sexta-feira, 1 de agosto de 2008
"THE BLOOD OF OTHERS" Synopsis
"THE BLOOD OF OTHERS"
Synopsis
Set against the World War II Nazi occupation of France, "The
Blood of Others" is the story of a consuming love affair and of the
heroism it inspires. It is about a willful young woman prepared to sacrifice
everything -- including her life -- for the man she loves. Her single-
minded dedication is to be tested by a perilous Resistance operation, while
a love-stricken German, who would destroy both of them rather than allow
another man to have her, already suspects her of anti-Nazi subversion. The
film is based on the novel by Simone de Beauvoir, the best-selling author
of "The Mandarins" and "The Second Sex." The first of Ms. de Beauvoir's
novels to be brought to the screen, "The Blood of Others" is both a
romantic thriller and an examination of each and every person's
responsibility for his life -- and other's deaths.
Paris, 1938. Another European war looms ominously. But Helene
Bertrand, a beautiful and headstrong young woman, is more worried by
her boyfriend Paul Perrier's total absorption with politics to the exclusion
of romance. After he cancels a dinner date to meet yet again with union
organizer Jean Blomart, Helene angrily resolves to find out just who
Blomart is. When she shows up at the appointed cafe before Paul and
meets Jean, there is an immediate and compelling attraction between them.
Jean's idealism and good-humor endear him to Helene, while her strongly
held, unconventional views intrigue him.
Paul's practical notions of romance and marriage -- which clash
with Helene's belief that true love calls for total and selfless devotion --
lead her to leave him. Helene begins courting Jean, writing him letters and
seeking him out at demonstrations and cafes. Initially Jean warns that he
can't get involved with her, but eventually he is taken with Helene and
they begin to see each other seriously.
Still, Jean's idealism gets in the way. When Helene talks of
marriage, Jean reminds her of his political commitments. Hurt,
disappointed, Helene leaves him, and it is only after Jean learns that she's
pregnant and having an abortion that he returns to her. Jean nurses Helene
to health in his apartment following the botched operation.
With war imminent, Jean dutifully enlists in the army. Helene
reacts furiously, feeling that once again Jean's dedication comes before
her. She would rather see him alive and a coward than dead and a hero.
Through Jean's family and her boss, Helene arranges for Jean to be
transferred to a safe posting in Paris. War is declared and Helene is
determined to see Jean. Armed with a letter of reference from a French
general, Helene defies military regulations to see Jean at the border town
where he is stationed. It is an arduous journey. At first, she rides trains and
hitchhikes, but eventually she has to trudge through rough farm country to
reach him. Using her charm to get past sentries, she finally finds Jean and
tells him about the transfer. He need only apply for it to be in Paris. Jean
refuses -- he's to be sent to the front the next day, but he can't avoid his
moral obligation to serve his country. Helene returns to Paris, hurt and
fearful that Jean will die.
When the Germans invade France and the army capitulates, Helene
learns that Jean is being hospitalized for a relatively minor wound.
Braving refugees and retreating soldiers, one of whom nearly rapes her,
Helene again travels to the front. There she discovers that Jean has been
taken as a P.O.W.
In Paris, Helene finds that her boss, coutourier Gigi Grandjouan, is
living with a Wermacht General in the Hotel Meurice -- which has been
made Nazi headquarters. Gigi's main customer is Bergman, a young
German manufacturer. He is immediately smitten by Helene, and even
offers to help arrange for her "friend" Jean's release -- providing Helene
continues to work with Gigi. Helene agrees, hoping to get Jean home. But
she must increasingly fend off Bergman's obsessive romantic advances,
and because of her contact with Gigi and the German, she is labelled a
collaborator by Jean's friends -- many of whom have joined the
Resistance.
Jean returns in the summer of 1941, unaware that Helene is re-
sponsible for his release. After he learns of her alleged collaboration, he
confronts her. The situation is especially delicate because he has been
chosen to lead a local cell of the Resistance.
