POMO

A wacky feminist “horror” comedy with three hysterical women, a severed penis, a corpse in the refrigerator, the ghosts of dead men and sizable portions of blood and, mainly, female nudity, the amount of which we’re not used to seeing in the French mainstream (or elsewhere). That nudity interestingly enhances the openness of expressing femininity in the film, which is obviously a metaphor for the difficulty that suffering women have in dealing with men (swine). Though this almost hallucinogenically chaotic genre mish-mash is packed with admirable energy, it lacks functional dramaturgy, which would have made it an objectively good Film with a capital F. [Cannes FF]

The first quarter of an hour likably introduces the characters and is pleasing due to the presence of well-liked actors. After the situation has been dramatized, however, the film descends to the level of an infantile TV production, with humour that I perhaps just don’t get and political allusions that I didn’t find clever enough for the given ensemble of actors, not even on an allegorical level. On the other hand, if such names signed off on the screenplay, maybe I’m wrong and you will find it appealing. Rumours seems to have been inspired by the “forest weirdness” of Albert Serra’s Liberté, which won the Jury Prize at Cannes a few years ago. [Cannes FF]

The substantial motif of opening up and purging hidden truths about oneself, publicly on camera and in the presence of one’s surprised wife. With sincere self-reflexive monologues from the character played by Richard Gere, who is great as usual and is supported by the precise Uma Thurman. The film is given a distinctive theatrical patina by the incredibly pleasant music (songs) and the attractive retro visual aspect in the flashbacks. However, its ending is unsatisfying. The theme with revealing the main character’s past with the relativity of what is and isn’t true of that past had greater potential. [Cannes FF]