Wild Grass

Wild Grass

I hardly know what to think about this unusual French film. The director is 90 years old and is known for Hiroshima Mon Amour and Last Year At Marienbad. Who knows if he will direct any more films? This may be history.

I was confused. I was puzzled. Parts I enjoyed but I wished I understood what it all was saying.

I haven’t seen a good French film in a long time. I usually find them very refreshing from the Hollywood type of film.

There are two main characters and their lives become intertwined. George is an aging man. He is quite good looking and has a younger wife who appears to adore him. One night he finds a wallet in a park. He takes it to the police. George finds a flying license in the wallet and begins to imagine details about the owner.

Marguerite, the lady who lost the wallet, was mugged and her purse stolen. The wallet fell to the ground and later George found it.

She has frizzy red hair and is quite attractive. She calls George to thank him for returning the wallet. George acts strangely. He wants to see Marguerite. When she says she isn’t interested he yells at her. He slashes her tires, calls her daily and writes her notes. At no time does he become a scary character. He just seems confused.

A switch takes place when Marguerite begins stalking George. There was one very humorous scene in her dentist’s office. She is treating patients and becomes a little too heavy handed. They all yell that she is hurting them and she looks almost monster like and then rages out of her office.

Marguerite has a flying license and the last scene really confused me. She takes a family of three up in the air. I found myself nervous for those passengers. Later she takes George and his wife up for a spin.

I interpreted it as her freeing herself. I wondered if the scene was meant to be taken literally. There are a few actions at the end that might be puzzling but I don’t want to ruin the ending. Once again it was fun to try and interpret. Was George imagining what happened? Did Marguerite really care for George or was she fantasizing as well?

When I heard that the director was 90 I wondered if he was trying to make a statement about life and dying.

It was a puzzling film with humorous overtones. I would love to hear someone’s explanation of this whacky but interesting film.