Betty Blue (1986)

Betty Blue: Directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix. With Jean-Hugues Anglade, Béatrice Dalle, Gérard Darmon, Consuelo De Haviland. A lackadaisical handyman and aspiring novelist tries to support his younger girlfriend as she slowly succumbs to madness.

“In music, a u0026quot;blue noteu0026quot; is a note which departs from the expected major scale and instead goes minor (flat). Youu0026#39;ve heard it a million times in blues or jazz; itu0026#39;s u0026quot;that noteu0026quot; that makes you go u0026quot;ooooooohu0026quot;. In the film u0026quot;Betty Blueu0026quot;, a meticulously crafted, deeply symbolic, allegorical tale of passion and madness, thereu0026#39;s a wonderful scene where the 2 main characters slip away from a funeral wake in the middle of the night, find a room of pianos and play an impromptu duet. In this scene, the man and stable component of the relationship, Zorg, plays a chord progression while Betty, the volatile component, comes in with a simple melody hitting that powerful blue note.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhy am I harping on this one scene? Itu0026#39;s because it shows how carefully planned and meaningful this film is right down to the music. And we havenu0026#39;t even touched the visuals: the incredibly surreal lighting, colors and set design, or the first class acting from everyone involved, or the hypercharged story itself. This is one of those films like u0026quot;Citizen Kaneu0026quot; which experts can spend decades dissecting on a technical as well as artistic level. Whether you approach it like that, or whether you just sit back and take in the experience, either way, this film works.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Betty Blueu0026quot; is, on the surface, a love story. Underneath the surface itu0026#39;s the quintessential story of an artist and muse. Zorg is the artist (in this case, a failed writer) while Betty is the muse, a powerful, passionate force that suddenly drops in on him, adoring his simple scribblings to the point of obsessive madness, forcing her own passion upon him and driving him to write and believe in himself even though he barely knows or cares what heu0026#39;s doing. He simply wants to hold on to Betty as if his entire being depends on her because he knows what a rare force she is.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf you happen to be a writer, artist, musician, inventor, or anyone with creative leanings, youu0026#39;ll really grasp this angle. Even if youu0026#39;re not in those fields, youu0026#39;ll still grasp the story of a person who finds pure passion and will do anything to keep it.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAlthough Iu0026#39;m describing this story from Zorgu0026#39;s perspective, the movie is really about Betty. Zorg is almost just a bystander in his own life, experiencing the passion, volatility and violence of his lover. I thought this was a fantastic angle, even though you may be perplexed at his lack of reactions in some cases. For example early in the film Betty has a big flipout and throws all of Zorgu0026#39;s earthly belongings out the window. Zorg watches from afar with hilarious detachment, chatting calmly with a neighbor as if theyu0026#39;re watching waves break on the beach. The film is full of surreal/comical moments like that, and thatu0026#39;s what offsets the brutality of it all. Think of it: if your lover flipped out and destroyed everything you own, it probably wouldnu0026#39;t feel like a beautiful, artistic moment. But in this film it is. Itu0026#39;s magnificent and oddly triumphant at the end of the scene.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOk now the disclaimer: u0026quot;Betty Blueu0026quot; is a tough film for American audiences. This is mainly because thereu0026#39;s a ton of very explicit nudity and sexuality bordering on softcore porn. Do NOT watch this with your parents. And for the love of all thatu0026#39;s holy do NOT watch it with your kids. Honestly I wouldnu0026#39;t watch it with anyone because I would feel so uncomfortable. Full frontal nudity, both genders, kissing of private parts, and of course thereu0026#39;s that opening scene: a brutally voyeuristic shot of the two having sex for a solid minute or two without any cuts, dialogue or distractions. But if you can handle that first scene, then your all set. Oddly enough, this film doesnu0026#39;t try to be erotic. Itu0026#39;s hard to describe, but the explicit sex scenes convey passion without necessary getting bogged down in eroticism, thus avoiding any cheese factor that often comes when filmmakers try too hard to be sexy.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt may also be a difficult film for American audiences because itu0026#39;s just plain long (assuming you watch the 3-hr directoru0026#39;s cut which you should). There isnu0026#39;t a clear, summarizable plot. The entire story is somewhat episodic and random, with sudden bizarre life changes happening that change the entire backdrop of the film. But this is precisely the point. Almost like a weird Alice in Wonderland fantasy, you have the main character(s) and everyone else is peripheral, everything surrounding them is surreal and inexplicable. This creates a sort of bubble around Betty and Zorg where we the audience feel what they feel: that the only thing that matters in the world is their love for each other.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI highly recommend this film to anyone who goes to the cinema for more than thrills and popcorn. I would rank u0026quot;Betty Blueu0026quot; up there with other artistic masterpieces by Kubrick (u0026quot;Clockwork Orangeu0026quot;, u0026quot;2001u0026quot;) or Kieslowsky (Blue, White, Red Trilogy) or Wim Wenders (u0026quot;Paris, Texasu0026quot;, u0026quot;Wings of Desireu0026quot;, u0026quot;Until the End of the Worldu0026quot;). All of these films are somewhat difficult to watch because theyu0026#39;re not easily digestible entertainment, and unfortunately thatu0026#39;s why theyu0026#39;re not marketed here and youu0026#39;ll probably drop a few bills ordering a rare import copy, but itu0026#39;s worth it.”