Helene reveals how she got Jean out of Germany. She has
hardened and matured, especially after the closest thing to a family for her
--roommate Yvonne Kotz and her mother -- were taken away in the
French round-up of Jews. She wants to help Jean in the Resistance, if only
to prove to him that Bergman means nothing to her. His comrades-in-arms
come up with a mission which will be a test of Helene's loyalty and Jean
reluctantly approves it.
The mission: to place a gun at the heavily guarded Hotel Meurice
under the pretext of visiting Bergman -- who is bitterly jealous of her
relationship with Jean. Unbeknownst to Helene, the gun is used to
assassinate a French Fascist leader. An unavoidable web of danger closes
around her. Bergman, increasingly obsessed with Helene, suspects that she
and Jean are responsible for the assassination and threatens to expose them
unless she marries him. In a gripping scene Bergman tries to kill her but
winds up taking his own life in a paroxysm of rage and guilt.
In the film's last act, Helen joins a perilous operation to rescue the
man who has confessed to the assassination. Disguised as a nurse, she
must enter a Gestapo prison in a Red Cross ambulance with other
members of Jean's cell. Through tense maneuvering, they manage to get
their man into the ambulance. But as they leave the prison, they are
discovered. A harrowing gun battle and chase are the only way out. As the
film moves to its inexorable climax, we see the depths to which one
woman can go for a man -- and the turmoil of a man condemned to spill
the blood of others.
With a budget of $8.5 million dollars, "The Blood of Others" will
be a major international production. The screenplay was adapted from the
book by prominent novelist Brian Moore, whose novels and films include
"The Luck of Ginger Coffey," "Torn Curtain," and "The Doctor's Wife."
The director is Claude Chabrol, who has been called the Hitch-cock of the
modern French cinema. His first film, "Le Beau Serge," launched the
French New Wave, and since then he has gone on to make some 35
feature films and 14 television productions. Among his other films are
"Les Biches," "The Butcher," "La Femme Infidel," and "Violette Noziere."
Chabrol will bring his talent for suspense and complex relationships to
"The Blood of Others" to make it a thoroughly compelling picture.
The producers are John Kemeny and Denis Heroux, whose
recently released pictures, "Atlantic City" and "Quest for Fire," were inter-
national successes.
Synopsis
Set against the World War II Nazi occupation of France, "The
Blood of Others" is the story of a consuming love affair and of the
heroism it inspires. It is about a willful young woman prepared to sacrifice
everything -- including her life -- for the man she loves. Her single-
minded dedication is to be tested by a perilous Resistance operation, while
a love-stricken German, who would destroy both of them rather than allow
another man to have her, already suspects her of anti-Nazi subversion. The
film is based on the novel by Simone de Beauvoir, the best-selling author
of "The Mandarins" and "The Second Sex." The first of Ms. de Beauvoir's
novels to be brought to the screen, "The Blood of Others" is both a
romantic thriller and an examination of each and every person's
responsibility for his life -- and other's deaths.
Paris, 1938. Another European war looms ominously. But Helene
Bertrand, a beautiful and headstrong young woman, is more worried by
her boyfriend Paul Perrier's total absorption with politics to the exclusion
of romance. After he cancels a dinner date to meet yet again with union
organizer Jean Blomart, Helene angrily resolves to find out just who
Blomart is. When she shows up at the appointed cafe before Paul and
meets Jean, there is an immediate and compelling attraction between them.
Jean's idealism and good-humor endear him to Helene, while her strongly
held, unconventional views intrigue him.
Paul's practical notions of romance and marriage -- which clash
with Helene's belief that true love calls for total and selfless devotion --
lead her to leave him. Helene begins courting Jean, writing him letters and
seeking him out at demonstrations and cafes. Initially Jean warns that he
can't get involved with her, but eventually he is taken with Helene and
they begin to see each other seriously.
Still, Jean's idealism gets in the way. When Helene talks of
marriage, Jean reminds her of his political commitments. Hurt,
disappointed, Helene leaves him, and it is only after Jean learns that she's
pregnant and having an abortion that he returns to her. Jean nurses Helene
to health in his apartment following the botched operation.
