Love Like Poison (2010)

After watching the magical Angel on My Shoulder,I decided to take a look at what other films on BBC iPlayer,and I spotted a short and sweet French title. Being pretty lucky with the French movies that have been on iPlayer,I decided to find out how poisonous love could be.The plot:Returning home for the holidays from her Catholic boarding school, Anna Falguères finds out that her dad has walked out on them,and that her mum Jeanne is in a burnt out state. Wanting to be with her dad,Anna secretly calls him in the hope sorting out some sort of arrangement,whilst the relationship with her mum continues to crumble. Surrounded by poisonous love,Anna is left breathless,when a boy called Pierre shows an interest in her.View on the film:Backed by a smooth Folk score from Olivier Mellano,co-writer/(along with Mariette Désert) director Katell Quillévéré & cinematographer Tom Harari drive into the suburbs on a wave of saturated colours,which stylishly reflects the Falguères's moods. Joining Anna in the woods, Quillévéré rubs the title in a lyrical rustic atmosphere lit up by shards of light being cast over Anna's face as the birds hum in the background.While the house is painted in primary colours,the screenplay by Quillévéré and Désert draws darker hues on the events taking place within,by giving Anna and her mum Jeanne an excellent friction that becomes more abrasive as Anna moves from the sainthood in search of her own path. Taking their tops off,the writers display great care in the handling of Anna's romance with Pierre,whose curiosity with Anna is always kept on the right side of being sweet. Facing "Lio" giving a great,brittle performance as Jean, Clara Augarde gives a fantastic, expressive performance as Anna,via Augarde giving Anna a naturalistic intrigue over puberty,and a sharp frustration over family dramas,dipped in a love like poison.

A young girl comes home from school to find her father has left.Starring Clara Augarde, Lio and Michel GalabruWritten by Mariette Desert and Katell QuillevereDirected by Katell QuillevereI am really falling in love with these French subtitled films.This is a coming of age tale. A battle between religion and lust. It's quirky, dark and funny in places. It starts off slow but slowly creeps in and captivates you. It is well acted and it's one of those movies that makes you think about life and all kinds of stuff. It's packed full of symbolism and meaning.I love it!10/10

'Un poison violent' (literally translated: 'A violent poison'; the title was taken from a song by Serge Gainsbourg) has a lot going on in the lives of quite a few characters in a rural French village, but the focus stays well-proportioned on that of a teenage girl named Anna.Anna experiences many troubles; her devotion to a Catholic life versus a more earthly life (boyfriend, sex, body), her father just left his mother for a younger woman (which causes her mother much grief that rubs off on her as well), she helps nursing her sick grandfather (who is also burdening her with his unadulterated sex-drive) and a close (girl)friend is leaving her for a while. Quite miraculously, all these problems never amount to an indiscernible heap, but each trouble gets its fair share of attention in all of the many small and fragile scenes.There is frequent, but terrific use of a cappella songs, mostly covers (as far as I could tell), such as 'Greensleeves' (a traditional) and 'Creep' (by Radiohead). The film has a very natural feel to it (very French, if that would mean anything), is at times quite melancholic, and - Hallelujah - none too prudish, either. A pleasure to behold as things unfold.A good 8 out of 10.

Love Like Poison is a fascinating little film. I viewed it at a small French Film Festival (in South Africa no less), and did not expect too much. And honestly, that is what I received - not too much, but brilliantly presented and charmingly executed.Following the story of young Anna as she struggles with becoming a woman, her grandfather's mortality and a young boy's affection, Love Like Poison captured me from the start. The film plays with the idea of childhood innocence and the fragility of adulthood. It delves deep into the flaws of every human being, but accentuates the beauty of its naivety. It does all this with a wonderful charm about it.Many of the scenes might make certain viewers slightly uncomfortable, but that is where the film succeeds, and where it needs to go in order to explore the themes that it presents. Furthermore, it does not place judgment on the actions and conversations of the characters as they reflect what is in all of us.Lastly, I will mention that the film would never have succeeded as it did, without its subtle hint of comedy. These very subtle bits are sometimes, in fact, laugh-out-loud, regardless of the circumstances. All the more reason to take life less seriously, and be able to laugh at the perfections and flaws of the human condition. The speech by Anna near the end in particular is beautiful and laugh-out-loud hilarious.8/10 I loved it...