From reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP Sun Jun 23 16:33:18 1985 Subject: Re: _My_New_Partner_ (spoiler) Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department In article <2157@ut-sally.UUCP> kelvin@ut-sally.UUCP (Kelvin Thompson) writes: > The movie might have been something to stand beside > Lumet's _Prince_of_the_City_, but instead the French Government has > turned _Partner_ into a *comedy.* > Mr. Thompson overstates the French government's participation in the filmmaking process. For a more informed view, read the articles Marcel Ophuls has published in "American Film" over the last few years. While the government may hold this attitude, the filmmakers undoubtedly chose this approach, it was not forced on them by the Ministry of Culture. The French sacred cow used to be the army, not the police, and even that has been somewhat undermined. > This type of manipulation may wash with the French, but other audiences > will recognize the insidious messages planted by _Partner_ as part of a > larger trend, a trend which corresponds roughly with the ascension to > power of Mitterand's "Socialist" government in France. Certainly American > audiences will realize that all of the recent films coming out of France > -- from _Jupiter's_Thigh_ to _Coup_de_Torchon_ to _Diva_ -- portray the > police as ineffectual boobies and trivialize their position in society. > Perhaps Mr. Thompson isn't familiar with earlier French cinema, but the French have never cared for police as heros. They rarely play this role, and cyniscism about the police is widespread in French popular art, and has been for a very long time. Mr. Thompson is apparently unaware that this type of protrayal of the police is also popular in the US, though not to the same degree. Rarely are modern American film police heros by-the-book types. Almost to a man, they break the rules with little regard for law, and frequently the belief that they are the arbiters of justice (Eastwood's Dirty Harry movies, "The French Connection", Chuck Norris' very popular films, and others too numerous to mention). The other popular American archetype for the police is that they are of little help in situations of real importance (almost any Hitchcock film, "The Maltese Falcon", and most other detective movies). > Fortunately, Mitterand and his cronies have forgotten one thing while > churning out their subliminal broadcast -- that the people of France and > Europe love their liberty, and will die to keep it. Paris, or even > France, may fall for a time, but freedom lovers the world over will gladly > take up arms to see that it is once again restored to its previous glory. > Liberty *will* live again. The French have, historically, had left-wing revolutions, not right-wing ones. Neither is very likely, but I'd be more inclined to believe in a Communist revolution in France than a conservative one. I don't suppose you're really suggesting that Ronnie deflect attention from Lebanon by invading France to overthrow its democratically elected government, but it does sound like you wouldn't much mind it. > With luck, however, careful viewers of movies like _Partner_ may come to > fully appreciate the foul fruit that is ripening in the heart of Europe > and avert the explosion peacefully, before a drop of blood need be shed. A reasonable discussion of the morality and truth of police corruption and its portrayal in films would be interesting, but this article is not much of a contribution to such discussion. -- Peter Reiher
From elf@utcsri.UUCP (Eugene Fiume) Sun Jun 23 15:44:20 1985
Subject: Re: _My_New_Partner_ (spoiler)
Organization: CSRI, University of Toronto
>
> _My_New_Partner_
>
> by Kelvin Thompson
>
> _My_New_Partner_ is a bad movie, although it is really inappropriate to
> call it a movie at all. Rather, it is a carefully-contrived piece of
> propoganda designed to undermine the confidence of the West in its
> economies and governments.
and so on
Look, this is two movie reviews now (the other being on _1984_) that I
can only take to be big jokes. If Mr. Thompson is actually serious about
these reviews, then I think they should be prefaced by the appropriate
symbol, say for example, (:-(. Otherwise I'd waste my time arguing about
what unadulterated bovine excrement these reviews contain.
---
Eugene Fiume
{decvax|allegra}!utcsri!elf
Subject: Re: _My_New_Partner_ and nasty subliminal messages...
Organization: John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc., Everett, WA
In article <2157@ut-sally.UUCP> kelvin@ut-sally.UUCP (Kelvin Thompson) writes:
> [...]but other audiences
> will recognize the insidious messages planted by _Partner_ as part of a
> larger trend, a trend which corresponds roughly with the ascension to
> power of Mitterand's "Socialist" government in France. Certainly American
> audiences will realize that all of the recent films coming out of France
> -- from _Jupiter's_Thigh_ to _Coup_de_Torchon_ to _Diva_ -- portray the
> police as ineffectual boobies and trivialize their position in society.
