Grande école (2004)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Did you people see the same film I saw?

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

A gorgeous story of unrequited love, with an added twist. Sexual desire, sexuality, unrequited love, and even themes such as racism are present in this beautiful french film. The acting leaves nothing to be desired. The writing is poetic--short and undeveloped conversations, that leave the audience wanting more, although its indubitable that more would have killed it. A true story with many aspects to it. The changing of human beings, the small-mindedness, the capacity of the human heart, the conflict between heart and head. Paul's coming to terms with his own happiness, while we watch other's demise in morality is stunning. Every character changed in some way from the beginning of the movie to the end. Even better, the change was APPARENT. Not just a superficial coming of age (or deconstruction for that matter), but a realistic, touching process for each character. Paul developed, realizing his own desires, and understanding his situation. At the same time, Louis-Arnault falls from grace--a friend of Paul, lovely and intuitive, to a conniving machine driven by desire and society's guidelines. The aspect of social graces comes into the story many times, with racism and meeting expectations. Paul is expected to go to this prestigious school, however he soon discovers his disliked of what is planned out for him. Mécir meets with much conflict in terms of race--being discriminated against, and watching others be discriminated against. Every character is realistic in containing likable and unlikeable traits. They're each well-developed and continue to develop throughout the movie. The movie itself is gorgeous. It's simply beautiful. I found it highly realistic and, though familiar, unique in its own way. The soundtrack is excellent as well.

I rented this film and just felt compelled to have to comment on it. This is one of those rare gems that stays with you for days. You can't help to admire the beauty of the Paul and Louis as you wish they got together. The music and men in this film are fantastic. The nude scenes and love making scenes are so beautifully done you wish you could join them and never leave and I'm straight!!!. The women were strong in their role and intelligently written. Everything about this film was artistically and beautifully made. The vision of the director certainly jumps out at you and grips you to the end. On the down side the movie does portray the sorrow of having to deal with feelings that sometimes are beyond your control. I applaud the director for using this cinematic language to describe the gut wrenching hurt you can suffer when you love someone so much when specially they don't seem to feel the same for you. I shall highly receommend this film and it should be one that every film lover should have in their collection.

I saw this film by chance, and I really didn't expect any type of theme or issue witch would be showned. I think it's the way to go, on this very particular film. You must experience it and not intellectualize it too much or you'll be completely lost. The catch here is that this film doesn't offer you a solution, it refers to several important question, both psychological and social, but doesn't teals you what you showed think about it, and that might be the reason that makes it so disturbing. One of the things that this film shows is that we end desiring that what it lacks in ourselves and what we can do with it when we find it. The film maker offers us an opportunity to think about important questions about one's identity, self realization, social awareness, but doesn't tells us what to do. All of this with good conversations between the actors, which are complex and unfinished. This film stimulates the mind and the search of the self. It's one of those films either you love it or you hate it, but it's a must see.

Grande école seems to be one of those films that viewers either love passionately or dismiss as a mess. Robert Salis ('À la recherché du paradis perdu') has not only adapted the play by Jean-Marie Besset for the screen, he is also the thoughtful, intelligent, and challenging director of this little masterwork. Though there is much to please the casual eye (the cast is a collection of truly beautiful people!) with sensual scenes as brave as any yet filmed, the real beauty of Grande école is the multilayered story, a story which explores the dichotomies of class, race, gender, philosophy, economic status, and history and social issues - just the sort of milieu expected from a 'big school' environment.A spectacular opening sequence reveals a castle-like private college in Paris complete with extended pyrotechnic displays of aerial fireworks, a fine metaphor for the personal explosions that will accompany the students in the school year in this college of the prosperous and one heavily weighted toward capitalistic ideals of perpetuating wealth. Paul (Gregori Baquet) is at the onset an oddity: he is he son of a Marseilles contractor, a man who has created a home life of racism and classism, a father who haughtily sends his son to the elite school to learn marketing and management despite the fact that Paul is more inclined toward the artistic aspects of learning. Paul has a girlfriend Agnès (the stunningly beautiful Alice Taglioni) who is a liberal supporter of human rights and while she attends the neighboring liberal arts college, she cannot understand why Paul can't share a flat with her. Paul prefers to live in the dorm and his roommates are the passive Chouquet (Arthur Jugnot) and the pinnacle of materialism Louis-Arnault (Jocelyn Quivrin), who not only is focused on his studies but also on his college water polo team and his girlfriend Emeline (Elodie Navarre).Paul and Louis-Arnault bond and though Paul has a strongly vivid sexual relationship with Agnès, he finds himself attracted to Louis-Arnault. In a post-game shower room scene Paul sits on the bench viewing the team playfully soaping each other and his sense of sexual awakening is palpable. Paul steals Louis-Arnoult's boxers, lies on his bed and we are aware that he desires Louis-Arnault. During this opening of the school year the three roommates stroll the campus and encounter an argument among the workers: Mécir (Salim Kechiouche), a young handsome Arab from the working class, is being berated and Paul jumps to his defense. The two make eye contact and a chemistry is created. Though neither of the two considers himself homosexual (and there is a beautiful scene that describes that desire is desire whether hetero or homo sexual) but gradually they drift into an erotic world of sexual discovery (in some of the most artistically sensual filming ever created!).Agnès senses Paul's sexual changes and convinced that his longings are for Louis-Arnault, she poses a wager on which one will have the desirable Louis-Arnault first. Changes and conflicts occur right and left (mise-en-scenes lifted directly from the play) and the bonding of each of the characters is dramatically altered - Paul, Agnès, Louis-Arnault, Emeline, and especially Mécir, who is the only character in the film who seems in touch with his inner person. It is about the social and sexual and class games people play and how these irrational subdivisions of our culture can lead to sad ends.The cast is not only physically beautiful (and there is sufficient full frontal nudity to gain access to the complete actors!) but they respond to Robert Salis' direction with fine ensemble acting. The interweaving of dream sequences and illusions that accompany the utterly grounded factual storyline enhance the film immeasurably. Emmanuel Soyer is responsible for the gorgeous cinematography and Éric Neveux for the original musical score, a score beautifully complemented by excerpts of the music of Bach, Brahms, Bizet, Donizetti, Puccini and Shostakovich.As an important and fascinating addition to the CD Director Salis presents an excellent 'making of' segment including deleted scenes (and why they were deleted), running commentary from all of the actors, and a discussion of Foucault's philosophy and the nebulous understanding of 'desire' - a facet of being an alive being. Highly recommended for those who long for challenging films of substance, films that imprint on the psyche for meditation long after the film is finished. Grady Harp