Before
the celebrated painter Jean-Baptiste dies, he asks to be buried in
a distant corner of France: the grand cemetery of Limoges. “Those
who love me,” he declares, “Will take the train.” Upon
his death a coterie of friends, lovers and relations duly sets out
by train to attend the funeral. A kind of extended dysfunctional family,
linked in some cases simply by their mutual admiration of Jean-Baptiste,
this motley crew of bohemians and eccentrics find themselves at close
quarters and under emotional strain. Tempers flare, allegiances shift,
secrets emerge; the dynamics of the various relationships are irrevocably
altered. Is Jean-Baptiste playing a final beyond-the-grave joke on
his acolytes or providing them with a means of overcoming their grief?
This extravagantly shot, kinetic melodrama garnered Chéreau
(director of “La Reine Margot”) ten César nominations
and a nomination for the Palme d’Or at Cannes. The films walks
a fine line between serious drama and soap opera excess, but always
keeps the audience guessing through drastic shifts in style and tone:
between pulsing pop music and Gustav Mahler; shaky hand-held (CinemaScope!)
camerawork with rapid editing, and lengthy elegant crane shots. The
eclectic result echoes in form the patchwork of personalities, relationships
and lifestyles.
|
|
| PHOTO Courtesy
of Kino International |
|
