrayed higgledy piggledy. And the result is also obvious, that only the demented are simple enough to be true, an irony since the presentation is extremely complex. It reminds me of Aaron Copeland's fantastic elaborations on "Tis a Gift to be Simple."Before ten minutes are elapsed, we have a woman get up from a dinner table, walk over to the camera, look directly into it and then clean the lens. That lens goes astigmatic when one of our endearing nutcases loses it. Previously he sees a window as a mirror as we look at him through it. His mania includes giving proper names to inanimate objects: hers (there's a loopy woman) is poetry. As with many narrative experiments, there are detectives. But instead of being our representatives, they decide to "do nothing." Its a very clever and unsettling trick. We want to kick them because we fear we won't know what is going on until they do. The chief detective says that he can't figure things out because he is too much in the present while his partner is in the future. Meanwhile, as they waste time in the pub, someone is completing a crossword puzzle with the proper names of the characters we meet.There are other cool narrative games, all lighthearted. Our crazy couple dances with his cheek not against hers, but against a painting she holds. A puzzling force in the story is "salsox" which we find at the end is a rather complex, almost supernatural condiment that might be the cause of this enriched world.Suppose you want to have a light evening and you don't want to damage yourself with some gross comic. Here's your movie.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

coletje2003 Well, I should not lie. I did not actually see the movie since I walked out after about 30 to 45 minutes. It was unbearable. I am quite shocked that other viewers have compared this filmmaker to Bunuel, a great director, no questions asked. Ce jour-là was absurd, which can be good, but it was also grotesque, gory and idiotic. The acting was quite painful : artificial and overstated. The jokes were not funny, the dialog was heavy and anything but subtle. The plot was the least offensive part of this movie but it was not good enough to make me want to stay until the end and suffer through a long 105 minutes (or so). Unless the second half miraculously redeems the first one, I would advise any potential viewers to save their money and rent a Bunuel instead.

pmercken This is by far the best absurdistic film I have seen in a long time. It reminds me of Godard's Pierrot le fou (1965), but it has a real be it absolutely insane coherent plot and it is not a road movie. Luis Buñuel springs also to mind. There is for instance a scene reminiscent of the horror of 'the last supper scene' in Viridiana and of the famous scene around the table in The secret charms of the bourgeoisie.The combination of black comedy, crime, even horror, religion and superstition, politics and global economy gives the film so many layers of meaning that they are hard to grasp in one big scoop.And I forget psychology (various kinds of insanity, the effects of blackmail, the workings of gossip) and the mythology of redeeming love and loyalty.But above all, it is a funny film. Funny in its actions, including the sudden position reversal of mortal combatants, funny in its dialogs (one-liners, huge understatements), funny in the juxtaposition of horror and the most mundane everyday life. It is full of the unexpected, surprises galore, and full of subtle and not so subtle hints that keep the viewer alert. It also has a happy rhythm of wild action and serene stills.Do not expect the wallowing in blood of Quentin Tarantino's Killing Bill. Ce jour-là is a much lighter film and it is not one-dimensional, thanks to the already mentioned surfeit of connotations.May I add that it is also a moral tale with a happy ending? And it ridicules the Swiss: Alain Tanner with a vengeance.

themarina1 This is a great movie. From the very beginning it's clear that this isn't a typical comedy or a typical drama. However odd, it works. Each murder is committed under such strange circumstances that they create great comic moments. If you go to see this, stay 'till the end. It's all explained (however vaguely). Very, very funny.