With war imminent, Jean dutifully enlists in the army. Helene
reacts furiously, feeling that once again Jean's dedication comes before
her. She would rather see him alive and a coward than dead and a hero.
Through Jean's family and her boss, Helene arranges for Jean to be
transferred to a safe posting in Paris. War is declared and Helene is
determined to see Jean. Armed with a letter of reference from a French
general, Helene defies military regulations to see Jean at the border town
where he is stationed. It is an arduous journey. At first, she rides trains and
hitchhikes, but eventually she has to trudge through rough farm country to
reach him. Using her charm to get past sentries, she finally finds Jean and
tells him about the transfer. He need only apply for it to be in Paris. Jean
refuses -- he's to be sent to the front the next day, but he can't avoid his
moral obligation to serve his country. Helene returns to Paris, hurt and
fearful that Jean will die.
When the Germans invade France and the army capitulates, Helene
learns that Jean is being hospitalized for a relatively minor wound.
Braving refugees and retreating soldiers, one of whom nearly rapes her,
Helene again travels to the front. There she discovers that Jean has been
taken as a P.O.W.
In Paris, Helene finds that her boss, coutourier Gigi Grandjouan, is
living with a Wermacht General in the Hotel Meurice -- which has been
made Nazi headquarters. Gigi's main customer is Bergman, a young
German manufacturer. He is immediately smitten by Helene, and even
offers to help arrange for her "friend" Jean's release -- providing Helene
continues to work with Gigi. Helene agrees, hoping to get Jean home. But
she must increasingly fend off Bergman's obsessive romantic advances,
and because of her contact with Gigi and the German, she is labelled a
collaborator by Jean's friends -- many of whom have joined the
Resistance.
Jean returns in the summer of 1941, unaware that Helene is re-
sponsible for his release. After he learns of her alleged collaboration, he
confronts her. The situation is especially delicate because he has been
chosen to lead a local cell of the Resistance.
Helene reveals how she got Jean out of Germany. She has
hardened and matured, especially after the closest thing to a family for her
--roommate Yvonne Kotz and her mother -- were taken away in the
French round-up of Jews. She wants to help Jean in the Resistance, if only
to prove to him that Bergman means nothing to her. His comrades-in-arms
come up with a mission which will be a test of Helene's loyalty and Jean
reluctantly approves it.
The mission: to place a gun at the heavily guarded Hotel Meurice
under the pretext of visiting Bergman -- who is bitterly jealous of her
relationship with Jean. Unbeknownst to Helene, the gun is used to
assassinate a French Fascist leader. An unavoidable web of danger closes
around her. Bergman, increasingly obsessed with Helene, suspects that she
and Jean are responsible for the assassination and threatens to expose them
unless she marries him. In a gripping scene Bergman tries to kill her but
winds up taking his own life in a paroxysm of rage and guilt.
In the film's last act, Helen joins a perilous operation to rescue the
man who has confessed to the assassination. Disguised as a nurse, she
must enter a Gestapo prison in a Red Cross ambulance with other
members of Jean's cell. Through tense maneuvering, they manage to get
their man into the ambulance. But as they leave the prison, they are
discovered. A harrowing gun battle and chase are the only way out. As the
film moves to its inexorable climax, we see the depths to which one
woman can go for a man -- and the turmoil of a man condemned to spill
the blood of others.
With a budget of $8.5 million dollars, "The Blood of Others" will
be a major international production. The screenplay was adapted from the
book by prominent novelist Brian Moore, whose novels and films include
"The Luck of Ginger Coffey," "Torn Curtain," and "The Doctor's Wife."
The director is Claude Chabrol, who has been called the Hitch-cock of the
modern French cinema. His first film, "Le Beau Serge," launched the
French New Wave, and since then he has gone on to make some 35
feature films and 14 television productions. Among his other films are
"Les Biches," "The Butcher," "La Femme Infidel," and "Violette Noziere."
Chabrol will bring his talent for suspense and complex relationships to
"The Blood of Others" to make it a thoroughly compelling picture.
The producers are John Kemeny and Denis Heroux, whose
recently released pictures, "Atlantic City" and "Quest for Fire," were inter-
national successes.
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