Out of a five star rating, I give Jules and Jim a two and a half (and it only gets that high of a rating because I enjoyed listening to them speak French). For about the first forty-five minutes I was completely lost. First Jules and Jim were here, and then they were there. They were with her, but then they were not. They liked this girl (yes, at the same time. They were good at sharing) and then they liked another. They live here, then there, then back to here. I felt like the characters were all over the place and moving at a rate that challenged my attention span. Finally, they meet Catherine. It seemed like she was a keeper, to them at least.
Catherine, Jules, and Jim—fate had put them together. She was, after all, the exact replica of the statue they so admired (or was the statue a 
replica of her?). They ran about the countryside gleefully for sometime, but then Jim had to ruin it by asking Catherine to marry him. Stupid man. My question is, why did she agree? For financial reasons? For security? I think she knew even then that she wasn’t a one-man type of woman. Also, I think she was extremely insecure. To me, her attention grabbing ways screamed insecurity. This would also fit in with her inability to be faithful to one man. She was seeking to reassure herself that she was still desirable, and she couldn’t stop. So again, why would she marry Jules?
replica of her?). They ran about the countryside gleefully for sometime, but then Jim had to ruin it by asking Catherine to marry him. Stupid man. My question is, why did she agree? For financial reasons? For security? I think she knew even then that she wasn’t a one-man type of woman. Also, I think she was extremely insecure. To me, her attention grabbing ways screamed insecurity. This would also fit in with her inability to be faithful to one man. She was seeking to reassure herself that she was still desirable, and she couldn’t stop. So again, why would she marry Jules? Jules on the other hand, was probably the only character that I had a smidgen of admiration for. He was a good guy. He had absolutely no backbone though. After all, he accommodated his best friend and his wife sleeping together. He simply took his and Catherine’s child outside to play. Not to mention his ability to overlook all of Catherine’s other lovers. (I think he claimed to know about two or three and then you add Jim to the count.) What was he thinking?! I simply cannot understand his mindset. His laid back, does not matter view on his wife’s affairs completely caught me off guard. I was hoping for a couple good rants at least!
Over all, I did not enjoy this film. Just ask Anna. Fortunately, we were able to watch it on our own, and I was able to scream at the characters until my voice gave out. I do not know exactly how I would have channeled my frustrations if I had not been able to do so. If love equals frustration, confusion, and despair, then this is definitely “cool love.”
There is something to be said about falling hopelessly for someone though, right?
ReplyDeleteJules, and Jim to a certain degree, knew that Catherine was not perfect, but they still hoped for perfect moments with her. Is the search for this ideal piece of time just a waste of one's life?
I think it would be completely fair to say that Catherine said yes because she was tying Jim's attention to herself forever. The parasitic nature of Catherine's need for attention would have been more than enough to go the extra length of marriage to make sure one man would adore her forever. It might not be a stretch to say that she knew from the very beginning she could have both men ( and another, if you remember) without any qualms from Jules or Jim.
ReplyDeleteTo capitalize on FJohn's question, do you think Jules, Jim, and Catherine were even aware of what the actual ideal they were reaching for was?