Customer Reviews

Chaos [VHS]

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This 2001 award winning French film is offbeat and exhilarating. A middle-class Parisian couple, driving through the streets to a dinner party suddenly encounters a young prostitute being assaulted by three men. The young woman is bloodied and frightened and she runs to their car in a fit of terror. She gets no help from the couple, however, as the husband locks the door and is annoyed that his windshield is bloodied. The wife watches in horror as the young prostitute is further beaten.

The wife, Helene, played by Catherine Frot, is appalled at her insensitive husband and, the next day goes to the hospital to see if the young woman is still alive. She finds her alive, but barely - in a coma and paralyzed. She's so moved that she takes a leave from work and spends all her time in the hospital, tending the recovering woman through a long and arduous recovery. Rachinda Brakni, cast as Noemie, the prostitute, is a fine actress and absolutely captivating with her huge dark eyes and mop of curly hair. She invokes our sympathy completely, especially after the wicked pimps come to the hospital and try to kidnap her.

In the meantime there is trouble in Helene's household which plays out like a satirical comedy, as her husband and son seem to embody the very worst attributes of men. Helene is devoted to Noemie, however, and Noemie eventually recovers completely and shares her incredible story through flashbacks. During the next half of the film, the women plot revenge and eventually the bad guys get caught, the husband and son get their comeuppance and the ending is happy and satisfying.

The film is a fast paced and well-scripted view of the role of women. There's lots of brutality and bloodshed as well as a satirical look at our society. And even though the plot is extremely contrived, it was done so well that I was totally enraptured by it all. There's great storytelling, acting and directing and it doesn't drag for one minute. I absolutely loved it. Highly recommended.

This is a captivating thriller and social comedy masterfully guided by Coline Surreau (Three Men and A Cradle). The plot is well enough told above, but I take issue with one review who acted as though the idea of Muslim men selling their second-generation French daughters to Muslim men in Algeria is racist. France is now consumed with the problems of its large Muslim population which has been festering in government housing outside of Paris since they withdrew from Algeria. There are plenty of young French-Algerian women who are over-protected by their chauvinistic brothers and dicatorial fathers. Muslim parents here arrrange their daughter's marriages, and it is no laughing matter. Overnight a woman can literally be a slave to her arranged husband. If she refuses, her family can beat her, and in some cases a rebellious young Muslim woman can lose her life. This is very serious religious chauvinism. If you don't believe that it can't happen, read the April 2004 issue of Vanity Fair where Marie Brenner's article--"Unveiling France's Muslim Problem" lays out the current situation in frightening detail.

This is hardly the first movie about female empowerment, and you're never dis-engaged. The men are fools and idiots here, and all deserve their various moments and levels of comeuppance. But sit back and enjoy a well-plotted movie that will leave you breathless and admiring of the talent it took to create it. An expert cast, a superb director make this one of the most engaging films I've seen this year.

The title is apt. What a rollercoaster ride! As for the male characters being stereotypical...I, an Italian-American, could relate. I found myself pumping my fist in the air when the Algerian girl finally gave her brother what he deserved.

I hardly feel sorry for the male reviewers here who complain about the stereotypes. We women are constantly stereotyped in the movies. Wouldn't it be novel if some men stood up for women once in a while?

As for reality, if you read the papers, you'd know that the events in this movie are not an anomaly. It's everyday life for many women--and little girls.

A great, comedic (at times), thrilling action drama that can be seen over and over again. Rachida Brakni is riveting as Malika/Noemie, the prostitute who serves up her revenge ice-cold. The plot moves quickly, which might have some slow readers (like moi) having to go back to re-read the subtitles, but not too often. My favorite part is when Malika tells her story in a series of flashbacks, which made me wonder why I whine so much about my own life. As for the reviewer who said that this was a poorly constructed mess with a less-than-believable plot? I don't suppose 'Run Lola Run' (a film I love, but which, let's face it, was three pretty simple plot exercises neatly rolled in one) is a comparable example of cinema verite. This film IS chaotic and jarring, but its messiness is what makes it compelling: it reminds us of how unpredictable *real* life is (only in hindsight do most of us see where the answers lie), not Franka Potente with Technicolor-red hair shrieking at a roulette table. ...

