User reviews

"La Fleur du Mal" (Flower of Evil) unfolded like a multi-layered nineteenth-century novel. There was a plot involving politics, a plot involving romance, and the deep family secrets that appear to have afflicted the characters in a multi-generational curse. One of the characters even refers to their lives as the equivalent of a novel by Emile Zola.

I appreciated the rich psychological levels of the characters and the fine performances under the direction of Claude Chabrol. The character of Aunt Line as played by Suzanne Flon was especially moving. There were effective emotional moments involving reverie and interior monologue that conveyed great depth of feeling. In American films, we would have been given generic "flashback" scenes. In the more subtle European film-making style, the performer conveyed the past through emotional expression.

Like so many of the great nineteenth-century novels where everyone seems to be marrying his or her cousin, so too in "La Fleur du Mal" one of the plot lines focuses on a young man and woman deeply in love, who realize that their bloodlines are too close for comfort. Some of the film's most intense scenes are those in which the couple seeks to understand their complex family ties.

Interestingly, this eclectic film is not without dark humor, including a truly bizarre sequence related to an accidental murder. Stylistically, this is a film experience with lush cinematography of the contemporary Bordeaux region, filled with sensitive compositional choices and careful set-ups. If the characters had been outfitted in nineteenth-century costumes, this really could have been a Zola novel.

The picture talks upon a bourgeois family formed by parents previously divorced (Bernard Le Coq and Natalie Baye) , sons (Benoit Maginel and Melanie Doutey) and grandmother (Suzanne Flon). Terrible secrets emerge and are creating a spiral of consequences until lead to a tragic final .

The movie is well directed by Claude Chabrol who's deemed to be a master in the suspense genre , besides is considered as an initiator of the new wave or nouvelle vague , this movement had got splendor during the 60s . It's habitual in Chabrol films to deal with particular issues, thus : Obsession , adulteries , assassinations , jealousy , treason and he makes a penetrating description of the middle bourgeois class . All those characters are well narrated in the film . The cast is excellent , Benoit Maginel is good , Melanie Doutey is beautiful and attractive . Natalie Baye and the veteran Suzanne Flonn are impressive. Cinematography by Eduardo Serra (Young of the earring pearl ) is nicely made although mostly developed at interior scenarios. The film will appeal to suspense fans and Claude Chabrol moviegoers. Rating : Above average. Well catching.

After four years in USA, François Vasseur (Benoît Magimel) returns to France and his father Gérard Vasseur (Bernard Le Coq) welcomes him at the airport and brings François home. François meet with stepmother Anne Charpin-Vasseur (Nathalie Baye), his stepsister Michèle Charpin-Vasseur (Mélanie Doutey) and his Aunt Line (Suzanne Flon) that has prepared a lamprey for lunch.

The family has secrets: François and Michèle are in love with each other; Aunt Line is haunted by her past; and the womanizer Gérard, who has a laboratory and a pharmacy, hates that Anne is running for the election for Mayor.

When a leaflet exposes the despicable scandal of their family, Anne is afraid of how this will affect her electorate while Michèle and François believe that Gérard has written and distributed the pamphlet. After the election there is an unexpected death that will certainly affect the Charpin-Vasseur family.

"La Fleur du Mal", a.k.a. "The Flower of Evil", is a dark family drama about a family with many secrets, including an incestuous relationship and collaboration with the Nazis and a murder in World War II. The story is slowly developed with open conclusion, with another great direction of Claude Chabrol and magnificent performances, highlighting Suzanne Flon in the role of a very clever old woman. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

This is a 100% French movie possibly not ever intended for American viewers. However, being the francophile that I am, I dug up "Flower of Evil" at my local library and proceeded to view it with much anticipation. Nathalie Baye is one of my favorite French actresses.

The story moves along a little slow but the mood of the film is enticing and it leads you to believe that something dark is lurking just beneath the surface.

That dark stuff emerges later on in various subplots while the entire plot does thicken up a bit with good tension. I felt a bit let down when it came time for a climax but I wouldn't dismiss this film because of that, I really enjoyed the superb acting, fine character development, and otherwise gripping story, a characteristic of many French dramas. Maybe some of the subtlety was just lost on me, but I liked the fact that you're never sure who's good or bad, but you end up feeling for each character.

"La Fleur du Mal" is a film for serious film watchers and/or students of acting or drama, and not for mindless entertainment.

Director Chabrol takes on the French bourgeois so insidiously, so quietly, so subtly, that you don't realize his cinematic scalpel has just removed several layers of sensitive skin; this family-based thriller shows a woman running for office, examines her philandering husband, and zeroes in on two slightly incestuous slightly related children, all under the care of a quietly smiling, deadly caretaker, who smiles while encouraging the tots to misbehave.

The plot, such as it is, could be frustrating if the viewer is looking for any kind of forward action--this is an expose of empty morality, and hardly qualifies as a suspense film (you might even ask--when will this end?), but in considering the gorgeously cinematic interiors (and beach setting) in contrast to the vapid emptiness each character ultimately reveals, this could be a film you like very much; it's typically French in that it tends to look inside rather than outside, examine character development in lieu of action perpetrated by a hero.

