Watch Bellamy For Free

So much average

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

How do you face the loss of a loved one bent on self-destruction? That's the real theme of this movie, mistakenly packaged as a crime thriller.In the midst of his idyllic summer vacation, Inspector Bellamy and his adoring wife are joined by his dissipated, no-good, yet charismatic brother (a haunting performance from my favorite French actor, Clovis Cornillac). Meanwhile, the inspector is drawn into a case that ultimately holds up a mirror to his own dilemma: how do you deal with the self-destruction of someone you love?If you've ever faced this in your own life--the descent of a relative or lover drawn into drugs, crime, or madness--you know the feelings of helplessness, guilt and grief that can linger for a lifetime. In the midst and aftermath of the crisis, how do you cope? Do you fall into the fallacy of imagining that you change another human being? Do you turn your back on them? Or...do you construct a comforting fantasy that will give you peace of mind?The latter is the choice of just about everyone in the "murder mystery" part of this movie. Never mind the wanted man put on trial; the story is really about the homeless vagabond who died in his place, and the woman who loved him, the clerk named Claire Bonheur who works at the home improvement store. She and the homeless man were lovers for five years. Bonheur is still so torn up about his descent that she can't even bear to let Bellamy look at her photo album. Now the man is dead, perhaps murdered by a con man who took advantage of him. But when Bellamy (conned by the con) puts the idea in her head that her homeless ex-lover may have died by choice, Bonheur seizes on it, and even finds a lawyer to put forth the argument. This is her way of bearing the unbearable: she chooses to believe that her ex-lover died because he wanted to. It's a fantasy; he was murdered. But this is how she copes. (Bonheur = happiness, and she will believe whatever is necessary to escape her sadness.) Only when the trial is over, and Bellamy sees all the parties on TV--the smiling Bonheur and the ambitious young lawyer, the con and his accomplice who've gotten away with murder--does Bellamy realize the awful, awful truth.All this is only a mirror held up to Bellamy's own personal dilemma, the situation with his wastrel brother. Bellamy loves him, but cannot abide his self-destructive behavior. This has been going on a long time; we learn that Bellamy tried to throttle his brother when they were children, and for that act he has ever after felt guilty. He wants to save his brother; as Bellamy says of himself, "a good cop is a good Samaritan." (Good Samaritan = good friend = bel ami = Bellamy.) But ultimately, you cannot save those bent on destroying themselves, no matter how much you love them. How to bear this painful truth? At the end of the movie, Bellamy's dilemma is just beginning.Another work that deals with this theme (going along with a con because believing a lie is more bearable than the truth) is a great story by Ruth Rendell, "The Strawberry Tree," which was also filmed for TV as part of the series "Ruth Rendell Mysteries." Chabrol adapted at least one Rendell novel, and I wonder if he was not influenced by her in this movie.This is a very subtle film that wormed its way into my dreams. Farewell, Chabrol!

Unlike in most frantic American crime stories, France's Inspector Bellamy leisurely rambles about its characters as if they were the story, not the crime. And indeed they are: Inspector Paul Bellamy (Gerard Depardieu) is as uncomfortable with the crime subject's different personas as he is with his own past, most notably with his half-brother, Jacques Lebas (Clovie Cornillac), who shows up to renew their sibling rivalry."French Hitchcock" director Claude Chabrol selects each shot for its maximum information, frequently illuminating more than one character, more than one motive. For the French, the highest incentive for crime or a happy life seems to be love, and Chabrol explores the various twists infidelity and family can toss into the crime solving mix. True to his New Wave roots, Chabrol lards each image with meaning while couching the story in a languid realism, less edgy now than years ago, but still full of life's ironies while life is lived out in an almost mundane fashion.More interesting than the multiple personalities of the suspect is the intimate dance of the hero, Bellamy, and his attractive wife, Francoise (Marie Bunel), who provides him with intellectual companionship, sexual longing, and a bit of jealousy for good measure. The lovely chemistry between Depardieu and Bunel reminds me of how authentic a good character study like this can be in the hands of a master director. While Depardieu has developed a belly beyond reason, he still delivers the emotional goods, just as retired Inspector Bellamy can successfully solve a crime. Imagine all this richness without discernible CGI. For good reason: The emphasis is on the husband-wife relationship, not the crime. So it is in most European cinema, or at least it seems that way to an American critic who has seen enough of his country's gadget-centered films.

Even though I generally like the work of some modern French directors (such as, for example, Christophe Gans, Jean-Pierre Jeunet or Louis Leterrier), I have never been a big fan of the "classic masters" such as Eric Rohmer (1920-2010), Robert Bresson (1901-1999) or Claude Chabrol.However, I like French cop cinema, and because of that, I decided to surpass my prejudices and watch Bellamy, the most recent film from Chabrol, who was responsible of acclaimed films like Landru, Une Affaire de Femmes and Madame Bovary (which, by the way, are the only ones from him I had seen).As for Bellamy, it ended up being a very interesting film experience which is more interested in the interaction between the characters than in the mystery from the plot.It was an interesting contrast to watch Bellamy during the same weekend I suffered the horrible Knight and Day.In a certain sense, both belong to the category of "thrillers", but they could not have been more different with each other.Knight and Day treats its main characters as "props"...in other words, mere decorations with attractive faces in order to add a superfluous human element to the chases and explosions.On the contrary, Bellamy plunges us into the intimacy of its characters and is reluctant to fall into modern narrative formulas, preferring to use a slow rhythm which did not bother me at all, but I am sure that some spectators will find it boring.So, Bellamy is not for everyone; personally, I liked it pretty much mainly because of the solid performances and because I found the screenplay to be very well written.Nevertheless, Bellamy is not perfect: the screenplay has a few forced elements and there are some scenes which feel out of place; but despite that and in my case, the balance definitely fell on the positive side, and I recommend it with the warning that you do not have to expect a typical cop flick.So, Bellamy did not become me into a fan of Chabrol, but the best thing I can say about it is that it inspired me to look forward to his future work.

A famous French detective on vacation in Languedoc investigates a mystery man who approaches him claiming to have killed someone. The man is sure to catch the curiosity of the detective and spectators of the movie! This is a great Chabrol movie, with characters who could have been actors in the biggest financial crime of humanity. As the investigation unfolds we see homeless people, fraud, insurance brokers, lawyers, police, big financial institutions. Every time the detective asks a question or makes a comment how bad the world is, we wonder what he has next to uncover.The half brother of the successful detective, an alcoholic, a loser, comes over to stay at the detective and his wife's vacation home. The movie then asks the real questions, what makes winners and losers? Who are the real winners ? Who are the criminals? And it does reply to these questions in humorous, intelligent and intriguing ways.The film surely is much more than a detective story. The screenplay is fantastic. Chabrol does not rush, it always gives time to spectators to search for answers in their own while solving the murder mystery.Solid acting by Depardieu, Clovis Cornillac, Jacques Gamblin make the movie flow smoothly.A must see, for anyone interested in Chabrol movies, detective stories and especially for anyone who tries to make sense of the economic crisis and the world we live in.