CHEZ LISE
The opening scene is mesmerizing with its mysterious and gentle flow of rain water- as if drenched by the red neon lights at the boarding house, Chez Lise. The mystery is veiled by a soft female voice for whom the piano plays. The female voice and her piano companion serve as a letter of introduction for the upcoming scene. A first visual or audio element starts, accompanies a second element, but when the second element finishes, the first element continues to accompany a third element that has just started. Thus the first element serves as an emotion or thematic bridge between two succeeding elements that otherwise would seem unlikely neighbours. This fluid continuity permeates the whole film and it is not magic and it is not an accident it is editing done right.
Chez Lise is an ode to lives lived. It is a modern version of Romeo and Juliette. The protagonists are Deana and Gordon, the antagonists are human genes, fate and society. The owner of the boarding house where Deana and Gordon live holds the role of the mother figure. Not only Deana and Gordon appreciate what Lise does, but other boarders do as well. Some will say that she is a pain in the butt, but a good person with a big heart. Deana playfully mimics her bad eye sight. Gordon labels Lise as strange so as to excuse his wearing loud cowboy boots, but readily concedes her maternal qualities.
As irony would have it, that the most momentous piece of music in the whole film is one that we never hear. Gordon refers to it in the film as “Miles Away” And he sings the words: “In your eyes you are miles away, Because in your eyes I am worlds away.” But his title and lyrics do not exactly match the title and the lyrics of the song , Worlds Away, by Strange Advance:
“This life inside I steal as mine..
Look in your eyes, you're worlds away.
And life is locked inside you.”
This scene is where the whole film takes on its meaning. Everyone lives in a different universe. And that universe we record it inside us, and when we take refuge inside our universe we are worlds away, and we seem to live only inside ourselves.
Deana and Gordon are lovers but society has decided to make rules to limit their universe. That same society has also decided to limit help to a boarding house like the one run by Lise because she does not want to abide by their rules. She does not cater to a particular clientele with specific needs. Lise caters to people who need a home but who have a modest income. Many of her boarders have mental issues. Deana has deep affective wounds which in part explain her willingness to renew her relation with Gordon despite arguments and even acts of violence. But despite their mental illness they can remain lucid. Gordon himself says that he is not against society, but he would like people like himself to have access to meaningful work and education, instead of spending the day smoking, having a beer and what not.
What attracts many of the boarders to Lise's Boarding house? Freedom and compassion. At Chez Lise the boarders can smoke in their own rooms, they are allowed to have alcohol in their own rooms. They have a key to their rooms and can walk in and out any time they please. But they have scheduled meals, and scheduled medication. If the boarders cannot cope with basic hygiene they cannot stay Chez Lise. And hence lose some of their basic freedoms afforded by Lise's unorthodox philosophy of freedom and compassion.
Several times Gordon had to be hospitalized because of episodes of violence. But in the end it was Deana that had to be displaced permanently to a new home because she was no longer able to take care of herself. And in the process she lost some of her freedom because her new home is officially supervised. Gordon and Deana lived together Chez Lise for two years and it was on Lise's insistence that they lived together because the mental institution where they had stayed wanted them to live in a more restricted environment. Lise took it upon herself to convince Gordon that he could not have done more to prevent Deana from being placed in a supervised home, that he should cherish the moments they were able to pass together.
It is so apt that the film ends simply in black and white in silence, with a kiss, a smile and fades away... a dream lived thanks to a woman who despite her own physical shortcomings gives many a taste of freedom and compassion and in the case of Deana and Gordon, love.
I am amazed by the technical quality of the photography. I was not expecting such sharp images at least not from the little camera I had seen. This film is not a praise to technology, so the few episodes with snowy images that are reminiscent of the blurs of imperfection of the human mind are easily accepted. And is it a contradicting coincidence that some of the most beautiful images are those of snow covered scenery? The sound is well balanced with little or no unwanted noise and the background music is always there to foster a mood upon which the main action thrives on.
There is an Easter egg planted in the film. Is it an oversight or was it done on purpose? Either way we have a camera looking at the audience for a second. Is this rebel camera a symbol of the social whistle blower ready to pass on information to the conscience of humanity?
Chez Lise is an ode to lives lived. It is a modern version of Romeo and Juliette. The protagonists are Deana and Gordon, the antagonists are human genes, fate and society. The owner of the boarding house where Deana and Gordon live holds the role of the mother figure. Not only Deana and Gordon appreciate what Lise does, but other boarders do as well. Some will say that she is a pain in the butt, but a good person with a big heart. Deana playfully mimics her bad eye sight. Gordon labels Lise as strange so as to excuse his wearing loud cowboy boots, but readily concedes her maternal qualities.
As irony would have it, that the most momentous piece of music in the whole film is one that we never hear. Gordon refers to it in the film as “Miles Away” And he sings the words: “In your eyes you are miles away, Because in your eyes I am worlds away.” But his title and lyrics do not exactly match the title and the lyrics of the song , Worlds Away, by Strange Advance:
“This life inside I steal as mine..
Look in your eyes, you're worlds away.
And life is locked inside you.”
This scene is where the whole film takes on its meaning. Everyone lives in a different universe. And that universe we record it inside us, and when we take refuge inside our universe we are worlds away, and we seem to live only inside ourselves.
Deana and Gordon are lovers but society has decided to make rules to limit their universe. That same society has also decided to limit help to a boarding house like the one run by Lise because she does not want to abide by their rules. She does not cater to a particular clientele with specific needs. Lise caters to people who need a home but who have a modest income. Many of her boarders have mental issues. Deana has deep affective wounds which in part explain her willingness to renew her relation with Gordon despite arguments and even acts of violence. But despite their mental illness they can remain lucid. Gordon himself says that he is not against society, but he would like people like himself to have access to meaningful work and education, instead of spending the day smoking, having a beer and what not.
What attracts many of the boarders to Lise's Boarding house? Freedom and compassion. At Chez Lise the boarders can smoke in their own rooms, they are allowed to have alcohol in their own rooms. They have a key to their rooms and can walk in and out any time they please. But they have scheduled meals, and scheduled medication. If the boarders cannot cope with basic hygiene they cannot stay Chez Lise. And hence lose some of their basic freedoms afforded by Lise's unorthodox philosophy of freedom and compassion.
Several times Gordon had to be hospitalized because of episodes of violence. But in the end it was Deana that had to be displaced permanently to a new home because she was no longer able to take care of herself. And in the process she lost some of her freedom because her new home is officially supervised. Gordon and Deana lived together Chez Lise for two years and it was on Lise's insistence that they lived together because the mental institution where they had stayed wanted them to live in a more restricted environment. Lise took it upon herself to convince Gordon that he could not have done more to prevent Deana from being placed in a supervised home, that he should cherish the moments they were able to pass together.
It is so apt that the film ends simply in black and white in silence, with a kiss, a smile and fades away... a dream lived thanks to a woman who despite her own physical shortcomings gives many a taste of freedom and compassion and in the case of Deana and Gordon, love.
I am amazed by the technical quality of the photography. I was not expecting such sharp images at least not from the little camera I had seen. This film is not a praise to technology, so the few episodes with snowy images that are reminiscent of the blurs of imperfection of the human mind are easily accepted. And is it a contradicting coincidence that some of the most beautiful images are those of snow covered scenery? The sound is well balanced with little or no unwanted noise and the background music is always there to foster a mood upon which the main action thrives on.
There is an Easter egg planted in the film. Is it an oversight or was it done on purpose? Either way we have a camera looking at the audience for a second. Is this rebel camera a symbol of the social whistle blower ready to pass on information to the conscience of humanity?