"Flower of Evil" tells of a French Bordeaux bourgeoisie family of three generations with a family tree like a Los Angeles freeway map and a history of evil doings which doesn't really have anything to do with anything. As this film rolls along with the la-de-da day-to-day business of the mother running for local civic office while the step-sibs falling in love and granny putters around the garden, one can only wonder what the hell, if anything, is being developed in this apparent nonstory. When the end credits roll unexpectedly one can only wonder what Chabrol had in mind and why it was never really brought into clarity of fruition at the end. A kind of moderately interesting floparoo, this subtitled French flick has plenty of talent but no story. (C+)

Destiny -- how much of your family bloodline and what they have done before determine what you will be and do? Destiny is a major theme in Chabrol's efficient "La Fleur Du Mal".

It's a straightforward story on the surface, but you always get the feeling something deeper is lurking underneath -- not unlike some David Lynch fare. There is great acting by the entire ensemble -- from Nathalie Baye as a political animal, to Suzanne Flon as Aunt Tile, and especially the step-son and daughter who fall in love.

The end is a bit of a let-down -- after all the buildup, you anticipate something more profound or unexpected. But all in all, there are a lot worse films out there, and worse ways to spend 2 hours.

I saw "La fleur du mal" at the San Sebastian Film Festival last september. Certainly, this last Chabrol film isn't a great movie, though it's not an awful movie either. One has the feeling while watching it (and after having it watched)that it is all filmed with too much distance, too cold, no emotions whatsoever. Chabrol's study of a french, provincial, upper-bourgeousie family, that is rotten to its roots (they are all a bunch of hypocrites), lacks of passion, interest (you have seen this story many times on film) and, in my opinion, of humor and sarcasm. But I insist, its not a terrible movie(with ticket prices so high nowadays, at least here in spain, sometimes you just have to get mad while watching some movies lately); its just too long, too conventional and too plain.

'La fleur du mal' (English title 'The Flower of Evil') made in 2003 by Claude Chabrol opens with a fairly long frame in which the camera takes us from the ground floor to the second floor of a bourgeois villa to stop on a corpse, which we guess is probably the result of a violent death. I don't think Alfred Hitchcock, the master of suspense that Chabrol so much admired and whom he emulated in the last decades of his career, would have refused to put his signature on this scene. Whose body is it? How did the death happen? These are the questions that 'La fleur du mal' will answer. However, this is not a simple police intrigue, because Chabrol, respecting many of the rules of the genre, is more interested in the social landscape - the wealthy French bourgeoisie with smoldering violence and secrets buried behind good manners and a refined lifestyle.

Most of the film's characters belong to three generations of a well-doing family, with properties, liberal professions, lucrative businesses and political ambitions. When one of the ladies of the family is running for the position of municipal councilor with good chances to become mayor, an anonymous opponent distributes a printed manifesto (today they would do it on social networks) in which shocking details about the family are reveiled. Behind the good manners, fine dining, and the aesthetics of the objects they surround themselves with, the family seems to have a past and a present haunted by marital infidelity, fathers betraying their sons and sons hating their fathers, incest, and suspicious accidental deaths, possible crimes. The problem is that almost everything that is written in that manifesto is also true. Vice and corruption are passed down from generation to generation. Luis Buñuel described in his famous 1972 film 'The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie', for this film by Claude Chabrol an alternative title could be 'The Discreet Horror of the Bourgeoisie'.

The film is made with care and impeccable cinematic technique. The acting is perfect and Nathalie Baye's fans have the opportunity to see her in a consistent mature role. It is one of the late films by Claude Chabrol, and the director of the New Wave period can be found perhaps in the way he treats the love story of the young generation heroes and in the music emphasizing and amplifying the feeling of tension that accumulates. The cinematography is cold, with a lot of attention paid to details. The ending is open to debate by the audiences, but the film's heroes don't seem to have much hesitation or scruples. The party goes on.

Caroline Eliacheff cannot tell us the story of this typical French family with a past. When the French have no inspiration, they turn to the WW II. The story is not convincing and the actors just talk to say nothing. The plot is ridiculous and tante Line (Suzanne Flon) must tell us the story of her life at the end of the movie to reveal us the background of this family. The only interesting thing of this movie are the visits by the female political candidate to the apartments of the "hlm".

This is a classical Chabrol film about the nature of crime. Chabrol gives major importance to the relationships in a family. The family is a normal family at first sight. But as the film proceeds we learn that there were betrayals, crimes and a murder in the family history. The grandfather has collaborated with the Nazis during the German occupation and has informed against his son and caused his death. Aunt Line was trialed for killing his father and found not guilty. Now Anne is the candidate for mayor and his husband Gerard is uneasy about his wife's political career and he seems to do everything to prevent her being elected as mayor. Love and crime are both inherits from one generation to the other. The woman characters of La Fleur du Mal are very interesting. They are strong, intelligent and giving. "Sooner or later one must pay for his/her crime" is one of the themes of the movie.

Claude Chabrol must have been very uninspired when he decided to bring this boring number to the screen. It doesn't help that he and Caroline Eliacheff must have been speaking a different language. One wonders if they thought they had a movie out of the material they assembled together. This is at best a poor French soap opera with no sense of direction.

