Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"On the eighth day, He made Georges.", April 18, 2000
I just watched the most wonderful movie, and I must tell youabout it. It's called THE EIGHTH DAY (Ale Huitieme Jour). It's Frenchwith English subtitles. But, don't let that stop you, if you're one of those who dislikes having to read the dialogue. The dialogue is easy to follow, and it's mostly a visual film, and stunning at that. The cinematography is remarkable. But, let me get back to the story, because it's important. There are two men. -- Georges (played superbly by Pascal Duquenne), a man with Down's Syndrome, living in an institution, and missing his mother (she died). He has recurring visions of her, along with visions of his favorite crooner singing his favorite song. He switches gears back and forth from being erratically boisterous and playful at times, to being somber and contemplative at other times. One day, he just walks away from the home, taking along a dog (that may or may not be his pet). Then, there's Harry (played perfectly by Daniel Auteuil). Harry is a salesman. He's very good at his job, but fails in life. He's recently divorced, and has one last chance to see his children, before his ex-wife denies him the right. But,... One night as he's driving in the rain,... He hits a dog, then meets Georges. He takes Georges (and the dog) to the police station. But, they don't help. Unwittingly, he becomes the guardian of Georges, but in the process of trying to take him home, they become friends. Georges teaches Harry about the simpler pleasures in life. And, Harry helps Georges find a home. (His mother is dead, his sister doesn't want him.) Well... I could go on and on, but I don't want to give away the whole story. This is not just another buddy-buddy story, or another road-trip movie. It's more than that. It's about friendship, family, love, life, everything. It's sad. It's funny. It's heart-warming. It's everything that life is. I laughed and cried, sometimes at the same time. It's a truly wonderful movie. Too bad I can only rate it five stars, it deserves ten. END LocalWords: Huitieme Jour
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awakening the passions in us all, August 9, 1999
By A Customer
Sometimes we are fortunate enough to view a movie at the perfect time in our lives. Most of us have been in Harry's shoes; overworked, underappreciated, and completely caught up in the rigors of mundane, work-a-day life. Through George, Harry slowly learns to release his inner rage and re-discover love, kindness, and beauty. This movie has several wonderful, memorable scenes of emotion and beauty. When H's estranged wife refuses his attempts to see his daughter on her birthday, H goes berserk and almost harms his wife and mother in law. Defeated, G tries to console the bawling H, who realized his actions further separated him from his family. If this scene didn't make Maltin's throat tighten, perhaps he should find another line of work. Shortly after that scene, H & G lie under a tree in a park, just listening to nature. G asks H for just one more minute before they must go. Another moment of cinematic beauty ensues, as the director allows a full, motionless minute to pass, only the singing birds become louder in the background, and the viewers as well as H begin to understand the true beauty and meaning of life. The theme was also wonderfully captured in the face of his daughter and wife as H puts on a fireworks display on the beach outside the flat on his daughter's birthday. The reflection of the fireworks in the night on the faces of wife and daughter, and hearing H's joyous, child-like laughter below also put a lump in my throat, realizing that H, a kind and gentle man after all, is finally winning back the love of his family. I don't mean to short change the performance of Duquenne, whose performance was nothing short of amazing. His love for his mother was so real and heart-warming, and the movie so bittersweet, that any intelligent viewer is forced to examine his/her own life and relationships. I remember the last time I cried, 1976 at a funeral, but I happened upon this gem one afternoon, and I cried like a child several times during the movie, and also wept the next two times I watched it.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An extraordinary achievement, August 27, 2006
Although being fluent in French is almost a prerequisite to watch this movie, it's something that anyone with an interest in intelligent and emotive drama should see. The direction is for the most part light and sure, with the actors given the opportunity to convey pathos, optimism, pain, and regret without the imposition of treacly sound tracks or hackneyed editing. Hollywood will never be capable of making movies like this, and we can only be thankful that the French invest in their movie industry because periodically it turns out gems like le huitieme jour (which means "the eighth day" - a reference to the Judeo-Christian notion that their god made the world in seven days; on the eighth day he accomplished lesser, flawed, work).
Harry is a classic single-minded salesman whose marriage is in tatters; yet he's not heartless - he's simply become caught up in the rat-race. When he forgets to collect his children from the train station, the shock and remorse he feels is powerfully conveyed and we grieve with him that it's too late. As he drives home his guilt leads him to close his eyes and take his hands off the steering wheel. It's a moment of tremendous pain and occurs sotto-voce so we feel it all the more.
Harry, needless to say, doesn't die. Instead he hits something and thus begins his encounter with Georges, a Downs-syndrome man who is on a quest to find his mother. In reality his quest is to find himself and Harry, though initially reluctant to saddle himself with the responsibility, comes to befriend him.
Of course this is a classic "finding yourself" movie in which Harry discovers humanity through witnessing the travails of Georges. But unlike a traditional syrupy Hollywood movie, there's at best an ambiguous ending. Georges does indeed discover himself, and thereby discovers how great and ineluctable a gap exists between his dreams and harsh reality. While Harry and Georges are eating at a diner, with Georges wearing his sunglasses which effectively disguise his condition, the waitress flirts with him. Georges, an open-hearted soul who is also a man with wants and desires, responds happily... only to be crushed when the waitress sees him for what he is and rejects him brusquely.
Georges' end is shown without sentiment, and is all the more affecting because of the crisp direction and well-considered camera angles. And Harry's grief pushes him to make one last effort to regain the hearts of his children.
The acting is first-class, the direction assured, and the overall treatment of the themes is weighty enough to engage the viewer from first to last, without being over-wrought or histrionic. If you only watch one "foreign" movie this year, make this the one to see.
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