Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious. Sentimental. Realistic. Worthwhile.
Review: A great movie. Extremely well-produced and thought up. Detail-oriented and lighthearted yet confronting social issues of eminent substance; how far would one go in exercising his/her compassion amply, for instance. It portrays the niceties of female-bonding in an immensely pleasurable way. Catherine Frot is absolutely adorable: spontaneous, witty, and too busy to buy her husband's gravitas. Vincent Lindon is cutely obnoxious. Rachida Brakni is brilliant in playing the Algerian girl shackled to misfortune by obsolete patriarchal traditions and inequitable treatment of both prepossessed French society and lusty-for-money immigrant family. At one point in her life, she is forced to become a prostitute over being sold off into a business-like wedlock. As much as all three play their roles earnestly and in harmony, the movie is cheerily embellished by wit and humor too fine-tuned and volatile to pass unnoticed. I bought this movie attracted to its storyline, without having known who the actors were; I don't regret it, and Catherine Frot has become one of my most favorites.
Rating:
Summary: Malika, my hero
Review: A great, comedic (at times), thrilling action drama that can be seen over and over again. Rachida Brakni is riveting as Malika/Noemie, the prostitute who serves up her revenge ice-cold. The plot moves quickly, which might have some slow readers (like moi) having to go back to re-read the subtitles, but not too often. My favorite part is when Malika tells her story in a series of flashbacks, which made me wonder why I whine so much about my own life. As for the reviewer who said that this was a poorly constructed mess with a less-than-believable plot? I don't suppose 'Run Lola Run' (a film I love, but which, let's face it, was three pretty simple plot exercises neatly rolled in one) is a comparable example of cinema verite. This film IS chaotic and jarring, but its messiness is what makes it compelling: it reminds us of how unpredictable *real* life is (only in hindsight do most of us see where the answers lie), not Franka Potente with Technicolor-red hair shrieking at a roulette table. ...
Rating: 
Summary: Refreshing and empowering movie
Review: Although there are some stereotypes and few surprises, the movie was a delight to watch. We can identify with each character - their strengths and weaknesses -, both males and females, and watch them grow throughout the movie.
Highly enjoyable with the appropriate mix of drama and lightness here and there.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Actors Marred by Director's Dated View on Men and Women
Review: French director Coline Serreau is perhaps best known for her "3 Men and a Cradle" which later developed into a Hollywood remake "Three Men and a Baby." Using digital camera, she made a comedy thriller "Chaos" starring two talented leads Catherine Frot and Rachida Brakni. But the film is not good as some people say, filled with awful stereotypes and prejudice. The story is basically about a kind housewife Helene, who happens to encounter at night an Algerian prostitute Noemie who was brutally beaten by mobsters. She wants to help her, but her husband stops her, afraid of being involved with a trouble. Then, being remorseful, Helene visits her in the hospital, and while between the unlikely pair grows a friendship, they decide to fight back against what has been oppressing them until now. I admit the plot is great (and there is a talk about Hollywood remake, which is understandable). However, the film damages every good thing about it by showing bad aspects of radical feminism -- in short, in this film, all men are hopelessly egoistic, and all the women are good and powerful. Helene's husband is a typical example, always complaining and obnoxious, a kind of a guy who orders his wife cook and wash. OK, there are some guys like that, I know, but his character is too one-dimentional, as if coming from the women's lib age. This biased view doesn't stop there. Helene's son is also a terribly self-centered bloke (who uses a bad language before his mom) while his girlfriends are independent and can do what they want to do. So why are these girls attracted to this stupid boy in the first place? BUT the most awful and insensible thing about "Choas" is its descriptios about the immigrants in France. The film shows how women are treated in the immigrants' community, and I do not totally deny what it says. But the film depicts this community (mainly the Muslims in mind) in a very perfunctory way, ignoring that they have their own say about the issues like gender and marriage. See much credible French film "Hate" if you don't know what I am saying. Because of the good acting and the light touch of the film, the selfish side of males are mitigated, making them sometimes even likeable (great work by Vincent Lindon), but there is some tone of patronizing in the descriptions, which is quite irritating to me. I don't know how you feel, but beware, there is nothing remarkable or subtle in the director's job. It is true that newcomer Rachida Brakni has a great talent (who deservedly won one Cezar award), but the director's dated values about men and women killed all these good things in here. Don't compare this one with much superior "Run Lola Run" in which Lola's dynamic character is balanced with her tender side. Remember, she was running for love, not for agenda.
