And your point is...?
Added 4/18/2009
So what did we learn from this film?
That there are some surprising uses for a piece of raw liver.
That we should beware of Grandfather.
That fear can be something so deep within us that no stratagems can conquer it.
That there are really stoopid people who fish in the most polluted river imaginable. Yes, the St Lawrence and Rivière des Prairies are kinda bad but when I lived for nine years in Montreal, I never saw anything like the one in the movie.
That it's not good for parents to have weird obsessions, it tends to create problems in the children - especially if the children share an inherited tendency towards mental disorder.
That unlike the US, Canada takes care of disturbed people without bankrupting them or throwing them out in the street. (But we knew that).
That filmmakers can make a truly bizarre movie which *seems* to hang on a theme (if you can find it) and get a lot of praise from those who enjoy being grossed out.
Two stars for sheer wacky originality and good filmcraft, but no more because of its incoherence.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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NOTICED THAT A REVIEW THAT WAS MADE ON LEOLO FROM THE NEW YORKER, MENTIONED A SCENE WHERE THERE WAS A RAPE OF A CAT.
I SAW THE MOVIE LEOLO SEVERAL TIMES, BUT I BELIEVE THE NEW YORKER MAY HAVE MADE A GROSS MISTAKE. PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG?
FOR SEVERAL WEEKS, IVE BEEN TRYING TO REMEMBER A TITLE OF ANOTHER "COMING OF AGE" FOREIGN FILM, OF WHICH THERE WAS ANOTHER TEENAGER, THIS ONE SLIGHTLY OLDER THAN LEOLO. IN THE MOVIE, THERE WERE TWO SCENES. ONE OF TWO SMALL BOYS BEING YANKED BY THIS HEAVY SET GIRL UNDER A DEMOLISHED HOME, WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN IN THE MOVIE LEOLO, BUT THE OTHER SCENE, IM ALMOST SURE WAS IN ANOTHER MOVIE. THIS IS WHERE THE TEENAGER WAS SITTING ON THE FLOOR LEANING AGAINST A WALL, WHILE TWO DRUNK TEENAGERS WERE HOLDING DOWN A CAT, AFTER EVERYONE HAD MADE A BET, THAT ANOTHER TEENAGER WOULD NOT HAVE SEX WITH THE CAT.
DOES ANYONE REMEMBER THIS MOVIE? IF SO, WHAT IS THE NAME. I DONT BELIEVE THESE TWO SCENES I JUST MENTIONED WERE IN LEOLO.
0 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Léolo: 'Because I dream I am not crazy.'
Added 1/9/2008
Léolo is a rare work of pure poetic genius in film. It is a French-Canadian film that reminds me not only of the power of great cinema, but of the unlimited potential of the human imagination, and what it means to experience real love. Equally enchanting and depressing, Jean-Claude Lauzon's Léolo tells the story of Léo Lauzon (Maxime Collin), a 12-year-old Montreal boy who is more comfortable living in his wild imagination than in the reality of his dysfunctional life. (He provides the voice-over narration for the film, from the perspective of an old man.) During the film one wonders, is this endearing boy slipping into schizophrenia (as mental illness afflicts his family), or does he simply prefer a life of dreams to a life obsessed with bowel movements. He identifies with Don Quixote from an early age. After discovering that his mother (Ginette Reno) was impregnated by an Italian tomato rather than the father he despises, Léo renames himself Léolo to honor his true Sicilian identity. To cope with his dreary life in the tenements, Léolo enjoys reading erotic Parisian magazines, plotting the murder of his lecherous grandfather, collecting flying insects, and fantasizing about his sexy neighbour Bianca (Giuditta del Vecchio), who becomes his muse and one true love. In confronting themes of adolescent sexuality, mental illness, and physical and emotional abuse (all of which are a part of Léolo's life), the film contains several truly disturbing scenes (none of which seem gratuitous in the context of the film). One such scene involves the depiction of a tortured cat (sure to offend many viewers). (The scene is used to address parental concerns about their children's behaviour: which is worse, teenage smoking or acts of violence?) The soundtrack includes Tom Waits and the Rolling Stones. Not surprisingly, Time Magazine named this poignant, one-of-a-kind film one of the 100 best movies of all time. It is one of my 10 favorite films. It is a film that will haunt you.
G. Merritt
2 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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Delicatessen done by a tortured adolescent...
Added 4/28/2007
This film is very skillfully made.
Unfortunately it has the grotesque self-consciousness of a neurotic 13-year old narcissist.
Too bad the director didn't live to achieve his potential.
2 out of 9 people found this helpful.
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Beautiful
Added 5/26/2006
WOW! What a great movie. It is tastefully created from all of the aspects. There is great scenery and camera work, wonderful soundtrack and great acting by a group of obviously very talented people. And there's this ongoing transition between fantasy and reality that are blended together in such a way that it is sometimes hard to distinguish which one is which. In addition, this movie is a fine example of how smart and sometimes cruel children are. Now a few bad things. I did not like how the movie ended, but I guess the movie wouldn't be as good as it was without a major sacrifice, which was also a great point of this movie. The cat scene is somewhat upsetting, considering that I am a cat person. But, again it was the necessary part and I wouldn't take it away. You want a raw reality of the things that are out there? Then accept what was in the movie. Otherwise, what's the point of owning this movie? This movie is one of those dark comedy motion pictures that have a message, a lesson and entertainment all in one package.
