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grigorss - 2007-11-10 16:53:31
It's been years and years since I last saw it -- but what I do remember of Diva is right in line with what you're saying here; not much to it, but undeniably entertaining and stylish. That must have been the first time I saw Dominique Pinon in a film role (uncharacteristically playing a heavy, no less), and the aria from La Wally had a similarly mesmerizing effect on me -- the Diva soundtrack was one of the first film scores I purchased on vinyl too; have yet to replace it on CD (or as a download); need to fix that soon.
Jean-Jacques Beineix has made a couple of other good (and somewhat more substantial) films -- like the fairly well-known Betty Blue; it's a melodrama about a doomed romance; I prefer The Moon in the Gutter myself; another doomed-romance-melodrama -- hey. what can I tell you? He's French -- do they have any kind of romance other than the doomed variety over there?
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Paula - 2007-11-10 18:14:21
You know, I thought that was the guy from Delicatessen (and Alien Resurrection), but my movie companion insisted it was not. Thanks for clearing that up!
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Tim W. - 2007-11-10 21:52:32
Yep, pure cheese (or rather, "fromage")--but highly entertaining. A nice Gruyere, perhaps. And the chase scene is really good.
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Sharon - 2007-11-10 23:11:58
I think Diva was the first film I ever saw where the young whiteboy protagonist worships a black woman, a talented, sophisticated woman at that. Despite its superficiality, the film might be worthwhile for that reason alone. I also love it when the crude French gangsters pronounce "oui" like "way". And I like it when she tries to get rid of this goupie- "I'm not the Beatles!" It sounds so funny in French.
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grigorss - 2007-11-11 01:04:49
According to a Film Prof. I had back in grad school (who was born and raised in France), "oui" pronounced "way" is the Francais equivalent of saying "yeah" as opposed to "yes" -- at least if you're young, tough and cool -- a condition which I believe is mandatory in France.
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Bina - 2007-11-11 03:29:02
Grigorss is right. It's spelled "ouais" and just means "Yeah". Everyone says it in France.
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Bob - 2007-11-11 12:59:37
Aha... this explains the cultural divide between France and Mexico (see, I knew there had to be an explanation). Something pronounced "way" (guey) is thrown in as a very frequent interjection between guys - or even gals - who know each other, and means "fool" or ox, down south. Our hearing either country's version as "...way" may be less confusing than they are to each other.
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Bob - 2007-11-11 15:20:25
That's us... somewhere between the two. Not as down to earth as Mexico... not as out to lunch as France. Way.
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Baby Party - 2007-11-12 08:24:05
Cajuns say "ouais" way more than they say "oui." And I think this is true for the Quebecois as well, but I might be wrong about that.
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Mr Lojban - 2007-11-12 10:11:39
I think the Mex.Sp. word Bob refers to is buey, although the aural distinction is pretty subtle.
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Rebecca - 2007-11-12 10:15:48
Well, I'm gettin' old, because not only am I afraid to watch this movie now because I'm afraid it will bring back too many happy/sad memories, but when I started reading the post, my eyes failed me, and I was marvelling at the fact that there was some new-waveish movie called "Dive" with Vespas that Paula had liked that I *didn't* know about, and wow, what a coincidence, it also used the beautiful La Wally aria that "Diva" did...oh...I re-checked the first line of the post, and...*sigh.*
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Paula - 2007-11-12 12:07:06
Mr Loj-B:
Would this explain the hip-hop "Buoy" thing, ya think?
Rebecca: No one who looks like a dewy maiden (like yourself) is allowed to complain of feelin' old around here.
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Bob - 2007-11-12 13:24:59
No way;; it's guey, guey (the "g" is an English "h" sound).
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Bob - 2007-11-12 13:37:47
Though yes, "buey" means close to the same thing... but it seems to be more broadly applied to burros, old bulls, "sea-bullock"s?, and whatnot, than to oxes, and doesn't seem to be used on familiar humans the same way.
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Bob - 2007-11-12 13:59:35
And I get my info straight from my brother in Huatulca (watoolca)... and buey's pronunciation is more "bway" than "buoy", Paula, just as guey's is "way" instead of "Huey". Incidentally, my favorite (granted, one-syllable) "boy" incident was in a WalMart, hearing a grandmother say "Come here, boy!" to a four year old, who informed her "I ain't no boy!", and got back "Well what ARE you then?", and reiterated: "I ain't no boy!".
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Paula - 2007-11-12 14:27:44
Ha!!
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Mr Lojban - 2007-11-12 15:47:11
I yield to Bob & his brother.
I'm about 95% certain that "buey" is used to address peers in some country or other, but damned if I can remember which one.
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Bob - 2007-11-12 16:34:02
Actually, looks like they themselves can't agree on whether guey/way is a simplified pronunciation of buey, or whether it's from Castilian guey (with an umlaut on the u), which is the Castilian word for ox. But it's pronounced "way" either way, when used like "dude". So Mexicans seem to be a little confused among themselves about what they're saying when interjecting it, without dragging the French in. The English "way" seems less confusing, oui?
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Ministry of Silly Words - 2007-11-12 16:40:38
Absolutely. Way.
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Tim W. - 2007-11-12 19:25:19
I have no direct memory of the incident, but my mother claims I had the following conversation with a stranger when I was a wee sprat:
Stranger [to me and my brother]: ... you boys.
Me: We're not boys.
Stranger: What are you, then?
Me: We're _youths_.
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Paula - 2007-11-13 08:47:44
Ha. Yoots.
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