Rating:
Summary: Refreshing and empowering movie
Review: French director Coline Serreau is perhaps best known for her "3 Men and a Cradle" which later developed into a Hollywood remake "Three Men and a Baby." Using digital camera, she made a comedy thriller "Chaos" starring two talented leads Catherine Frot and Rachida Brakni. But the film is not good as some people say, filled with awful stereotypes and prejudice. The story is basically about a kind housewife Helene, who happens to encounter at night an Algerian prostitute Noemie who was brutally beaten by mobsters. She wants to help her, but her husband stops her, afraid of being involved with a trouble. Then, being remorseful, Helene visits her in the hospital, and while between the unlikely pair grows a friendship, they decide to fight back against what has been oppressing them until now. I admit the plot is great (and there is a talk about Hollywood remake, which is understandable). However, the film damages every good thing about it by showing bad aspects of radical feminism -- in short, in this film, all men are hopelessly egoistic, and all the women are good and powerful. Helene's husband is a typical example, always complaining and obnoxious, a kind of a guy who orders his wife cook and wash. OK, there are some guys like that, I know, but his character is too one-dimentional, as if coming from the women's lib age. This biased view doesn't stop there. Helene's son is also a terribly self-centered bloke (who uses a bad language before his mom) while his girlfriends are independent and can do what they want to do. So why are these girls attracted to this stupid boy in the first place? BUT the most awful and insensible thing about "Choas" is its descriptios about the immigrants in France. The film shows how women are treated in the immigrants' community, and I do not totally deny what it says. But the film depicts this community (mainly the Muslims in mind) in a very perfunctory way, ignoring that they have their own say about the issues like gender and marriage. See much credible French film "Hate" if you don't know what I am saying. Because of the good acting and the light touch of the film, the selfish side of males are mitigated, making them sometimes even likeable (great work by Vincent Lindon), but there is some tone of patronizing in the descriptions, which is quite irritating to me. I don't know how you feel, but beware, there is nothing remarkable or subtle in the director's job. It is true that newcomer Rachida Brakni has a great talent (who deservedly won one Cezar award), but the director's dated values about men and women killed all these good things in here. Don't compare this one with much superior "Run Lola Run" in which Lola's dynamic character is balanced with her tender side. Remember, she was running for love, not for agenda.
Rating:
Summary: Good Actors Marred by Director's Dated View on Men and Women
Review: French director Coline Serreau is perhaps best known for her "3 Men and a Cradle" which later developed into a Hollywood remake "Three Men and a Baby." Using digital camera, she made a comedy thriller "Chaos" starring two talented leads Catherine Frot and Rachida Brakni. But the film is not good as some people say, filled with awful stereotypes and prejudice. The story is basically about a kind housewife Helene, who happens to encounter at night an Algerian prostitute Noemie who was brutally beaten by mobsters. She wants to help her, but her husband stops her, afraid of being involved with a trouble. Then, being remorseful, Helene visits her in the hospital, and while between the unlikely pair grows a friendship, they decide to fight back against what has been oppressing them until now. I admit the plot is great (and there is a talk about Hollywood remake, which is understandable). However, the film damages every good thing about it by showing bad aspects of radical feminism -- in short, in this film, all men are hopelessly egoistic, and all the women are good and powerful. Helene's husband is a typical example, always complaining and obnoxious, a kind of a guy who orders his wife cook and wash. OK, there are some guys like that, I know, but his character is too one-dimentional, as if coming from the women's lib age. This biased view doesn't stop there. Helene's son is also a terribly self-centered bloke (who uses a bad language before his mom) while his girlfriends are independent and can do what they want to do. So why are these girls attracted to this stupid boy in the first place? BUT the most awful and insensible thing about "Choas" is its descriptios about the immigrants in France. The film shows how women are treated in the immigrants' community, and I do not totally deny what it says. But the film depicts this community (mainly the Muslims in mind) in a very perfunctory way, ignoring that they have their own say about the issues like gender and marriage. See much credible French film "Hate" if you don't know what I am saying. Because of the good acting and the light touch of the film, the selfish side of males are mitigated, making them sometimes even likeable (great work by Vincent Lindon), but there is some tone of patronizing in the descriptions, which is quite irritating to me. I don't know how you feel, but beware, there is nothing remarkable or subtle in the director's job. It is true that newcomer Rachida Brakni has a great talent (who deservedly won one Cezar award), but the director's dated values about men and women killed all these good things in here. Don't compare this one with much superior "Run Lola Run" in which Lola's dynamic character is balanced with her tender side. Remember, she was running for love, not for agenda.
Rating:
Summary: One Chaos of a movie.
Review: Generally I love movies with twisted plots like Chaos.
When I checked this DVD out at my local library, I expected a thrilling action drama with many twists and turns a la Run Lola Run... What I found was a poorly constructed mess, bad acting and a plot that was less than believable. This movie attempted more than it could ever do with sub-par direction and a cast of actors that seemed completely cartoonish (thugs for example). Without going into details of the plot, I can sincerely recommend avoiding this film... But the title is right on.
Rating:
Summary: chaos
Review: GREAT MOVIE!
YOU CANNOT MISS IT!
Ii's so sad we don't have much chances to be able to see great foreign movies in the U.S. because movie productions don't buy them. Hollywood movies occupy film industry too much.
I'm sick of it.
Rating:
Summary: Ecce Homo?
Review: I felt like Diogenes, looking forONE decent man in this movie.This is a feminist movie, which confirms all prejudices against man .Bad men range from pimps to an uncaring son to an unfaithfulhusband to a father who sells his daughters to a gang of criminals,immigrant or not......all awful..... but in a wonderful movie,highly recommended
Rating:
Summary: brilliant smiles
Review: I saw this movie at the preview in Japan. And I was surprised
that such a great movie made in 2001 has not been roadshowed
yet. Coming back to US, I find out this movie has not only
been roadshowed yet but also not been released yet in anyway.
It is amazing. This movie deals with various social issues,
like man vs. woman, family, immigrants, drug, and so on. But
the greatest point is tough and wise heroines energize us, who
are in front of the screen! The heroine's ellegance and beauty
is also worth to see.
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