eldorado

Contemporary Candian Film and Literature (Fall, 1999; Fall, 2001)

Characters:

Rita --roller-blader with a sad past and a complicated present life;
Roxan -- a woman from a rich family who is involved in social work;
Lloyd--a shock-jock DJ;
Loulou--discontented barmaid;
Marc -- Loulou's boyfriend;
Henriette -- one who talks to a psychoanalyst;
Claude Lamothe -- the cellist

"Direct Cinema" Style:

-- natural lighting, shoulder-mounted cameras;
-- the dialogue was improved, though the scenes were scripted.

Charles Biname:

Against the norm: "Eldorado was conceived to challenge the current concept of rigid production methods. I wanted to break through the constraints of set scripts, conventional acting techniques and large budgets--all of which can destroy creative expression. An artist's obligations are to challenge the obvious, to defy the norm, and to embrace the unknown."
Style and Life: "A film a chaotic, just like life and that's what is stimulating. In the midst of this chaos, there is a raw truth which emerges and captures our attention.
Generation X: ". . . we do have this perception of a generation that's lost, frightened, with no future. I asked myself, how do they live, are they much different from what I was like at their age, what are their options? I don't claim to offer a portrait of a generation, but there are certain elements, like solitude, that are inevitable."

Starting Questions:

What are the youngsters's problems? What is the "raw truth" in Eldorado?
Is the ending trite or weak?
How are the characters connected with or disconnected from each other?

I. Their problems --with or without trauma

Rita --traumatic past, drug-dealing, stealing, harassed by debt-collectors, cannot touch others or be touched;

Roxan -- active in helping others; with traumatic past, harmed by the ones she helps

Lloyd -- can only talk; does not know how to commit himself;

Loulou--discontented; bored

Marc -- hurt by Lou Lou, find help/refuge in sex shop or video games

Henriette -- want to know how to connect, sexually or otherwise.

II. Their disconnections & connections --

Disconnections:

Marc and Lou Lou -- M cannot understand Lou Lou, is not willing to be "mothered" by Lou Lou.

Henriette --

sexual fantasies about Lloyd,

silence from the shrink, rejecting him at the end, moving away.

connect with Rita, but misses her

Roxan -- get the puppet back herself? Rita misses the chance to make up.

Rita and Lloyd --

Rita's reckless moments: on the car, shooting L with a water gun;

miss the chance to comfort Rita once.

A review