Comments on: We Risked To Be Classified X and Not To Be Able To Be Presentable on the American Territory

By: Joe Valdez

Joe Valdez — Sun, 24 May 2009 02:47:25 +0000

J.D.: If you overlook Luc Besson casting his wife as Joan of Arc, he's a filmmaker who has enjoyed enormous success filling roles with the right people. Even the rogue's gallery of renegade cops in Léon had perfect looks. Thanks for commenting! Kelsy: If you enjoy this, don't hesitate to add Nikita, or La Femme Nikita, onto your queue as well. There is no better lesson at the difference between a Hollywood sensibility and a French sensibility than watching that film and the American remake Point of No Return, which is essentially the same script, but a completely different movie. Marilyn: I get the feeling Besson was writing about the film's production history in French and the erstwhile translator made somewhat of a hatchet job with the English translation. Too bad the French didn't colonize the New World, then I could understand what the little man with a big imagination was talking about. Thanks for commenting, as always! Amanda: You are correct. This is a rewrite of a May 2008 article, about 1,500 words longer than the previous draft. Hopefully this version will convince you to get on the stick and see this! Point of No Return has its fans, mostly Bridget Fonda fans, I think, which I count myself as. The actual movie smells like reclaimed water to me. Nikita was virtually the same script, but seemed so much more sensual and imaginative. Shawna: Thanks for commenting. I hope this one didn't give you nightmares.

By: Shawna

Shawna — Sat, 23 May 2009 00:06:42 +0000

I actually saw this movie last year on the recommendation of another friend. I really enjoyed it. Natalie Portman was perfect for the roll. I especially liked the escape scene where he sends her down the vent shaft. Very cool

By: AR

AR — Thu, 21 May 2009 22:30:35 +0000

This is a rewrite of a previous entry, right? I think I commented then that I needed to see this again and that’s still true. No idea which cut I’ve seen, though I know I’ve seen the movie at least twice and really like it.

I saw Nikita too 10+ years ago after seeing the American remake w/Bridget Fonda. It’s been so long now that I’ve lost most of the details, but I recall liking the original a lot more.

By: Marilyn

Marilyn — Thu, 21 May 2009 20:48:43 +0000

Ah, I love this film! Reading Besson’s fractured English reminds me somehow of Oldman in this role. I never saw the cut version, and I’m glad. Great write-up as usual, Joe.

By: kelsy

kelsy — Thu, 21 May 2009 05:31:24 +0000

This is one of those movies that I always want to get around to but just haven’t yet. It’s now added to my Netflix queue.

By: J.D.

J.D. — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:40:55 +0000

Ahh, Gary Oldman at his most wonderfully unhinged best. Some accuse his performance of slipping into over-the-top camp but I find his psycho cop about as fierce and frightening as Dennis Hopper in BLUE VELVET.

Natalie Portman is just great too and is able to give such an incredible performance at such a young age.

I also thought that this is one of Jean Reno’s best performances — incredibly minimal but that’s because his facial expressions, esp. his eyes which express so much.