La Bouche de Jean Pierre - Michel Trillot

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Mimi" or "Parental Guidance")

directed by Lucile Hadzihalilovic
France 1996

After her mother's suicide attempt lands her in the hospital for an extended stay, Mimi (Sandra Sammartino) is sent to stay with her middle-aged aunt Solange (Denise Aron-Schropfer) who is ill-prepared to take care of her in any sense. Sleeping in an alcove in her fastidious aunt's apartment, the sheltered pre-pubescent Mimi spies on Solange with her younger lover Jean-Pierre (Michel Trillot, ALL ABOUT LOVE) and thinks he's hurting her (as with her mother's lovers). She is no more able to interpret the adults' attitudes towards their immigrant neighbors or the programming they watch on TV that is "not for little girls" (the host and viewers of a social issues show with a topic on child molesters seem to revel in the explicit details of the crimes). When Jean-Pierre's affectionate behavior towards Mimi becomes more tactile (that after she has witnessed him threatening the American neighbor who entertained her when Solange sent her out into the hallway to play while she was on the telephone and forgot about her), Mimi takes decisive steps to be reunited with her mother (having taken only from Jean-Pierre's complaints about her mother's convalescence at the state's expense "and that way she's not alone").

Eric Cotenas

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Theatrical Release: 9 April 1997 (France)

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DVD Review: Badlands (1Kult La Collection) - Region 0 - PAL

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Review!

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Badlands Region 0 - PAL
Runtime	48:30 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	2.66:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.81 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Audio	French Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
Subtitles	English, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Badlands Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.66:1 Edition Details: • 'Les Souvenirs de Jean-Pierre' (16:9; 34:38) • 'Les Amis de Jean-Pierre' (16:9; 51:50) • Short film 'Good Boys Use Condoms' (4:3; 5:38) • Trailer for Hadzihalilovic's 'Innocence' • 38-page booklet feature the film's original scenario (in French) DVD Release Date: 11 March 2013 Amaray Chapters 6

Comments

Badlands limited 1Kult edition of LA BOUCHE DE JEAN-PIERRE - released here as MIMI - features an anamorphic transfer in the film's original wide 2.66:1 aspect ratio (the film was shot in 16mm with scope lenses). The film has a deliberately subdued palette with an emphasis on yellows and greens in the lighting and the art direction, and one can presume the harsh look of the transfer is fitting. The French Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track is only occasionally active with music stings that come with a handful of intertitles. There is no menu option for the English subtitles which are only accessible by remote control.

While the film is subtitled, none of the extras are including a 38-page booklet of the film's scenario, the 1998 Lucile Hadzihalilovic short "Good Boys Use Condoms" (the title of which is self-explanatory) - part of a five-film anthology by different directors - a trailer for the director's feature debut INNOCENCE, and two lengthy featurettes. The first is a discussion of the film by Hadzihalilovic and filmmaker Gaspar Noe (IRREVERSIBLE) who partially shot the film. The second "Friends of Jean-Pierre" features contributions from several other contemporary French filmmakers including Christophe Gans, Nicolas Boukhrief, Joyce A. Nashawati, Fabrice Du Welz (CALVAIRE), Bruno Forzani and Helene Cattet (AMER), Douglas Buck (THEATRE BIZARRE), Alanté Kavaïté (FISSURES), and a couple critics.

The disc can be ordered from Amazon France or directly through Badlands own shop where interested buyers can find some exclusive extras including the soundtrack and a making-of video.

We currently have no technical specs for the domestic Pathfinder DVD, but it presumably compares less favorably given the quality of some of their other releases.