I thought this would be well liked by women. But I see from the voting breakdown that it was very poorly rated by women and girls. Of 22 girls under 18, 15 gave it a one. That's amazing!
Anyone have an idea why?
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I must apologize for the thread title. It's a mistake to say that women don't like this film. Obviously, a lot of them do. In fact most of them do -- according to the voting anyway.
I see that the average rating is so low because such a high percentage (14%) gave it a "one". Most films get less than 5% "one" votes.
70% of women gave it a seven or better, with 45% tens. I guess the only reason it isn't in the top 250 is that so few people have voted on it.
Take care,
Bruce
"I choose to think there is no free will..."
***I don't watch films as a WOMAN. I watch films as a person. ***
THANK YOU.
Jealousy of Arletty."I like my water fresh"
Women don't like this movie? I am a woman and i love this film. I have not seen it for years but I always remind Natalie saying suppliant to Baptiste: Et moi, Baptiste?, et moi? poor Natalie (huge María Casares!) The bitterness of loving without being loved. I never saw so well treated the tragic of this feeling how this film do it.
This film is not truly the biggest French movie ever filmed, it is one of the biggest movies ever filmed in the history of the cinema.
I was puzzled by the demographic breakdown in the ratings too -- first that there are many more men than women even rating the film (that might just reflect the breakdown of registered imdb users), then that the the ratings by men were so much higher than those by women. In my age bracket, Females 45+, the average rating is 7.7; I gave the film a 9, and only because I never give anything a 10.
Perhaps some younger women don't like the film because they find Garance unsympathetic.
I'm also amazed that I made it to 45+ without ever seeing this film before, although thanks to IFC's rebroadcasts I watched it twice in one day. I assume that the length of the film is the reason why it's not broadcast or shown in theaters more often. If people can't get to see it, then the film is never going to get the overall rating it deserves.
I've adored this movie ever since I saw a badly dubbed version, late at night, sneaking my mother's miniature sony TV under the covers, back in 1971. I'd assumed other women would love it too. But yes, I remember one friend I took to see it at a repertory theater (that used to thrive in big cities before VHS) a few years later while in college. She didn't like it all that much (though wouldn't have given it a 1) due to finding Garance unsympathetic. She was annoyed that French films (at least, according to her perception, based on us also having seen "Jules et Jim" that year) liked to present the "enigmatic woman" who *all* the males in the movie gravitated around. She liked the more typical mix-and-match of American love stories where characters more often sorted themselves out into several couples.
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"I've always resisted the notion that knowledge ruined paradise." Prof. Xavier
Now, you need to see it again.
I'm 60--& just saw it for the first time. I've avoided watching it for years---despite the glorious press--& I own the 2002 Criterion DVD.
I saw it last night---@ the Museum of Fine Arts Houston---because it was on a big screen.
It has been painstakingly restored. This is the first time this process has been used in France. The DVD & Blu-Ray release is 9/18/12.
It was GORGEOUS! I'm embarrassed that I waited so long.
Carpe Noctem!
I'm under 18 and can seriously say I've watched many movies...many. French movies usually don't have a story line and bore me, but this film! I loved it, it's so...I don't know, cool maybe. How can they give it a one, I'll definately give it a 10.
share"Anyone have an idea why?"
Yes, in fact I know why. And it's funny that someone mentioned "Pirates of the Carribean" because it directly affects this question. What happened is that a group of several dozen Johnny Depp "fangirls" decided that not only the enjoyable original Pirates film but also the lame sequels belonged on imdb's "top 250" list. To get it on the list, they realized that they would have to make room by removing some of the other films. So they seemingly randomly picked "Les Enfants Du Paradis", sent out some emails to their Depp groupie friends, and all of them came over here and rated the film with a "1." There is a whole thread about this somewhere here on this message board. Prior to all of this happening "Les Enfants" was on the imdb top 250 but they caused it to drop out of the list by voting it a "1". I have no idea why imdb didn't ban these posters or remove their votes to this day. But I'd say that if anybody wanted to get hugely upset about it then they are taking the imdb voting too seriously. Still I think it's kind of a shameful and ignorant thing for those girls to have been doing. I imagine Johnny Depp himself would probably laugh if he heard about it.
Anyway I just wanted to let you know since nobody else mentioned it here, those are not legitimate votes and the attitude of women under 18 towards this movie is being misrepresented by them.
Did I not love him, Cooch? MY OWN FLESH I DIDN'T LOVE BETTER!!! But he had to say 'Nooooooooo'
I don't need to reiterate the obvious lack of scientific basis of IMDB polls, as many have already previously mentioned. I don't think using gender is an effective way of honoring or understanding the film.
I think many of the comments are right on - aside from the Johnny Depp groupies trying to save their idol's IMDB status, I think a general attitude towards cinema can be detected today which is very different from the poetry and poignancy of Les Enfants du Paradis.
Today's audiences generally expect formulaic romances where there is fulfillment in love. Girls get Julia Roberts getting her man and boys get Keanu Reeves in car chase explosions. That's what people are growing up with, for as long as there was Hollywood and other Hollywood-wannabe, profit-making studios throughout the world.
Les Enfants du Paradis is an allegorical tragedy about political subversion as well as a love story about unrequited love. Now, unrequited love stories are today normally explored in arthouse films. They are not staple stories in mainstream cinema, and when was the last time Hollywood went in that direction? That says a lot about cultural attitudes of the general populace of cinema-goers.
I can certainly see why young girls, who grew up with gratuituously unrealistic, bad films, would hate the fatalism of Les Enfants du Paradis. But again, IMDB polls should be taken as seriously as Dubya talking about ethics.
Do you know where I'm going? Anton Chigurh No Country for Old Men
I share your despair, but it is long, B&W, and in a different language. Those pose no problems to me, but for others I can understand how it would.
shareI don't know... I'm a woman and this movie has been in my top 5 since forever.
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