I accidentally (this time, a happy accident) watched this movie for the second time; I think I can't remember that I've seen it because the title (which promises to be a dramatic romance) is so remotely connected to the actual war and detective novel-ness of the movie.
The most interesting part of the film were the themes of hope and despair. The very fact of the men shooting off their hands was a form of despair (as was one of the men asking his wife to be impregnated by his best friend in order to get him out of the military). The women, however, did not despair, although they were sometimes close (for Mathilde, the thin thread of hope could also become her noose). Another woman, the whore who revenges the death of her man, learns too late that revenge is counterproductive. Frankly, it seems that hope itself is very close to despair--it relies so much upon trusting in something that it is not possible to know. The unfailingness of hope is evident in the last scene of the film when Mathilde finds her fiancee. Although he has lost his memory, we know that he is still the same person, and she just sits, happily, looking at him.
I also completely identified with Mathilde's habit of making up conditions, which, if met (although they depend almost entirely upon chance), guarantee a particular outcome.
The most interesting part of the film were the themes of hope and despair. The very fact of the men shooting off their hands was a form of despair (as was one of the men asking his wife to be impregnated by his best friend in order to get him out of the military). The women, however, did not despair, although they were sometimes close (for Mathilde, the thin thread of hope could also become her noose). Another woman, the whore who revenges the death of her man, learns too late that revenge is counterproductive. Frankly, it seems that hope itself is very close to despair--it relies so much upon trusting in something that it is not possible to know. The unfailingness of hope is evident in the last scene of the film when Mathilde finds her fiancee. Although he has lost his memory, we know that he is still the same person, and she just sits, happily, looking at him.
I also completely identified with Mathilde's habit of making up conditions, which, if met (although they depend almost entirely upon chance), guarantee a particular outcome.
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