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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Our favorite French Movie. Worth the wait., January 22, 2004
This review is from: La Bonne Annee (Happy New Year) (DVD)
My wife Clare and I have been watching La Bonne Annee every New Year's Eve since the early 90's. What a thrill for us to be able to retire the VHS copy this year. The DVD transfer is much cleaner.It is true that the English sub-titles are not always an accurate translation of the French, but we find that true with all French Films. FYI when you hear the French for "comfortable" in the film, you should know that it has a much more intimate sense than our English version. La Bonne Annee really stands up to repeated viewings. It has many pleasures, It's wonderfully directed, filmed and edited. The acting is seamless (the lingering close-ups of Lino Ventura's face linger in the mind too) . It has wit, romance, friendship, is poignant, and has suspense too. You will never look at any price that ends with .99 the same way again. We own very few DVD's. This one is a treasure.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What took you so long?, August 13, 2003
This review is from: La Bonne Annee (Happy New Year) (DVD)
Claude Lelouch made this movie in 1973. He had made "a Man and a Woman "in 1965 and the haunting melody will be forever in our ears. He loved his work so ,that he could even joke about it "you have to love windshield wipers" He did a sequel in 1985"A Man and a Woman,2O years later" which was surprisingly good."La bonne année"starts with a scene from this masterpiece and I love both movies . Although one could object to the ending-crime is not supposed to pay-Françoise Fabian is so beautiful and Lino Ventura so believable,that the ending seems well deserved. I am glad it is finally available on DVD and I only wish for French subtitles, the English ones only approximate the dialogue.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The quintessential French existential movie, January 18, 2009
This review is from: La Bonne Annee (Happy New Year) (DVD)
When this movie first came out in the 70s, I went to see it repeatedly. Then, when the VHS version came out, I was able to watch it every Christmas. It's the quintessential French existential movie; Ventura's character, Simon, says it all when he asserts to Francoise as she visits him in jail, "But I am a nice guy!" . (In French, "un type bien" means more than "a nice guy", but that'll do). What is perceived as criminal behavior (breaking into a jewelry store) is not a matter of "crime" so much as what a person chooses to do. He might as well have been an ice cream vendor. What counts is a man's honor and integrity. Again, Simon says it all: "There are only two types of people in my world: those that I like, and those that I don't." Legality and morality are not at stake here, but a man's honesty with himself. Again, Simon says it all: "A woman is a man who cries a little; a man is someone who goes all the way." What defines a man is his character.
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