The other day, I was telling my friend about a couple of films that I've seen directed by Catherine Breillat (Romance and Anatomy of hell) and how they've really opened my eyes to French cinema. My friend then lent me a DVD, which was "Brief Crossing" and I put it in, holding my breath to see what else Breillat could offer. Most of the comments on the board have already outlined what happens in the movie, so I won't comment too much on the storyline. However, the movie had left me so intrigued and inspired, I also watched the extra features and the short interview with the director. Her explanations of the film have opened my eyes more to the film and it's meanings. The question of who is seducing whom... is an interesting concept. In one way, we see Thomas attempting to act like a man to appear more attractive to Alice. He continually rebuts her condemnations of men being all bad and evil and reminds her that he is not like that. And she, at the same time, continues to appear to reject his subtle advances, speaking ill of men, as if she could predict exactly what his thoughts and intentions would eventually be. I think there are many interpretations of this film. Some find it a love story of sorts, while others thought it was an interesting brief fling between two people who just wanted to get it on. I had a slightly different one. In fact, I had little sympathy for Alice and her little ways. It seemed as though she was merely bored and longed for a little excitement in her married life. And so she, the experienced one, sets out her trap to capture the innocent, virgin Thomas. Every line that she spoke, was merely a reverse psychological tactic to attract Thomas. And attract him, it did. "Don't be like the other men..." And he, "I'm not like the others". Her false objections to them sleeping together, only made him want to sleep with her more. And she clearly was aware of that. Although Catherine Breillat is a feminist director, in some ways, this movie was also very anti-feminist. Unless, her intention was to show that women are highly capable of being the manipulators that they are to get what they want. She claims it is an exploration of a woman's sexual fantasy- I guess most women want to sleep with younger men, but this borders on sexual predatoriness (And yes, I made that word up). Breillat notes in her interview that Alice's deception clearly gives Thomas the opportunity to finally become a man. To accept the disappointment and to be realistic about romance- because he clearly thought their brief fling might possibly develop into a relationship of some sort. He'll probably grow up to be a total a**hole because of this experience too. (in my humble opinion) Overall, this movie was a fantastic experience and there is much to discuss if you've watched it with your friends.
Review of Brief Crossing