Hey, I *liked* _Diva_! All they showed was one unhonest head of police...
what do you think _Witness_ portrayed?
> With luck, however, careful viewers of movies like _Partner_ may come to
> fully appreciate the foul fruit that is ripening in the heart of Europe
> and avert the explosion peacefully, before a drop of blood need be shed.
Remember, kids, the Weed of Crime bears bitter fruit! Nyahh-Ahh-Ahh!
Come on, I disliked _My_New_Partner_ immensely, too, due to the fact that I
cannot swallow acts as irresponsible as those of Noiret's character
(apparently French audiences do). However, seeing insidous world-wide
socialist plots in foreign films smacks of reading one's own opinions into
the plot; otherwise, one begins to sound like certain characters in
_Dr._Strangelove_...
"If this is foreplay, I'm a dead man!"
Expect the Unexpected.
He does. ---> Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc.
From cramer@kontron.UUCP (Clayton Cramer) Fri Jun 28 19:11:45 1985 Subject: Re: _My_New_Partner_ (spoiler) Organization: Kontron Electronics, Irvine, CA > > _My_New_Partner_ > > by Kelvin Thompson > > This type of manipulation may wash with the French, but other audiences > will recognize the insidious messages planted by _Partner_ as part of a > larger trend, a trend which corresponds roughly with the ascension to > power of Mitterand's "Socialist" government in France. Certainly American > audiences will realize that all of the recent films coming out of France > -- from _Jupiter's_Thigh_ to _Coup_de_Torchon_ to _Diva_ -- portray the > police as ineffectual boobies and trivialize their position in society. > For the life of me, I can't see why a Socialist government would want to portray police as ineffectual or trivialize their position --- socialism can't operate without a lot of coercion, and that's what police are for.
From msb@lsuc.UUCP (Mark Brader) Tue Jul 2 18:45:04 1985 Subject: MY NEW PARTNER (Les Ripoux) - a genuine review Organization: Law Society of Upper Canada, Toronto Summary: I liked it. Also, I comment on "Kelvin Thompson". I think it should be obvious to all by now that a review by "Kelvin Thompson"* beginning "This is a bad movie" means that this is a movie worth seeing. And so it is with MY NEW PARTNER**. The movie is a comedy-drama about an honestly corrupt police detective in Paris -- a sort of 1980's edition of Louis from CASABLANCA -- and his new partner who is, of course, honestly honest. That's all you need to know. If the premise puts you off, as one or two people have said, then don't go. Also, it's in French with subtitles; if that puts you off, then don't go. For those who don't fall in one of these classes, it's simply a nice, warm, funny little story. I give it a rating of $7 (Canadian). Mark Brader *Could even the name be false? Remember, before Lord Kelvin (the physicist) was a Lord, his name was Thomson... no p, but still, it seems suspicious. **The real title is LES RIPOUX, which is a play on POURRI, and is translated in subtitles as "ruptcor". I think the decision to retitle in English was good.
From dll@usl.UUCP (David Landskov) Mon Jul 8 18:09:45 1985 Subject: Re: MY NEW PARTNER (Les Ripoux) - a genuine review Organization: USL, Lafayette, LA I second the motion: My New Partner is funny. Sort of a French THE STING. It should appeal to a much wider audience than the average French movie. The production does not have the usual French intellectual aspirations. It does have an American sense of movie-as-escape and a very affectionate view of its all-too-human characters. I give it 3.5/4. The subtitles are well done, and there is enough time to read them, so a non-French speaker can follow the dialogue without distraction. ---- David Landskov University of Lowell, Lowell MA But whatever happened to stories in the movies?
From dll@usl.UUCP (David Landskov) Tue Jul 30 13:29:44 1985 Subject: Re: Kelvin Thompson's June reviews Organization: USL, Lafayette, LA Kelvin's 1984 review was too believable. He hit his stride after that, and it was fun for a brief time reading all the flames that didn't catch on. But the net can't stand much of this kind of misuse. Add a :-) to the subject. Once is enough. _My_New_Partner_ is a very enjoyable comedy, as everyone should have guessed since Kelvin bothered to review it. I recommend it for a wide audience, including people who would not normally go to a French movie. (3.5/4) ---- David Landskov University of Lowell, Lowell MA But whatever happened to stories in the movies?
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