The Fire Within

It's rare for a Malle film to really grab hold of my soul, but I usually get something out of them and this was no exception. A very accurate portrayal of depression and the suicidal impulse, where somehow nothing seems worth living for and everything seems pointless and your flaws are insurmountable and irredeemable. Malle cheats a little by layering on the Erik Satie music, which is like instant poignancy. He knows how to work it, though... few things get me going like "Gymnopedie #1".

Somber and ruminative, a compelling consideration of depression. The film does a nice job depicting the ways in which personal history stays with someone and influences current identity. Ronet's character is continually encountering people who are dredging up stories of his old booze-soaked exploits or otherwise looking at his strictly through the lens of who he used to be. The film is about a reluctance to grow, but it also indicts those who constrain that process. Bleak, but deeply rewarding.

The most vivid and affecting examination of depression I have ever seen in film. Masterpiece.

The Saddest Movie in the World. But by Malle's typically reserved and elegant direction it avoids sentimentality.

Louis Malle is becoming one of my favorite directors, He must be the master of the mundane, but telling detail... visually, this is amazing. And the intimate moments are superb. He loses the thread somewhat when it gets chatty--I found the dinner party scene near the end the least compelling sequence for that reason. But overall, extraordinary.

Malle grips the wandering soul with fragile finger tips as it tries once more to touch everything it has ever believed in. To leave you in despair is an understatement. Beautifully done.

Le Feu Follet has closeups and directed lighting, refreshing features for a French film of its day, and I dare say it looks lovelier than many of its contemporaries. It's an imperfect but good movie, with an intriguing main character despite the fact that he hasn't much of an arc - he's depressed and desperate from beginning to end. Sometimes, the script is too explicit; too much is said rather than shown, as was often the trouble with French New Wave, but it's never as bad as Rohmer.

This was great. I should watch more of Malle's work. 'Oslo, August 31st' by Joachim Trier, based on the same story, is pretty great too.

"Le Feu follet" is a quietly moving and insightful take on depression that manages to capture the feeling of meaninglessness thanks to Malle's understated but elegant visual style and Ronet's solid performance. However, when the film resorts to words in order to express what it had so wonderfully articulated with visuals, it descends to typical, pretentious New Wave gibberish, although there are morsels of truth to be found in the dialogues as well. Overall, noteworthy but not exceptional.

Beautifully melancholy.

A very despairing and somber movie, though not bleak in the typical sense; Maurice Ronet's Alain Leroy is so determined to find some passion worth living for that the movie never feels like it's hitting you over the head with the tragedy of his circumstances.

A film as mirthless as its protagonist. Although almost too weighty and grievous, it contain moments of irresistible power, loudly somber and quietly desperate.

Alain Leroy: "Life flows too slowly on me. So I speed it up. I set it right."

Trinta anos essa noite estreava há 60 anos na Itália. Talvez essa seja a grande obra-prima do Malle, apesar de ter grande apreciação por vários filmes dele, nenhum me parece tão pessoal e ao mesmo tempo universal como esse. Box Versátil Nouvelle Vague Volume 4.

one way to stop drinking

much Lower than my expectation!!!

bu adam ben

Louis Malle's film captures a suicidal's (Alain Leroy) indifference to the world around him very well. In fact, the film has the same attitude towards the audience which works to a certain extent. It doesn't waste time rationalizing or dramatizing suicidal behavior which is the icing on the cake. However, I can't help thinking if it could be much better, because it's such a damn good subject that a bad film couldn't be bought into existence anyway.

alinasyon ve depresyon hakkında izlediğim en iyi filmlerden

Nicely directed. The attention to the small details really makes you pay attention to how this might be the guy's last day on Earth. The character didn't really stick with me though. Maybe I'm not depressed enough.

one of the best movies that has "alienation" theme.

Sonlara doğru abi biraz çenesini tutaydı iyiydi. Ne güzel bakıyordu etrafa halbuki. Oslo’dan sevgiler.

Capricórnio

"I'm not gone. But I'm going." Malle's devastating depiction of depression and substance abuse is an uncompromising foray into the mind of someone whose existence no longer possesses meaning or passion. The film succeeds in avoiding undue maudlin sentimentality due to restrained direction and a thoughtful script, and Leroy's gaunt features accentuate his inner torment, convincingly played with delicate expressiveness by Maurice Ronet.

This is a very unsettling movie; the acting and cinematography is really good and sets the grim tone in the whole film. The story is captivating because it gets you into the main characters journey; you feel his pain and his disconnection as he sees familiar faces gone in totally different ways that when he met them, and now he knows he has lost youth, charm, health and purpose.

84.000

watching it 2nd time around hit worse than the initial one.

Not about the time I live in. But I highly recommend Oslo, August 31st. Same book, different country, different generation.

dış mekan çekimlerinde kameraya mel mel bakan masum fransız köylüleri olmayaydı puanım 10 olacaktı. bi el sallamadıkları kalmış. böyle konularda titizlik gösterilmemesi, -çekildiği dönem göz önüne alınsa bile- filmin kalitesine gölge düşürüyor benim nazarımda. (hele ki aynı yıllarda kusursuz çekilmiş kalabalık dış mekan sahnelerini ihtiva eden filmleri tecrübe ettikten sonra.)

I actually prefer Trier's take on the material, but that might be because I can connect more to the troubles of a 30ish Norwegian ca 2011 than this guy. However, I really like this story and it's a very good and moving film, plus Malle does the cafe scene much better than Trier did. Also wonderful opening scene, great music, well-acted and generally visually pleasant (Criterion print is very good).

It was filmed beautifully, but I think they should have put more emphasis on the visual storytelling rather than the talking. It somehow made me unable to connect with the film at times. Still, it was interesting for the most part and the piano music in the background was very well suited with the tone of the film.

#878

29 octubre 2011 - Feia molt que la tenia pendent. Interessant, sensació aliena, coses que se m'escapen, no acabava d'entendre la situació, el personatge. He de tornar-hi

23 Mart 2011 & yonetmenin izledigim ilk filmi & icten bir siir gibi. etrafinda bir cok kadin varken hicbirinin gercekten ilgili olmamasi, erkek olamamak. olgun, para sahibi, kariyer sahibi olamamak ve varolmak ile ol(a)mamak arasindaki ince cizgi. insanlardan umudunu kesip, tum insanliktan kendini izole ettigi -hissettigi- cafe sahnesinde ickiye tekrar baslamasi bir kirilma noktasidir. iste tam o an kabul etmistir her seyi. filmin geneline yayilmis buyuk kabullenilmislik var. mukemmel bir film.

Quite depressing, but it's a good movie. The beautiful music fits perfectly with this movie. *sigh*

Very well-crafted. But awfully talky and beatnik-y.

818

Shattering study of alcoholism. Probably Malle's best early film -- photographed, scored, (with the music of Erik Satie), and acted to maximum effect -- and with a minimum of self-pity.

846

# 929