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Reviews
Madame Hyde (2017)
Good movie, with an original approach
The movie, Mrs. Hyde, is inspired by the well-known novel "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde". The doctor is replaced here by a teacher of sciences confronted to problematic pupils. After a lightning she changes gradually her behaviour and starts transforming at night.
This is an indie movie in a very European style. This being said, it is not surprising that people who are not used to this genre feel a bit lost, and do not expect to like it if you are in that situation. This means that it is quirky compared to a more mainstream cinema, and it uses ellipsis, letting many things implicit.
The picture is also quite typical of the genre but this movie has its own personality when it comes to the colours. In that, you can see it as a less aggressive version of Amélie, with shadings of pastel blue.
As an indie movie it does quite well, but nothing exceptional either. The actors are doing very well but the rhythm is unequal.
There are already plenty of French movies about high schools in disadvantaged French suburbs, with very expected happy endings. This movie takes some distance from that as it carries on its "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"-kind story. Thanks to this distance we also appreciate better the development of the pupils. The very sudden turn in the pupil's behaviour still looks kind of artificial.
Dans la brume (2018)
A disappointing reboot of the mist
The initial idea is not bad: to place a family of three in a disaster situation when a mysterious toxic mist spreads in Paris. It also quickly appears that not everyone is affected by it. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't really go beyond that. It focuses only on a handful of character, placed in expected situations, and makes no progress in understanding the phenomenon.
In the end the unexplained selectivity of the mist only serves as an easy excuse for the plot to bring in some new situations. Even though, two adults are scared by an average dog just like people were scared by alien monsters in The Mist of 2007. Like many things in this movie it simply doesn't add up.
The actors' performance is good and scenes with the elder couple are touching. Still the movie doesn't have much to offer overall.