That Day (2003)

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

I've seen about 5 Raoul Ruiz films so far, they are always strange and surreal, but I've never seen one as inaccessible to the general audience as "That Day". This film could be described as a private joke between Ruiz and his admirers, except that it's not very funny. And there are few things in life more dismal than an unfunny black comedy. It is definitely possible for a second viewing of the movie to reveal hidden meanings behind the surface (this happens with other Ruiz pictures); however, being barely able to get through this once, I doubt I will try that any time soon. I give "That Day" * out of 4, only for its dazzling photography and the exquisite, unique-looking Elsa Zylberstein.

With Ce jour-la (That Day), writer-director Raoul Ruiz has spun a masterful absurdist comedy.A clearly mad (but sweetly angelic) Livia (the perfectly cast Elsa Zylberstein) consults her 'runes' and determines that her 'heaven' -- the titular 'Day' -- is on its way. Sweet atonement, whatever that means. She meets Pointpoirot (Bernard Giraudeau), a murderous (but amiable) psychopath, when she tries to murder him with a hammer, a symbolic weapon that lingers in the film. As mayhem surrounds them and the bodies pile up (they're regularly rearranged neatly), the Swiss policemen sip coffee, chat, and do nothing. Everything, they say, will work itself out. This lassitude by officialdom is, by itself, hilarious, refreshing and revealing.This is not just a brilliant flight into what used to be called 'gallows humour'. Ruiz' tale could be an allegory on that 'banality of evil' we've heard so much about; it could be a metaphor for our indifference to killing everywhere; it could be an escape from the murderous madness plaguing the world. Read what you will into it; this is a work of art disguised as comedy. It's a deliciously way-off-centre film that can upset us too much if we really think about it. I loved seeing the always-magnetic French film veteran Michel Piccoli as the patriarch. He's still explosive after all these years. I stopped watching Hollywood movies about a year ago, and Ce jour-la confirms why. Since La-la Land loves to swipe European movie ideas, we might see a remake, a light comedy perhaps, something with, say, Cameron Diaz and Jack Black set around, oh, a state fair?

In this comedy of homicidal manners, people keep trying to kill both the sprite-like madwoman Livia (Elsa Zylberstein, gorgeously weightless) and her would-be assassin, the tottering madman Pointpoirot (Bernard Giraudeau, appropriately blank), and naturally there's a huge inheritance and a government conspiracy involved. Ruiz's staging is flawless, and the killing scenes in particular are exemplary - he knows when it's funnier to follow the characters, and when it's funnier to sit the camera dead still. I don't know if it all means any more than "Battle Royale" - Zylberstein said that Ruiz came to the conclusion in mid-shoot that it was a metaphor for Pinochet's violence, which may or may not be consistent with what we see on screen. Still, at least it takes the trouble to set up jokes properly, and it's not till the last third that they start seeming repetitive. I'm more or less neutral on this one.

This is a great movie. From the very beginning it's clear that this isn't a typical comedy or a typical drama. However odd, it works. Each murder is committed under such strange circumstances that they create great comic moments. If you go to see this, stay 'till the end. It's all explained (however vaguely). Very, very funny.