In The House

I have not been to the cinema since Star Trek
Too long
Too long
So tonight I went to Theatre Clwyd and saw something with subtitles!
Umhauer &Luchine
The black comic/ thriller  In The House has an interesting premise. 
What would happen when a bored teacher , Germain ( Woody Allen look-a-like Fabrice Luchine) becomes obsessed with the writings of a talented pupil? Personal stories which are apparently based on meetings the pupil , Claude ( Ernst Umhauer) constructs with the family of a fellow pupil.
Initially the stories hint at the sexual obsession Claude has for Esther, the lonely mother of the family, but then  things take an odd turn of events when Germain tries to manipulate the reality of the situation in order to help Claude write a better story.
This is a witty film that has a lot to say about the blurring the lines of reality, voyeurism and the pain of being sixteen, but I couldn't help feeling that it would have made a better thriller rather than a slightly confusing but clever comic satire.
7/10

16 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:06 pm

    I wonder if I can find this on Hulu? you've piqued my curiosity you know...plus I love sub titles...really!!! :)

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  2. Anonymous11:11 pm

    since I'm first :) I had an interesting experience with blogspot this AM...I signed in and thought I'd accessed La La land...did not recognize the landscape...and had a message that said I did not have a blogspot blog so I must have made an error since I needed to create one first!!! HELLO!!! I pushed a kazillion buttons and finally, finally found my poor little blog shivering in the cold having a google nightmare! :D

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  3. Looks to be interesting enough, John.

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  4. I like to get ideas for movies to see so read your post with interest; the most recent one hubby and I saw in a theater was The Silver Linings Playbook (excellent) and we rented The Late Quartet, also excellent, great cast, a classical music quartet in serious trouble.

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  5. Interesting observations of the film. Were the subtitles in Welsh?

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  6. I usually like watching a movie with subtitles. I tend to concentrate more! lol

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  7. Well I haven't even seen Star Trek yet, so this is over my head.

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  8. Sounds like it would make a good thriller - The Woody Allen look alike could nail that I reckon !

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  9. I love a film with subtitles, I'm currently watching The Returned on TV, not a film I know BUT it does have subtitles.

    They seem to stop me nibbling, I guess my poor old brain can only cope with two things at once, reading and watching, so I seem to relax more.

    Who knew subtitles could help with the old diet :-)

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  10. You seem to get quite obscure films in your neck of the woods John.

    Thanks for the Clutterbuck link - interesting. I didn't realise that there was an actual person called that.

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  11. PS The farmer has just told me that we have plenty of Clutterbucks living round here in the Yorkshire Dales - it is not an uncommon name.

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  12. Loved this. And I enjoyed the way Ozon keeps it teetering on the edge of several genres without committing to any single one. You don't mention Kristin Scott Thomas here; thought she did a really lovely turn as the wife (that gallery sequence!)

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  13. Sounds fun...you do get to see some interesting films...

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  14. Yes, this was a good one, rather disturbing in its central idea - and all the better for not trying to reach beyond relatively modest aims. I absolutely go along with your recommendation - and echo Alex R above in singling out the ever-splendid Kristin S T for especial praise.

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  15. Unlikely to grace our closest cinema in the rather dreary Okehampton, but I'll keep an eye out on BBC4!

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