Secret Defense

Rating:
Summary: slow moving but compelling psychological thriller
Review: Rivette is not known for his brevity, not in recent years anyway. His films take patience but their momentum builds almost indiscernably to a final effect which is powerful and ultimately your pateince and attentiveness is rewarded. Rivette films are for true lovers of French films as his films meditate on life like paintings meditate on life. Action, there is barely any. This film has been referred to as a thriller and the picture on the front cover of the DVD would lead you to believe this is a thriller but that is kind of misleading as what really is being explored here is the psychological naunces of one character in particular and that character is played by Bonnaire. There is a central mystery which is the "secret" of the story but the "secret" remains so unitil the very end. And though the secret is surprising it is somewhat inconsequential. For the real power of the film is in the cumulative effect of all those scenes where Bonnaire has no idea what is driving her and making her act. It is this strange aesthetic which explains the films appeal which is great. Rivette lingers on Bonnaire who often is doing very little but riding a train or looking out a window or looking at a painting or walking through a house but there is a power in the way Rivette frames his shots. He makes very painterly compositions and his characters occupy these compositions one frame at a time, unable to see the larger picture, unable to see or judge their own actions with any authority. Insight, when it comes, comes too late. It is a film which you will watch and lose maybe a little patience with at times but its spell is a strong one and the more you think on it the more you begin to appreciate just how well the picture does what it does. Excellent film for meditative viewers who like to think while they watch.

Rating:
Summary: Tight thriller updating the Electra myth...
Review: Watch the mesmerizing, understated and finely nuanced portrayal by Sandrine Bonnaire of contemporary research biologist Sylvie Rousseau who gets entangled in a dangerous web of events--this alone is worth the purchase price. A modern update of the myth of Electra, director Rivette and his superb actors Bonnaire as well as Jerzy Radiwilowicz (as Sylvie's nemesis, Walser, ex-aide of her deceased father and now head of the high-tech weapons-manufacturing firm) have created a taut psychological thriller that unfolds in a measured manner as horrible secrets are slowly divulged. You'll be riveted to the screen with this one, but you must pay close attention: the beauty and marvel of "Secret Defense" reside in the many important details Rivette chooses to include in it. Powerful ending, too. Finally, Sylvie must be one of the most accurate representations of a real lab researcher on the non-documentary screen.