most depressing movie ever

The Saddest Movie in the World. But by Malle's typically reserved and elegant direction it avoids sentimentality.

Darkly unsentimental yet admirably compassionate.

"Le Feu follet" is a quietly moving and insightful take on depression that manages to capture the feeling of meaninglessness thanks to Malle's understated but elegant visual style and Ronet's solid performance. However, when the film resorts to words in order to express what it had so wonderfully articulated with visuals, it descends to typical, pretentious New Wave gibberish, although there are morsels of truth to be found in the dialogues as well. Overall, noteworthy but not exceptional.

29 octubre 2011 - Feia molt que la tenia pendent. Interessant, sensació aliena, coses que se m'escapen, no acabava d'entendre la situació, el personatge. He de tornar-hi

#878

Malle's best movies, of which this is one, have a remarkable ability to take you inside both a character and a milieu. In this case, the perspicacity of the observation and the subtlety of the presentation resulted in an exceptional work on a theme that can so easily become cloying or irritating (although there are also other good films concerned with similar themes, such as, more or less, "The Swimmer" and "Five Easy Pieces").

Quite depressing, but it's a good movie. The beautiful music fits perfectly with this movie. *sigh*

23 Mart 2011 & yonetmenin izledigim ilk filmi & icten bir siir gibi. etrafinda bir cok kadin varken hicbirinin gercekten ilgili olmamasi, erkek olamamak. olgun, para sahibi, kariyer sahibi olamamak ve varolmak ile ol(a)mamak arasindaki ince cizgi. insanlardan umudunu kesip, tum insanliktan kendini izole ettigi -hissettigi- cafe sahnesinde ickiye tekrar baslamasi bir kirilma noktasidir. iste tam o an kabul etmistir her seyi. filmin geneline yayilmis buyuk kabullenilmislik var. mukemmel bir film.

Beautifully melancholy.

It's rare for a Malle film to really grab hold of my soul, but I usually get something out of them and this was no exception. A very accurate portrayal of depression and the suicidal impulse, where somehow nothing seems worth living for and everything seems pointless and your flaws are insurmountable and irredeemable. Malle cheats a little by layering on the Erik Satie music, which is like instant poignancy. He knows how to work it, though... few things get me going like "Gymnopedie #1".

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# 929

I really liked this. I should watch more of Malle's work.

Somber and ruminative, a compelling consideration of depression. The film does a nice job depicting the ways in which personal history stays with someone and influences current identity. Ronet's character is continually encountering people who are dredging up stories of his old booze-soaked exploits or otherwise looking at his strictly through the lens of who he used to be. The film is about a reluctance to grow, but it also indicts those who constrain that process. Bleak, but deeply rewarding.

A film as mirthless as its protagonist. Although almost too weighty and grievous, it contain moments of irresistible power, loudly somber and quietly desperate.

A very despairing and somber movie, though not bleak in the typical sense; Maurice Ronet's Alain Leroy is so determined to find some passion worth living for that the movie never feels like it's hitting you over the head with the tragedy of his circumstances. Stylistically it's very impressive, with some really graceful and classy B&W photography and a nice sparse piano score.

Shattering study of alcoholism. Probably Malle's best early film -- photographed, scored, (with the music of Erik Satie), and acted to maximum effect -- and with a minimum of self-pity.

Very well-crafted. But awfully talky and beatnik-y.

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