Now about DVD. First thing that I want to say is subtitle translation is new and not the same as on VHS. So this new translation is terrible. I don't speak French but, a lot of language is very obviously incorrect. Sometimes there may be situations that called for paraphrase, rather than exact translations, and that wasn't done either. Also, there are no extra features at all. The only thing that is present is movie trailer. A good thing is that there is a DTS sound available.
ONE MORE Inconsistency is that French DVD has 115 minutes and American has only 106. I wonder why.
5 out of 6 people found this helpful.
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And your point is...?
Added 4/18/2009
So what did we learn from this film?
That there are some surprising uses for a piece of raw liver.
That we should beware of Grandfather.
That fear can be something so deep within us that no stratagems can conquer it.
That there are really stoopid people who fish in the most polluted river imaginable. Yes, the St Lawrence and Rivière des Prairies are kinda bad but when I lived for nine years in Montreal, I never saw anything like the one in the movie.
That it's not good for parents to have weird obsessions, it tends to create problems in the children - especially if the children share an inherited tendency towards mental disorder.
That unlike the US, Canada takes care of disturbed people without bankrupting them or throwing them out in the street. (But we knew that).
That filmmakers can make a truly bizarre movie which *seems* to hang on a theme (if you can find it) and get a lot of praise from those who enjoy being grossed out.
Two stars for sheer wacky originality and good filmcraft, but no more because of its incoherence.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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NOTICED THAT A REVIEW THAT WAS MADE ON LEOLO FROM THE NEW YORKER, MENTIONED A SCENE WHERE THERE WAS A RAPE OF A CAT.
I SAW THE MOVIE LEOLO SEVERAL TIMES, BUT I BELIEVE THE NEW YORKER MAY HAVE MADE A GROSS MISTAKE. PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG?
FOR SEVERAL WEEKS, IVE BEEN TRYING TO REMEMBER A TITLE OF ANOTHER "COMING OF AGE" FOREIGN FILM, OF WHICH THERE WAS ANOTHER TEENAGER, THIS ONE SLIGHTLY OLDER THAN LEOLO. IN THE MOVIE, THERE WERE TWO SCENES. ONE OF TWO SMALL BOYS BEING YANKED BY THIS HEAVY SET GIRL UNDER A DEMOLISHED HOME, WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN IN THE MOVIE LEOLO, BUT THE OTHER SCENE, IM ALMOST SURE WAS IN ANOTHER MOVIE. THIS IS WHERE THE TEENAGER WAS SITTING ON THE FLOOR LEANING AGAINST A WALL, WHILE TWO DRUNK TEENAGERS WERE HOLDING DOWN A CAT, AFTER EVERYONE HAD MADE A BET, THAT ANOTHER TEENAGER WOULD NOT HAVE SEX WITH THE CAT.
DOES ANYONE REMEMBER THIS MOVIE? IF SO, WHAT IS THE NAME. I DONT BELIEVE THESE TWO SCENES I JUST MENTIONED WERE IN LEOLO.
0 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Léolo: 'Because I dream I am not crazy.'
Added 1/9/2008
Léolo is a rare work of pure poetic genius in film. It is a French-Canadian film that reminds me not only of the power of great cinema, but of the unlimited potential of the human imagination, and what it means to experience real love. Equally enchanting and depressing, Jean-Claude Lauzon's Léolo tells the story of Léo Lauzon (Maxime Collin), a 12-year-old Montreal boy who is more comfortable living in his wild imagination than in the reality of his dysfunctional life. (He provides the voice-over narration for the film, from the perspective of an old man.) During the film one wonders, is this endearing boy slipping into schizophrenia (as mental illness afflicts his family), or does he simply prefer a life of dreams to a life obsessed with bowel movements. He identifies with Don Quixote from an early age. After discovering that his mother (Ginette Reno) was impregnated by an Italian tomato rather than the father he despises, Léo renames himself Léolo to honor his true Sicilian identity. To cope with his dreary life in the tenements, Léolo enjoys reading erotic Parisian magazines, plotting the murder of his lecherous grandfather, collecting flying insects, and fantasizing about his sexy neighbour Bianca (Giuditta del Vecchio), who becomes his muse and one true love. In confronting themes of adolescent sexuality, mental illness, and physical and emotional abuse (all of which are a part of Léolo's life), the film contains several truly disturbing scenes (none of which seem gratuitous in the context of the film). One such scene involves the depiction of a tortured cat (sure to offend many viewers). (The scene is used to address parental concerns about their children's behaviour: which is worse, teenage smoking or acts of violence?) The soundtrack includes Tom Waits and the Rolling Stones. Not surprisingly, Time Magazine named this poignant, one-of-a-kind film one of the 100 best movies of all time. It is one of my 10 favorite films. It is a film that will haunt you.
G. Merritt
2 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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