Region: All
Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
Language: French
Subtitles: English
Weight factor: 1 item(s)

Plot Synopsis

Filmmaker Jean-Jacques Beineix followed up the surprise international success of his first feature, Diva, with this stylish but downbeat drama. Gerard (Gerard Depardieu) is a dock worker who becomes an emotional wreck following the rape and suicide of his sister. As his relationships with his girlfriend Bella (Victoria Abril), his drunken brother, and his depressive father begin to decay, Gerard becomes obsessed with finding the man who attacked his sister and spends most of his nights lurking about the scene of the crime. In time, Gerard makes the acquaintance of Loretta (Nastassja Kinski), who cruises by the waterfront every evening in a red sports car. Desperate to pull himself out of his emotional doldrums, Gerard becomes involved with Loretta. Bella, however, is not at all happy about this, and she convinces a pair of strong-arm men to teach him a lesson. Gerard must now decide if he wants to be with Loretta or Bella, just as he's discovered evidence that may reveal who raped his sister. La Lune Dans Le Caniveau received uneven reviews on its initial release and won a French Cesar Award for its production design. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Editorial Reviews:

While every bit as visually fascinating (if not more so) as Diva, director Jean-Jacques Beineix' previous film, The Moon in the Gutter is nowhere near as effective. Make no mistake about it: this is a stunning film to look at. The director shot it all on a soundstage, creating with cinematographer Philippe Rousselot and an incredibly talented design team an artificial look that is simply gorgeous, even though the setting is usually "the wrong side of town." That eponymous moon in that eponymous gutter glows entrancingly, and there's a sheen and a gloss to almost everything that is hard to resist. It all takes on a surreal, somehow romantic atmosphere, which is a tremendous asset. Unfortunately, all of this glorious visual work is in the service of a screenplay that is entirely uninvolving. Diva was similarly superficial, but it worked because the characters were interesting enough to make the viewer care about them. The exact opposite happens in Moon -- the characters are ill-defined, fuzzy and pretentious. The potentially fascinating story is negated by poor storytelling and these characters that simply don't engage us. It's not the fault of the actors; when even as charismatic an actor as Gerard Depardieu and as intriguing a presence as Nastassja Kinski cannot engage the audience, something is seriously wrong. For all its amazing visuals, Moon is an empty and ultimately boring picture. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide