August 32nd on Earth (1998) User Reviews

Director shows promise

[JuguAbraham · 7/10 · 9 September 2001]

This film was one of three movies at the Hyderabad Film Festival in January 1999 that caught my eye.

For a first feature film by a director, this effort is commendable. No doubt this Canadian was helped with the choice of a stunning actress, a good editor, and above average cinematography. The weakest point was the script.

I look forward to seeing more films by this director and the lead actress Pascale Bussières. Denis Villeneuve has talent, it only needs to be developed further through experience.

Now I get Denis Villeneuve.

[Aman_Goyal · 7/10 · 14 May 2020]

I've watched all his mainstream films, but they were too good to understand in every aspect, especially the deep hidden meanings beyond those spectacular visuals, stunning cinematography as in BLADE RUNNER 2049, actions in SICARIO, and emotional and dramatic thrills in INCENDIES and PRISONERS. But after watching a small and mediocre films as this, now I understand why Villeneuve is special. He made full use of one accident scene and all the desert scenes making the film look almost as beautiful as car chasing scenes in THE DARK KNIGHT and the space sequences in GRAVITY, INTERSTELLAR, etc respectively. He managed to give an average script a direction which is more than extraordinarily.

Also the performances of both leads were great. The cab driver subplot also had a promising thriller content, which could've been more useful if the film had been a thriller.

Overall, beautiful direction and great performances make this mediocre story to be more than one time watch. 7/10 (6 for script, 8 for acting, 9 for direction )

Fin Août Début Septembre

[dbdumonteil · 6/10 · 20 January 2007]

Simone (Pascale Bussières) is a young Canadian fashion model who is on the brink of a brilliant career. But this bright future could be thwarted due to a serious car accident of which she miraculously survives. In the aftermath, she decides to put an end to her professional life and becomes obsessed with the idea to have a baby. So, she persuades her best friend, Philippe (Alexis Martin) to act with and for her and the latter accepts provided they do it in the desert. A few days later, they are in this silent, eerie place...

"Un 32 Août Sur Terre" is a curious work that will puzzle a good proportion of viewers. It reminded me a lot of "Twentynine Palms" (2003) by Bruno Dumont although this film is posterior to Denis Villeneuve's film. This was also a film set in an ominous, desert place and in which evolved two tortured characters. They had (wild) sex there and they were surrounded by an unforgiving humanity. In a way, humanity isn't also very gentle to Simone and Philippe in this film: the taxi driver jettisons them in the desert, Alexis is bludgeoned by a gang of ruffians.

Simone's demeanor leaves the ground open for many interpretations: is it because she came close to death that she wants to have a baby? Does she want to discover a new way of life? And if so, where does it lead her? Apart from other many questions that will rise in the viewer's mind, Villeneuve deftly uses the desert landscapes to create majestic, entrancing images. It's even a sort of "in camera" that the director manages to create. A sensation that will come again later when the two friends are in the cramped hotel room. The sense of fantastic is palpable throughout the film: from this car accident to these extra days in August that don't exist to this irrational sequence during which the gang beat Philippe to death. In the end, Villeneuve shrouds his film with a philosophical dimension revolving around life and death.

In Philippe's house, there's a cover depicting Jean Seberg who saw her career taking off thanks to Jean-Luc "God Ard"'s "A Bout De Soufflé" (1959). Godard's detractors blame him for his intellectual pretensions which clutter his works. Many viewers will also deem this work as highbrow and elusive for understandable reasons. Keep it for a day during which you are prone to reflection and thought as it's not a work for the mainstream. And for French viewers, beware! As Quebec people speak with a very pronounced accent, it's sometimes difficult to decipher their words

Empty story - but oddly fulfilling movie

[Eric-1226 · 3 September 2001]

I watched this movie wondering if I wasn't watching a sort of Seinfeldian version of movie-making - that is, "a show about nothing."

It dawned on me after watching this movie that this is basically what I saw - a big bunch of nothingness. And yet the story was beautiful and disturbing and depressing and inspiring, and ultimately poetic... I guess that's what they mean by "atmospheric" as used in describing a film.

The cinematography was superb - the part where the two lead characters ended up in the Utah salt desert was just so awesome. The acting was seamless, though I was handicapped by seeing it with English subtitles: since I don't know French, I fear that a good bit of the emotive force of the story, as told through the dialogue, was lost on me.

Anyway, I am so glad I taped this off of late night Canadian television, I definitely plan to watch it again. It's a movie you not so much "look" at, but "feel". Watch it, feel it... you'll see.

Enjoyable film let down by a preposterous ending story wise

[robinpollard-84019 · 6/10 · 28 November 2021]

You can see DVs eye for directing and cinematography throughout. It was a thought provoking story that was derailed by the most out there left turn I've ever seen. Saying there a crazy twist isn't a spoiler as you won't see it coming.

Decent debut

[Movi3DO · 6/10 · 15 October 2021]

That's one weird looking desert.

Denis Villeneuve's first debut featured film. When the main character confessed her intention to her best friend, I honestly thought this movie was a comedy, because of the absurdity of the situation. Still, as the drama started to show, the characters became the carrying aspect of the movie.

The theme of existential crisis was explored in a decent way. The weirdness of the way the characters trying to find meanings in their lives was reflected through the bizarre title of the movie. I think this aspect was quite clever, and later on as the date changes this theme became clearer.

The biggest problem was for sure the pacing. The movie was very slow and sometimes meandering despite the runtime not reaching the one hour and 30 minutes mark.

Overall, a decent debut from Villeneuve. 6/10.

Villeneuve debut film

[MarcoParzivalRocha · 6/10 · 20 January 2021]

Simone is involved in a car accident that leaves her with existential doubts, and decides to have a baby, and sees in her best friend, Phillipe, the best option to be the father. Phillipe accepts, as long as they have sex in a desert.

It's always good to see the debut film by the directors we really like, in this case, one that I particularly admire, Denis Villeneuve.

As is common among newcomers, it was written and directed by him, which allowed him to wild, so to speak, which on one hand immediately made him very aware about the visual, in terms of photography, and aesthetic, but leaving the narrative part empty and very basic.

Thanks to a very strong protagonist (Pascale Bussières) this film is an ok to watch, and was the starting point of one of the best directors nowadays.

I love this Villeneuve Debut Film

[ongoam · 7/10 · 29 December 2021]

Inspried from French New Waves Denis Villeneuve use various thing to made this movies from 1960s French New Waves to 70s and 80s American Art film. And I love it.

Quite Promising

[samarthgrover · 9/10 · 31 August 2020]

I enjoy chronologically moving up the filmographies of directors I admire. I watched this about 5 or 6 years ago (when I was 17) and didn't think too much of it then but watched it again on a whim now and I feel as if certainly grown in the meantime to appreciate more than the boring superficialities I had unconciously learned through so many years of popular media consumption. I now change my rating from 5 to 9 stars, because for me, now, the definition of a good film is this magical creation of a mood and atmosphere where you can occupy the space with the characters. The story doesn't always matter. You crash your car, perhaps you die, perhaps you go into a coma or perhaps you really break your window and escape from your car, there's no telling. Perhaps it's all a dream and why not since it's August 32nd from the time after the crash (well at least until it's suddenly 5th september after 36th August sometime near the end of the film; could that be a hint towards a reality?). Who knows, really? Charred body of a stranger in the desert, a swindler cabbie who cheats you and gives you a nosebleed (just like when you got a nosebleed sometime after your crash) and more evil men who randomly drive up to people and beat them to coma in the middle of the night...it's certainly a strange and difficult world. A vast and white desert, a claustrophobic and white room for the night, will the characters ever mate with each other? Did anyone else notice how the shot of the cab driving into the road leading to the white desert had this very phallic imagery? Hah not sure how much I'm reading into it. The strange nature of these observations and hints dropped throughout the film will resurface later in Villeneuve's Enemy (which is brilliant imo). There is a quiet, realistic humour throughout which is mostly missing from Villeneuve's other works but works well here to sustain the "mood". It's a film about nothing which "hints" towards a "something". Perhaps the hint is based on nothing really...perhaps the director himself does not know...it doesn't matter. Would recommend, it's always good to watch stuff which makes you think...even about nothing.

Just watch it and see

[ebeckstr-1 · 7/10 · 11 February 2023]

Fascinating and perplexing. Kind of an existential anti-romcom with an indiscernible quote-unquote scifi something or other going on which contributes to the existential distanciation. It's the kind of movie you can watch as a straight plot if you want to ignore the symbolism; but the moment you start thinking about how the disjointed speed-editing and swishpans settle into longer shots and then disappear, how open spaces and claustrophobic spaces alternate, how capricious violence plays into the themes, how an ancient sea bed devoid of life except for two people contemplating creating new life means something particular within the context of an August with 36 Days... Well. Watch it with someone who is willing to talk about it afterwards or be prepared to talk to yourself about it afterwards.

Good intentions - but - ultimately flawed film

[adrean-819-339098 · 4/10 · 1 November 2011]

A crash. As a result how a person may evaluate what's really important in life. This is not an altogether unfamiliar scenario and one that can be done well.

This film struck me as distinctly not knowing where it stood. Was it a full-on soul searching drama. Was it a light comedy? Was it an off the cuff indie film? Was it a road film? It seemed to jump from each to each depending on the directors mood I guess. I know well enough that a film could be several things but in this case it was clear as day, as least for me, that the director could not piece the film together to build any tension or rhythm.

I could not join the dots. It seems as if the characters underwent no transformation. The characters were mildly interesting at best and struck me as selfish. The dialogue was uninteresting. Jean Seberg's poster reminded me that two people talking about nothing could be fascinating, as in Godard's "a bout de soufflé" (breathless). Not here.

I saw Bergman's 'Summer with Monika' which has two young people living on an island for a summer. That film had tension, passion and ultimately a conclusion that we cared about. Just when this film couldn't get any worse he goes and gets a coma. Who cares. "I Know. It's Serious" Morrissey. Thankyou.

A film to see for its actors, the scenario and photography.

[Moustafa · 9/10 · 1 November 1998]

This film is a delignt! Pascale Bussières is, as always, seductive and enchanting. Alexis Martin is touching and funny. I hope a translation in English will bring out the subtle humor of Simone (Pascale Bussières)and her friend (Alexis Martin). Just for the love letter and the scene of Alexis in a Japanese-like room mimicing weightlessness, this film is a must! All about the problems of the X generation, "Un 32 août sur terre" also offers a broad reflection on sex relations and the meaning of life. The scenes in Salt Lake City are superb. The plot ? A woman crashes with her car in the night, her whole life will be upset. See the rest !

"Poetic"?

[Tokyo_ghost · 5/10 · 25 August 2003]

I guess this is the kind of movie you'll like if you call a sheet of paper totally painted in a single color «art».

Long. Uninteresting (for the scenario part I mean, the visuals are quite good). Falsely "profound". I still can't believe the 3 minutes scene where they are sitting in the desert, looking at each other, than looking at the ground, then looking at each other, etc. No, I don't think action is required for a movie to be good, but I do believe a plot and a decent scenario is always a good idea.

And what to say about the end? When I saw it all I could think of was «I think I saw 10 movies that ended this way», and I felt like laughing (I believe it was supposed to make you cry, not sure, the "ambiance" thing everyone is talking about seems not to have worked on me). I believe listening to the silence is an activity as exciting as watching this movie.

Triumphant

[dilcsi · 9/10 · 16 October 1999]

This wonderful and surprising movie is one of the most memorable and affecting Canadian films of the past decade. Acting is outstanding, mise-en-scene stylish and compelling. Well worth making a special effort to see...

A Silent Beginning To Contemporary Cinema's Most Versatile Filmmaker

[CinemaClown · 16 January 2018]

Not too shabby for a debut feature, August 32nd on Earth brings its whacky premise to cinematic life in a simple, amusing fashion, and is a well crafted, wonderfully photographed & finely performed dramedy that commences Denis Villeneuve's filmmaking journey on a promising note, if not a memorable one.

A movie I loved but.... I can't say why?

[theshanecarr · 9/10 · 31 January 2021]

There's so much here; two fantastic performances from Pascale Bussières and Alexis Martin as the leads. A film that looks so sharp, so arresting (all the more impressive when you consider the modest budget). Bravura editing. A wonderful score. And even a sorta meta fascination as the full length feature debut of writer/director Denis Villeneuve.

And yet.....

Something about the narrative and its structure doesn't quite pay off, though there is enough going on that I've found myself subsequently asking myself "what was that about?" It starts with some high stakes tension, but reveals itself about 30 minutes in to be about something else. And the ending left me questioning what I should understand from what I had experienced. Maybe that's a good thing? But it felt a little muddled.

It may be retrospective justification but you can see the dazzling visual sense on display here. The scenes in the airport and in the desert stand out, but there are quieter scenes too of simply being alone at home where the framing, editing and score combine into a soothing, melancholic reverie.

But there are things that leave one trying to work them out; the onscreen dates that don't exist in real life, the recurrence of a car-related nose bleed, unexpected traumas and death.

Maybe it's about the lure of foreign destinations, and of the visions we have for our lives, and the disappointments and practicalities that come with realising both.

I don't know. I do know that the more i write, the more I think this is a movie that defies explanation, and you have to just experience it. What was it all about? I'm not sure. But I loved it.

one of the best

[a-fool · 27 February 2001]

I'm here just to say it's qualified to be among the best ones, deserves watching more than once,and the director is very promising, for it's his debut.

