Monday, January 11, 2010

Cultural Confusion

The moment he wants to kiss a woman, he wants to kill her. She watches and aids her husband kill the dirty old man who had taken advantage of her as a teenager. When the two start canoodling, murder and sex commingle and steam up the pages...

A Dexter episode? Nope. Try Emile Zola's La Bete Humaine, The Human Beast. I turned off Dexter (for good, this time, I think) and picked up this novel to edify myself, or prop up my self-image, and was shocked by its lurid bits. Wow. How tame and provincial the English writers were in comparison.

Sorry, no recipe today. I think my delicate sensibilities just took a tumble.




Jean Gabin and Simone Simon in Jean Renoir's "La bete humaine"

6 comments:

  1. For a second there, I thought this was the start of a whole new autobiography. So, I think u may have hit on a hot & juicy recipe here.

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  2. Ha,ha, CO! Always the wag--oh, but you're a dawg, of course!

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  3. I have faith that this will be the inspiration for a future spectacular feast!

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  4. Pio: Thanks for that vote of confidence!

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  5. I'm a great, great fan of all three of them. Speaking of Renoir, have you seen Rules of the Game? I've always found the movie way smarter than I am, but plan to see it again this year and find out if I've wised up any.

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  6. AH: you pass the cultural literacy test!
    I love Jean Gabin, but I'm not quite sure how to describe him to people who don't know him--
    have not yet seen the movie you mention, although I know it's one of them there classics. It is always confused in my mind with "Forbidden Games." Ah yes, I sense an impending classic movie menu--

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