Better luck next time M. Chabrol.

Everybody has them in their closet. Most of us manage to hide them quite well. Those that run for public office are just asking for trouble these days especially.

Just ask John Kerry or Sarah Palin. Ask about swift boats or trooper-gate. Those things come out in the wash. Even the local politicians have things like unpaid taxes and questionable associations that are brought to light.

But, murder? is that unusual. Not really, as it came up in the Clinton campaign in the form of unproven accusations.

Here, in a French film that most American audiences would not watch, we have actual murders being alleged. Also some fooling around being hinted at, and associations with Nazis (that was also used with Bush in reference to George's grandfather).

The film is slow, but exciting. You are watch each character closely to see who is good and who is evil. But, it is not that easy, as those who appear very good, have some evil in their past.

The acting was superb and the story was very good. The direction was excellent as the story flowed at the right pace and headed in the right direction.

Worth your time if you like watching characters interact.

The three films that Chabrol has made with a script by Caroline Eliacheff are some of the most soporific duds you'll ever see. La Cérémonie was pretty incoherent and dull, despite the splatter-fest at the end, Merci pour le chocolat wasted Isabelle Huppert's and Jacques Dutronc's considerable talents,and here is the latest--a mish-mash of incest, wartime collaboration scandals, and political satire (are municipal candidates really this cynical?). Chabrol still can't get away from savagely ripping into a bourgeoisie that gets feebler with every passing year.

I watched Nathalie Baye closely; she never broke out of a tired cynicism displayed with pursed mouth--in other words, she phoned in her performance. Benoit Magimel and Mélanie Doutey were fresh and very appealing as the young lovers, and Bernard Le Coq showed me once more that he is one of France's best actors. Suzanne Flon as Tante Line provided all the touching moments in the picture.

I think a little familiarity with T.S Eliot's play The Family Reunion, from which Chabrol undoubtedly draws and also with Burnt Norton is necessary to fully appreciate the film. The notion that the past is not really past at all, but a part of the relentless present is the driving force of the film. The footfalls of the past echo in memory, almost in Bergsonian duree. The protagonist coming back home after quite a number of years, skeletons out of the closet, clandestine and forbidden love affairs are archetypes that is at the deep structure of the film. At the core there is a dialogue between the past and the future, in the eternal present.

Move the story and don't just give me every little event in people's lives, please! Jeez, I could look out my window and watch people on the street if I wanted to witness every meaningless moment. The end was good and the daughter was hot.

I've seen tons of Chabrol movies ,about 95% of his films and all I can see is that the proportion of duds increases in the years.Even directors deserve retirement! The bourgeoisie dolce vita has been told told and TOLD by CC!Enough!I'm fed up!It's all the more infuriating as earlier works had bite and guts going for them ("que la bete meure" "la rupture" "la femme infidèle" )when it wasn't pure genius ("le boucher").We feel now,and it's the last straw,a discreet charm of the bourgeoisie,he treats his bourgeois indulgently.The actors go from excellent(veteran Suzanne Flon ,in a part not worthy of herself) to passable (Baye is good enough in her " visiting the Poor" scenes,a pale reflection of his predecessor Claude Autant-Lara' s "Douce" (1942))to dismal (Bernard LeCoq,generally relegated to mediocre comedies,Benoit Magimel and his girlfriend -who might not or might be his cousin-) Sign of the times:the gastronomy sequence which you can find in everything CC did ,for the first time is a fiasco:the oysters ,says bourgeois Magimel,are not what they used to be.If it were only the oysters....

Sarcastic political satire by Claude Chabrol

This almost 20-year-old film by master director Claude Chabrol is still almost perfect for election day 2022 in France. With his usual sharpness, he dissects the upper middle class of our neighboring country and relishes uncovering the dark abysses behind the glamorous facades.

The great Nathalie Baye (*1948) plays the mayoral candidate of a small town near Bordeaux, Anne Charpin-Vasseur. This is her second marriage to the respected pharmacist Gerard Vasseur (Bernard LeCoq). Both come from the two most influential families in the town and each brought their own child into the marriage. These two sweet young people, Michele and Francois (Melanie Doutey and Benoit Magimel), have come to feel more for each other as stepsister and brother. And then there's the lovely Aunt Line, played by the fabulous Suzanne Flon (1918-2005), who was soooooooo great in One Deadly Summer (1983). When really nasty leaflets dealing with the inglorious past of the two model families stir up the candidate's election campaign, the family façade crumbles... but hugely!

Wonderful, this is political entertainment at its finest! Chabrol goes where it hurts. Of course only a little, but it's definitely effective. The little scene with the opposing candidate from the far right is also wonderful. Smug and very French! But also indicative of the politics of the past decades! Remember what a legitimate shock it had when in 2002 the candidate (I'm deliberately leaving out the name!!!) from what was then called the FN made it into the runoff of the presidential election. Unfortunately, some things never change, but rather get worse over time!

A time diagnostician like Claude Chabrol is definitely always recommended. A filmmaker of this caliber could also be helpful in German-speaking countries.