Elle ne pleure pas, elle chante (2011) User Reviews

Satisfactory

[timlin-4 · 6/10 · 29 December 2014]

A pretty standard story about an emotionally damaged young woman trying to resolve her issues and get on with her life, this time in the hospital room of her comatose dad. Though there is not much surprising in the storyline--messy apartment, messy family, messy love life, messy psychology, and scenes with a child to prove that she is nevertheless an endearing person under the mess--the movie is competently put together, and acted well enough to be engaging even with one participant lying motionless. In my opinion these kinds of stories of sexual abuse that recount the smallest details seem rather exploitative, but the biggest annoyance is the predictably low-key ending.

The consequences of abuse

[hof-4 · 8/10 · 27 January 2017]

The movie deals with the terrible consequences of parental abuse on Laura, a woman in her late twenties. She lives alone and has, not surprisingly, serious problems not only in her relations with men but in all aspects of her life. She has never been able to confront openly her father (or her mother, who, also not surprisingly, is in denial), or to discuss her past with her brother, who probably suspected all along but chose to look the other way.

Laura is finally able to confront her demons when her father lies in a coma after an auto accident. The movie ends on an optimistic note, although one wonders whether a true deliverance has been reached.

There have been other movies dealing with this subject, or parts of it, but this one is exceptionally good. The script by director Philippe de Pierpont eschews sentimentality and shows a healthy disregard for the "honor thy father and thy mother" injunction. This is an actor's movie, and de Pierpont's direction is fluid and unobtrusive, allowing the actors to do their job; they are all excellent. The exposition is concise and to the point, and every scene has a meaning and a place. This is one of those privileged movies where one is reminded of Godard's dictum "the cinema is truth 24 frames-per-second."

Even the title is beautiful: Elle ne pleure pas, elle chante is a metaphor for Heaven, redemption, reconstruction, deliverance. Definitely a movie to watch.

Laura

[Kirpianuscus · 13 March 2023]

A young woman visiting, dayly, her father in coma. The motif - a sort of revenge, defined by memories about his abusive behavior in her childhood.

This reproches are part of a life defined by tensioned relations with her mother and boyfriend, good virtues of nanny for her nephews and ambiguous connection with her brother.

Sure, familiar behavior of young adult .

Good portrait of Laura offered by Erika Sainte, correct work of Marijke Pinoy.

And insnspired scenes of conflict of Laura against herself. A film using, in smart manner, the ambiguity of presumed experiences and obvious need of love.