Little Nothings

Discuss releases from Arrow and the films on them.

Moderator: yoloswegmaster

Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
DarkImbecile
Ask me about my visible cat breasts
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 6:24 pm
Location: Albuquerque, NM

Little Nothings

#1 Post by DarkImbecile » Fri Jul 24, 2020 11:34 am

Image

The debut feature of Cédric Klapisch, this lacerating critique of modern management techniques and globalisation marked the emergence of a major new talent in French Cinema.

Parisian department store Les Grandes Galeries is failing. In a last-ditch effort to save the 100-year-old store, the board hire Mr. Lepetit (Fabrice Luchini) and give him one year to turn things around. He begins with the staff, a microcosm of French society, who must learn to believe in themselves and each other.

At once warmly human and bitingly satirical, Little Nothings was an early entry in the kind of comedy-drama mix that French cinema excels at, and Klapisch would prove himself a master of. Available on home video for the first time in English speaking countries.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
  • High definition digital transfer
  • Original uncompressed mono audio
  • Newly translated optional English subtitles
  • Leçon de cinéma de Cédric Klapisch et Jackie Berroyer – a 52-minute documentary on the film makers at work
  • Ce qui me meut [What Moves Me] (1986) – a 24-minute short film by Cédric Klapisch
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Scott Saslow
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector's booklet featuring new writing by Ginette Vincendeau

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Little Nothings

#2 Post by domino harvey » Fri Jul 24, 2020 12:27 pm

Haven't seen this one yet but I'm surprised they went with this over some of his more commercial titles, not that I'm complaining!

User avatar
therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Little Nothings

#3 Post by therewillbeblus » Fri Jul 24, 2020 12:41 pm

I actually haven't seen anything by Cédric Klapisch (at least in memory) so this seems to be as good a place to start as any

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Little Nothings

#4 Post by domino harvey » Fri Jul 24, 2020 12:51 pm

His trilogy of films (L'auberge espagnole, Les poupées russes, Casse-tête chinois) with Romain Duris and Audrey Tautou aren't amazing, but thery're consistent and kind of a glossy approach to showing a series of the same characters/actors aged across the years along with running gags (for instance, in each installment, at least one unlucky cast member from the troupe is called upon to run at full speed completely nude through a public area). Though credibility is wayyyyy stretched in the second one where a bunch of former roommates all travel to Russia for the wedding of the brother of one of their roomies. Uh huh. Lots of busy stylistics, very commercial but youth-appealing. I probably would have liked them more if I saw them when I was in college, but one of them didn't yet exist at that point!

User avatar
therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Little Nothings

#5 Post by therewillbeblus » Fri Jul 24, 2020 11:42 pm

Watched this tonight and unfortunately I thought it was a series of total misfires, in attempting a weird forced-social Tati or Étaix flick. Part of the problem is that Klapisch struggles on a formal level to engage his audience, as he cannot even figure out how to create a consistent approach to telling his story. The camera distances us often to show a wide frame of goingons, yet there's no details or mannerisms to notice or pay attention to, and the scenes all cut so quickly they seem purposeless (though there are enough closeups of exchanges that I thought of Étaix's combination of close-up intimacy with the wide-scope schematic gags- except all fall flat). None of the characters (if you can even refer to them as such) are interesting or even developed as distinguishable people, and so when they interact their dynamics are sterile with a nonexistent energy. I 'get' the idea is to show social struggles and glare with pity and dark laughs at the relatability of the banalities in vapid exchanges, but there's nothing funny or interesting about situations and people that aren't even given a chance to be unidimensional or placed in a position to identify with.

Klapisch actually plays everything extremely safe, and his rapid movement through setpieces suggests that he's trying to express something creatively only for every one to pass by leaving me scratching my head. A lack of confidence perhaps, or skills, or a basic comprehension of contextual sensory elicitation, be it for humor or insight. A few sorta-scraping-at-inspired moments come early during the commute to work, especially the according player singing condescending lyrics to passengers trapped on a train with him, but they're so rare that they feel like accidents in a movie designed not to impress (a third act blink-and-you-miss-it nudist grocery store trip has potential, but is yet another shoehorned concept that specifically doesn't work because it's too afraid to breathe). And the final satirical 'twist' is like a toned down version of all didactic capitalist satirical clichés, in this case especially unearned because there's been no growth or investment for the mic to drop against.

I honestly can't remember the last time I watched a movie where I felt completely empty, not able to attach to any emotion, surrogate character, intellectual idea, environmental cue, or technical admiration. Maybe someone will get something out of this that causes me to re-evaluate, but I'm pretty sure that this is both a subjectively unfunny and inarticulate film, and just a poorly constructed bad movie. There are few things I have less patience for than when filmmakers pretend to have big ideas (usually a satire of sorts) and instead of taking risks just miscommunicate half-realised ideas until all passion behind the camera is diluted in front of it, so I'm sure part of this is me. Still, what a dog. If the goal was to paint such a dull milieu that we become as apathetic and spiritless as the people in the film, then I guess it's a success. Not even Nathalie Richard's presence made me smile, and I'm pretty sure that's scientifically impossible (okay, the wallpaper comment almost did).

User avatar
NABOB OF NOWHERE
Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:30 pm
Location: Brandywine River

Re: Little Nothings

#6 Post by NABOB OF NOWHERE » Sat Jul 25, 2020 5:13 am

therewillbeblus wrote:
Fri Jul 24, 2020 12:41 pm
I actually haven't seen anything by Cédric Klapisch (at least in memory) so this seems to be as good a place to start as any
'When the cat's away' is quite cute and benefits from its Nouvelle Vague rhythms. By far the best for me is 'Un air de Famille' which in turn benefits greatly from the presence and script writing of Bacri and Jaoui and not to forget a major role for Catherine Frot . For the rest what I have seen seems flabby fluffy and flappy in comparison. I did find the Netflix series 'Dix pour cent' enjoyable in which he has a hand. I know this a rather desultory résumé but sometimes you just have to piss in the sink.

Post Reply