I saw this movie at the preview in Japan. And I was surprised
that such a great movie made in 2001 has not been roadshowed
yet. Coming back to US, I find out this movie has not only
been roadshowed yet but also not been released yet in anyway.
It is amazing. This movie deals with various social issues,
like man vs. woman, family, immigrants, drug, and so on. But
the greatest point is tough and wise heroines energize us, who
are in front of the screen! The heroine's ellegance and beauty
is also worth to see.

I was living in France 2001-2002 when this movie came out. Since then I've been searching everywhere to find it on DVD so I can watch it again. Unfortunately, I don't think Chaos was released in theaters in the states, so it didn't get nearly as much coverage as Amelie did, despite being a superior film. What makes it so great? You know how the Crying Game started out in one direction, and if it had continued that way it would have been a good film, but the shifts and surprises made it so much better? Chaos is similar - it twists and it turns until you don't know what's going on (chaos, get it?), until the end when finally you see what it was all about and can't wait to see it again. Also like the Crying Game, it's not an easy film to watch, there's violence and sexual abuse and drug use, and at times you'll feel so angry at the characters that you'll want to close your eyes or turn it off, but keep watching. As a French friend told me when she recommended I see Chaos, tout le monde sort du cinema avec une grande sourire (everyone leaves the theater smiling).

This film is so engrossing, I was literally on the edge of my seat the entire time! "Chaos" is one of the best movies I've ever seen. It's fast-paced, gripping, intelligent, complex and even funny, but it's also incredibly rewarding. I actually cheered when the "bad guys" got their comeuppance, and was sad when it ended 'cause I wanted the story to continue! An outstanding piece of French cinema with an extraordinary script and stellar performances. Definitely watch this film, it's well worth it!

This movie is one of my favorite films. Radhika Brakni is terrific as a young, beautiful Moslem girl who escapes her father's plot to sell her in marriage to an older man only to find herself kinapped by a sex slavery ring. Using her wits, she uses her sexuality (and knowledge of men) to get rich and hides these funds from the pimps. When they find out, they attempt to beat her to death.

When a French male collides with the girl on the road, he ignores her danger - thus leading to the terrible beating. The wife of the driver (Helene) is haunted by the apathy of her husband (and her son) so she tracks down the endangered prostitute and nurses her back to health.

Now, it's a game of cat and mouse as the thugs try to recapture
the heroine, and she joins up with Helene and her mother to escape the brutal kidnappers. In the end, the criminals get their due...and the men in Helene's life are "left out in the cold."This is a chic flic so women everywhere will love this film. It has a very satisfying ending as the prostitute cleverly engineers her revenge. Notwithstanding the positive ending, the movie makes the viewer painfully aware of the heart-rending condition of girls trapped, misled, and kidnapped into sex slavery. Thereforethe film serves as an expose of the social nightmare of sexual slavery. It certainly motivated me to get involved to fund those humanitarian projects assisting women escape real slavery throughout the world. This is a great film with an important societal message. Don't lose the opportunity of seeing it.

This is odd and ultimately endearing film combines gawky physical humor with weighty material regarding the roles of women in Muslim and French cultures.

By the time the credits rolled, I was willing to forgive the film's more implausible plot twists, partially because it is a brave movie. The director was willing to shine a light upon the forced subservience of women in Muslim society, and to a degree, in "modern" French society as well.

This is a riveting story centering upon the relationship of portions of French and Arab society to its women. The protagonist is brought up in a French-Arab household and is subject to all of the clichés that this signifies . . the treatment of women like slaves, selling girls into marriage (after first showing the buyer their teeth, like buying a horse), subject to beatings on a whim, the lack of humanity paid to these women by those who are supposed to help them, even when they are man-handled by others. And of course, the insincerity of all of this, and the utter lack of any moral scruples of these men towards their women, as Malika notes that after buying her "family" motorbikes and other presents, they will forget their distaste towards her.

The French men in this movie are disgusting, and morally corrupt, but of a different nature and magnitude of the other males in the story. All, in all, it is the women who are the heroes and if not entirely without blame certainly they outshine the men. There is not one man who is anything but contemptible in the entire movie, and the ending provides a feel-good experience that I expect is not gender-specific. Some of the scenes in the movie are hard to watch, but its conclusion makes up for that.