Just perfect...

Best movie of this year hands down!

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This movie was stunning. It's not supposed to be scary, like someone's going to get me scary (i think people that say that are reading it the wrong way), it's more about the creepiness of our own desires. I don't want to give too much away, but this is a wonderful movie.The ending makes sense to me, I don't know why people keep saying it doesn't? No she didn't die physically, I think that's supposed to be meant a different way. Maybe her view of herself died, or she was permanently changed by the experience. Realizing who she is, while obviously not understanding or wanting it. The hole that she dreamed about.

That was in essence the tag line for this french film by Gilles Marchand. While I would not go that far, I would say that Marchand has crafted an excellent "what if" scenery for this tale about a doctor who molests some of the female patients in his hospital who are recovering from operations.Brief SpoilersAs usual, the protagonist, this time Isabelle, as portrayed by the very interesting Sophie Quinton, a nurse in training at the hospital knows something is not quite right about Dr. Phillip. Odd occurrences are happening around the hospital with a couple of female patients disappearing and nobody can figure out quite why. Later on, we find out that Dr. Phillip is using an anastephic to keep his female patients unconscious while he molests them. To make up for the lost drugs he is using on his victims, he dilutes it with water, thus a couple of patients being operated on wake up in the middle of the operation.Marchand has to be commended on how he crafts his tale. The movie is slightly over two hours but one is kept interested by the characters and the storyline. Sophie Quinton is superb as the lowly nurse in training who takes on the powerful, yet evil Dr. Phillip. She is very cute and demure, yet is well at ease being the lead performer in this piece. The actor who plays Dr. Phillip, whose name escapes me at the moment, is truly terrifying as the sexual predator. His is not an easy role for it has been done so many times over. Dr. Phillip is a silent loner with obvious problems, yet the actor does not go overboard with him. Instead, the actor makes Dr. Phillip a subdued character with something definitely evil lurking below the surface.A lot of writing about this film has made comparisons to David Lynch in style. I shall refute that now. While this movie definite borders on the surreal side, it does not fall in some of the ridiculous pitfalls that Lynch tends to lead his movies.

I caught this film at the Toronto International Film Festival by accident - its yet another example of the rule that the best cinema you see is only seen when you least expect it.This is a witty, suspenseful, and very French film. It concentrates around the relationship between a student finishing up her nursing degree in a work term at the local hospital and her relationship with a young male doctor who she gradually suspects, over the course of the film, of being a psychopath. It is primarily a drama set within the plot of a thriller. There is a low-key romance that stutters but refuses to start between Isabelle (nick named, to her dislike as `Bambi' by Dr. Philipp) and the Dr. Philipp himself, the villain. All occurring while patients and staff slowly disappear, and things go increasingly wrong at the hospital.The lead actress (Sophie Quinton) is beautiful and plays her role excellently. Dr. Philipp is equally well played by Laurent Lucas as the cool doctor and the equally cool villain. He is suitably disconcerting and downright creepy when the situation calls for itMarchand also successfully creates a creepy and almost romantic atmosphere in the film despite the white corridors and the bland environment of the hospital grounds in which it is shot. The film constantly shifts from the fluorescent white of the interior of the hospital to the dark sky and dimmed green of the landscape of the outdoor night shots: he uses this `non-environment' to focus more greatly upon the characters. What remained with me after viewing this film were the images of the two leads' faces. Marchand uses a lot of close-ups, and as the film progresses, he increasingly concentrates upon the protagonists, allowing their expressions and moods to drive the suspense and the drama as much as the dialogue.Qui a tué Bambi is also a very witty film. It opens with a comic scene and is paced by well placed witty dialogue amongst the nurses and between Bambi and Dr. Philipp. Much of the pleasure in watching the film stems from it's dialogue as Marchand takes full advantage of his past experience as writer.The film's one failing is that it does not build up to it's climax well: there is not enough sense of mounting tension. As a drama is quite successful, as a Hitchcockian thriller it is not nearly so.This is one of those few films which one can enjoy watching simply for the pleasure of watching the craftsmanship of a skilled team of filmmakers as well as enjoying a well-told story.

Espoo Ciné, 23.08.2003This was the third screening in the world of this film.I must say, Gilles Marchand knows how to make a stylish movie.The plot is set to a hightechnology hospital somewhere in france. Isabelle is studying for her surgery-nurse diploma but is having difficulties with an illness that gives her dizzy-spells. She needs to have an operation. At the same time a Doctor is abusing patients sexually after giving them anasthetics. All the actors are very good and convincing, especially Laurent Lucas (Dr.Phillip) who makes a pretty good twisted doctor.There is a small problem with this film. It's not the actors, it's not the script, It's not the cinematography. The problem is more in the direction and the visual style. There is not enough tension in the film to build up some kind of climax so the film ends up a bit flat in my mind. The music is a bit boring and doesn't really contribute to anything. The lack of visual horror kind of takes away the edge of the film.Anyways, Marchand has made a quality film that is really worth seeing. His inspiration of hitchcock is pretty easy to see, of course with his own individual touch. When I asked him about which directors inspire him the most (he was attending Espoo Ciné) he mentioned Hitchcock and David Lynch. There are some dream sequences that are clearly lynch-inspired but they totally lack all the intensity that lynch beholds.Good movie, not a classic in any way, but still good!Regards, Qvick