The reality is so ridiculous and unreasonable, we have to accept it as it is.Fortunately, we still have love to warm us and protect us from the coldness and cruelty.

which needs to be added,the leading actress Pascale is nearly perfect,I also got a glimpse of her in Five Senses.I hope I can see her in When Night is Falling someday.

Nice debut from Villeneuve

[gbill-74877 · 8/10 · 12 March 2023]

"I don't want to see you again. To preclude cruel encounters, I propose the following: I'll take Central America, east of St. Lawrence Blvd., India, New York, and Byblos. I'll leave you the rest of the planet. That seems fair."

Denis Villeneuve's first film felt a little less than fully cohesive, but ultimately its quirkiness and ambiguity won me over. On the positive side, it has surreal elements, a gorgeous use of the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, and bittersweet touches of a love story between two friends. It's also got scenes which showed a real flair, such as the confined, white interior of the 'Space Hotel' at the airport, which was a nice parallel to the seemingly endless, blinding salt flats. On the negative side, some of the moments in the film are held too long, unsupported by meaningful dialogue, and suspicious character motivations make the sequence of events in the story questionable, at least if taken literally.

There are many things which defy reason and leave the film open to interpretation, starting with most of the action occurring on days which go from August 32 to August 36 before jumping to September 5 and September 9 near the end. After falling asleep at the wheel and overturning her car, a disoriented young woman (Pascale Bussières) wanders through a thick field and sees two different vehicles, which is never explained. Later, feeling an existential crisis over the incident, she asks her best friend (Alexis Martin) to impregnate her despite his relationship with another woman, and he reluctantly accepts provided that they do it in the desert. Without asking a single question for this absurd condition, she immediately books a flight to the nearest desert in Utah. What? The two take a taxi out to the Bonneville Salt Flats, running afoul of the cabbie who reads a book called 'The Extraterrestrials' when he isn't trying to extort money from them. Left alone in the desert in the middle of the day for hours without water and forced to walk back, they don't suffer physically at all, and in fact find time for a silly argument before she comes across a charred corpse, which is also never explained.

One of the obvious interpretations is that all of these events on non-existent days are in her mind following the accident, with some flashes of reality, such as the moment they were hiking on a hilltop and parted enigmatically, or when he was beaten into a coma by young thugs. I don't think that quite works, and I'm glad it's not as simple as that. What is clear is that these two friends should have been together as lovers, but missed connecting because of the timing in their lives. He was in love with her but she was busy being a model and didn't see him this way until it was too late. Tragedy struck in different ways for them, forcing her to reevaluate her life and only hoping he could return to normal. The film seems to be about priorities in life, about connection, and the need to seize the moment with the people around us while we can.

Mubi Selection.

[yusufpiskin · 8/10 · 13 January 2021]

The sound and vision of this film are just unreal off the charts beautiful. I was immersed in a way I haven't been by a film in a long time. Denis Villeneuve has always been at it.

Whimsical puzzle

[hof-4 · 8/10 · 4 May 2023]

As the movie opens Simone, a professional model, is driving at night on a deserted highway near Montreal. She falls asleep at the wheel and drifts out of the highway at speed. In the next scene the following morning, we see her car overturned. She is apparently unscathed, trapped in the car and fighting to get out, which she does promptly. She returns to the highway for help and is picked up by a Good Samaritan, who drives her to hospital for tests. She asks for the date, and he answers emphatically August 32. That is a clue that what we are watching is not reality. This feeling intensifies with some somewhat absurd happenings, like: Simone wants his best friend and ex-boyfriend Philippe to conceive a child with her, snd he accepts only on condition that the deed be done in the middle of a desert. This is then attempted by flying to Salk Lake City and taking a taxi to the Bonneville Salt Flats. The driver, waiting for fares at the airport is reading the book "How to Develop Friendship with Extraterrestrials".

There may be various ways to interpret the happenings. Perhaps the inexistent August 32 is a symbol that Simone has decided to remake her life from the ground up. Perhaps, and more probable, it means that all is a dream that she dreams in comma in hospital. Perhaps it is a dream that she dreams at the instant of death; the last interpretation has been taken up by other films like Yella (2007) by Cristian Petzold. Be it as it may, Denis Villeneuve's feature film debut is a masterpiece where dots are left for the viewer to connect. Besides an excellent script and direction, the movie is supported by first rate acting (especially from Pascale Bussières) and cinematography by André Turpin.that does justice to city landscapes and to the stark beauty of the salt flats.