Betty Blue

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Charisma to Burn: Béatrice Dalle's Incandescent Debut in Betty Blue|The Current|The Criterion Collection

At the very end of the movie, Zorg hears while he is writing alone in his kitchen "are you writing?" and he says "no, I am thinking". Zorg also looks very relaxed and fulfilled as though he had just finished his novel. Indeed, hardly anybody seems normal in this show, and you’d be forgiven for thinking something was in the water. This isn’t problematic in itself: after all, eccentric characters are more interesting than plain ones. But it poses a challenge for this production – it’s an ambitious one, with nineteen members of the company plus three musicians – because, in such a small space, it’s easy to overdo exaggerated characters and make them overly hammy. Thankfully, the show strikes a balance between playing to the gallery and recognising the intimacy of the performance space. Kasper Cornish’s choreography is remarkable, with the big ensemble numbers involving song-and-dance with very tight turnaround spaces for the actors. But there was so much stage haze: it was so unrelenting that eventually, the venue’s fire alarm went off mid-song. And what was with Joyce’s sherry? It looked like squash to me, or even worse, urine – no wonder everyone else, including her own husband, refused it when offered. Still, the cast is very good, as is the score and the witty lyrics, and it’s a heart-warming and pleasant show. Philippe Djian was born in Paris, France, in June 1949. After graduation from École supérieure de journalisme in Paris, he travelled to South America for a reportage and upon his return to France worked in different odd jobs for several years. His first published literary work was a collection of short stories titled 50 contre 1 ( 50 against 1) in 1981 which was followed by the novels Bleu comme l'enfer (1982; Blue Like Hell) and Zone érogène (1984; Erogenous Area). Only his third novel Betty Blue ( 37°2 le matin) established the writer’s fame. After that he brought out more novels and short story collections in short intervals. Among those later works Unforgivable ( Impardonnables: 2009) and Consequences ( Incidences: 2010) have been translated into English. Love Song (2013) and Chéri-Chéri (2014) are his latest published works. Boris Djian lives in Biarritz, France.The entire story of Betty Blue is told from the perspective of a first-person narrator who is at the same time the male protagonist. To show the constant struggle for happiness and some kind of “normality” Philippe Djian uses an unpretentious and colloquial language that makes the novel resemble an autobiographical account, a private journal or a long stream of consciousness as some reviewers stated. Its tone is “blue” which accounts for the English title of the book. On the whole all characters are depicted in a very realistic and authentic way, especially Betty whose deteriorating state of mind is made apparent in very powerful pictures. The author also succeeds in conveying the narrator’s helplessness in view of Betty’s problems and his inner development from someone who just lets himself drift through life without direction to a man who takes life into his own hands. At the same time, I must say that I can’t help feeling confused (even annoyed) by the fact that none of Betty’s and the narrator’s usually violent acts, not to say crimes, has legal aftermaths of any kind for them. In one case the police is at least involved, but it leads to nothing. Betty Blue ( French: 37°2 le matin, lit.'37.2°C in the morning') is a 1986 French erotic psychological drama film directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix, based on the 1985 novel 37°2 le matin by Philippe Djian. [5] The film stars Béatrice Dalle and Jean-Hugues Anglade. [6] It was the eighth highest-grossing film of 1986 in France. [7] There are very few films that are totally different from anything you have seen before. While sexually explicit -- it is far from objectionable because the two parties are in love and passionate about one another. Un romanzo crudo, violento, che assume a tratti i connotati del thriller. Stupefacente il lirismo di alcuni passaggi

What should be particularly fascinating for fans of the movie - one of the premier examples, in the 1980s, of the so-called "cinéma du look" - is how much of the script comes from the plot of the novel. Much of what I have long thought of us Beineix's visual genius - including a yellow Mercedes that figures prominently in the story - is straight out of Djian's writing. The book is definitely a bit of a mess, but an occasionally fascinating one, at that. Thrusting towards Zorg and Betty's embrace in the opening shot, writer/directing auteur Jean-Jacques Beineix & cinematographer Jean-Francois Robin build upon the Cinéma Du Look stylisation Beineix had brushed with on Diva (1981),by drawing it towards a thoughtful, melancholy tone, dripping in mellow yellow swirling round Betty and Zorg's romance with dabs of blue, which increasingly becomes colder and the dominating colour, as Betty's outlook turns blue. It is sad that this is one of only three Djian’s books available in English but it is good that this is this one of them. The book opens when Zorg, the narrator, a quiet, unassuming handyman, who is secretly writing a novel, meets Betty, who is an attractive, lively, temperamental, uninhibited woman. She proceeds to change his life. When she finds out that he is a writer, she is suddenly very impressed with him and wants him to become an artist, according to her conception of what an artist should be. The decision is forced on him when her behaviour costs him his job and they set off for Paris where Betty tries to get Zorg’s novel published. Most of the novel is taken up with their life together – Betty’s outbursts when a publisher rejects Zorg’s novel, her joy at being pregnant and her gloom when she finds she is not, while Zorg tries to keep things calm, knowing that Betty has made his life worth living but that, eventually, she is going to do something which is going to give him a lot of problems. And, of course, she does. The book works because it tells of a great but disturbed passion – the French have an excellent expression for it – amour fou which translates as mad love– and it works splendidly because of Djian’s wit, because he never lets the action flag and because Betty is such a wonderful literary creation. Publishing history The film received both a BAFTA and Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 1986. [8] [9] Plot [ edit ]Home » France » Philippe Djian » 37,2° le matin (Betty Blue : the Story of a Passion) Philippe Djian: 37,2° le matin (Betty Blue: the Story of a Passion) It is hard to categorise this film; it is sexy, it is funny but it is also tragic. The love between Zorg and Betty seems very real making it all the more tragic as it becomes obvious that rather than just being a bit wild she is gradually losing her sanity. This leads to violent outbursts against those who upset her. Thankfully the depressing aspects of the story are balanced out by some very funny moments. The opening scene makes it clear this film will not be for those put off by nudity as we see the protagonists having sex; both characters are seen naked regularly throughout the film. For the most part this is fairly matter of fact. The characters are fun to watch; not just Zorg and Betty but also the people they befriend during the film. The cast does a fine job, particularly Jean-Hughes Anglade and Beatrice Dalle as our protagonists Zorg and Betty. The version of the film I watched was the three hour long director's cut; I didn't feel I was watching such a long film though as I was enjoying the story so much.