Movie “8 Women”

Movie “8 Women”  (8 Femmes, 2002), directed by François Ozon

This movie seemed interesting—at least reading the synopsis painted an intriguing situation. It wasn't novel, as it's a premise previously explored in cinema and literature; although not identical, something very similar was, in my opinion, better executed. 8 women in a house and a dead man. The movie is categorized as a comedy, but in reality, it's a mix where it's not quite clear what they were trying to achieve—something quite poor to my taste. Because it is also a musical, meaning that each of the protagonists sings a song throughout the film.

The setting is the 1950s, and they have used film music from that era, but I don't see the language used as being from that period. Thus, a mismatch occurs not only with the language but also with the situations being experienced or discussed. (The language issue applies in case it was translated literally, as the translation might have been "adapted" instead.)

Calling it a comedy is a stretch; I think it barely made me laugh. There are no genuinely funny situations; rather, the whole event is quite tragic. Yet, it doesn't quite reach black comedy either. The most they try to do to make you laugh is through some dialogue, but unfortunately, it is loaded with obscenities and verbal attacks rather than amusing situations.

There is constant belittling of one another, and the phrase “you know everything” keeps repeating to launch a new situation. A lot of drama and little substance. In themselves, the situations that unfold are very weak and fail to generate the slightest intrigue. One even imagines better-crafted scenarios, only to be disappointed by such ridiculousness when seeing what actually comes next, because not even the tragic events manage to generate interest.

It has an appallingly bad ending. Despite everything, the film won several awards at film festivals. Clearly, I must have missed something in my review.