ljredux

Antiquity, coding, and obscure french stuff.
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When the legend fades, the dream ends

2018-07-15 Episodic ljredux

Le Bureau des légendes

Year: 2017  ▪  Season 3
Creator: Éric Rochant
Network: Canal+
Aka: The Bureau

Rated:  (3.5)
Seen Before: No

Watch at Amazon Prime

The first two seasons of Le Bureau des légendes were incredible. The third had not been filmed when I last saw the show and I have only just got around to watching it.

Unfortunately, it does not deliver.

While not at all bad for a TV production, its values have fallen substantially. What was once an intense psychological drama demanding little empathy for its characters has become almost soap operatic in some respects. With the exception of Agent Malotru—portrayed at significant personal sacrifice by Mathieu Kassovitz—the legends of the DGSE have become too fallible and incompetent. For two whole seasons they impressed us, but they now do anything but. At times I wondered if René Artois might do a better job.

The profiles of some characters have even been compromised in order to deliver cheap emotional conflict. Céline (Pauline Étienne) is a prime example of this: Originally so cold and intense in pursuit of professionalism, she is now sometimes indistinguishable from a petty adolescent in a teen drama. Not her fault. She is a fantastic actress. She has merely been dealt bad cards by the writers.

I don’t regret watching season three. Despite my criticism, it is not appalling. It’s just nowhere near as good as seasons one and two—and the contrast in quality is really the problem. Being shunted from something so amazing to something so ordinary is a very jarring experience.

Season four is already airing in France and I have decided that I will not be watching. For a story that will be continued, season three provides a surprising degree of closure… so while I don’t know where the road will end for Malotru, it terminates here for me.

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Foresti's Dark Performance Shines

2018-05-27 Films ljredux

De plus belle

Year: 2017  ▪  99 mins
Director: Anne-Gaëlle Daval
Aka: Ladies

Rated:  (3.5)
Seen Before: No

Watch at Amazon Prime

De plus belle is a slice-of-life comedy-drama which revolves around the difficult life of a middle-aged single mother—portrayed by Florence Floresti—who has issues with body-image and self-esteem following treatment for breast cancer. Dealing with the physical aftermath leads her to a chance encounter in a wig-shop that puts her on a very unlikely road to psychological recovery: In the theatre… doing the strip-tease… alongside other women with similar problems.

This all sounds very familiar and derivative, and the production is closer to an ITV drama than a cinematic blockbuster, but it is worth watching nonetheless. I only bothered because I spotted Mathieu Kassovitz on the cast list (I’m a huge fan) so it was surprising to find his presence eclipsed by the rather less accomplished Foresti. Her performance is so dark and vulnerable that there’s a constant feeling she is bringing her own real-life insecurities to the screen. Consequently, I am now very interested in exploring her earlier work.

Despite the tired old theatrical trope which suggests exposing oneself on stage is the way forward with body-image issues, there is actually a surprising twist at the end which makes De plus belle a bit different from films which exploit the same idea. It’s not exactly profound and I won’t spoil it, but as already indicated… it’s worth a watch.

Interesting, but Simplistic

2018-05-02 Books ljredux

La Différence Invisible

Year: 2016  ▪  200 pages
Authors: Mademoiselle Caroline
  Julie Dachez
Language: French
Estimated Level: B1-B2 (CEFR)
ISBN: 978-2756072678

Rated:  (3)

Buy from Amazon UK

La Différence Invisible is a graphic novel about a young French woman called Marguerite who experiences extreme social difficulties in her daily life and turns out to have Asperger’s Syndrome.

My interest was piqued by a free preview of the entire first chapter on a French bande dessinée website, but unfortunately it was the best part of the story. Don’t get me wrong, this is a beautiful book and the draughtsmanship is great, but the storytelling leaves a lot to be desired.

Continue reading

Open your mind!

2012-10-24 Software ljredux

Ghost Radar®: Legacy

Platform: Android
Developer: Spud Pickles

Rated:  (5)

Buy from Amazon UK

The description claims that this ghost hunting app works on the same principle as traditional detection equipment—employing your smartphone’s sensors to measure electromagnetic fields, sounds and vibrations. Remarkably, it does so without requiring the Android API’s permissions which would allow it to do so.

So how on earth does it measure these things without access to the sensors and the mic? Duh. Through the supernatural, obviously.

I think it might even be using the DerekAcorah API because when it revealed the first words of a nearby ghost (“snake” and “oil” if you’re curious), I collapsed onto the floor and started muttering “kreed, kreeeeeed, kreed kafer, KREED KAFER!” like an elderly scouse nut job.

Nearby spirits are quite sarcastic too. One of them said “one”, “born”, “every” and then “m”, but shut its ghostly gob when I pointed out that I obtained Ghost Radar Legacy as part of Amazon’s free app of the day promotion.

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