Was anybody besides me creeped out…
-
Zerbinetta72 — 18 years ago(August 09, 2007 03:11 AM)
quote "I suddenly though of that woman with the face graft. Is she okaywere there complications?"
I think she is okay, although she has to take medication in order to prevent her body rejecting the graft.
To me, "Les yeux" is one of the creepiest films I've ever seen, so I was sort of morbidly fascinated when they did that 'real life' transplantation to the woman in France. And they've done it again, in France, but also in China, to a man who was mauled by a bear. -
asildroca — 18 years ago(October 31, 2007 11:04 AM)
The face comes from a brain dead person (which means the face is harvested BEFORE life support is turned offhow horrifying!), same as any other transplanted part, and no, the person receiving the transplant doesn't get a choice. The doctors pick someone with a similar skin color, age, skin texture, and other factors to find the best match.
It is the bone structure that gives the face it's "look", and doctors have assured the donor's families that if they saw the recipient on the street they wouldn't recognize the donor face as that of a relative. I found this quote in an article: "Eric Kodish, chairman of the clinic's bioethics department, says the team wants to ensure the donor family 'doesn't have false expectations or hopes that their loved one will reappear on the face of the recipient. The science suggests there will be very little, if any, resemblance.'" Also, eyes are a large part of someone's appearance, so that would make a difference, as would teeth, I would imagine. -
Nick_Jones — 14 years ago(September 19, 2011 01:43 PM)
As I recall, the receiver of the transplant was alleged to have trying to commit suicide, which is appropriate since the donor HAD committed suicide.
When there is no more room in Hell,
The Devil
will reapply to the Zoning Commission. -
kathiemoffett — 18 years ago(August 25, 2007 11:02 PM)
Bingo. I could scarcely believe my eyes.
I actually found myself wishing I could see the look on my old film professor's face when he heard, and if I knew his email address I'd have sent him the news item. He was Belgian himself, and he LOVED Franju. Such an irreverent bastard, tooI'm sure he had a good chuckle, to say the least. I sure wish Franju had lived to see his story come true, albeit with a somewhat happier endingso far, anyway.
Being that this is such a notorious movie, I was a little surprised no article about the transplant mentioned it.
What tripped me out most is that the woman who had the real life transplant actually REALLY resembled an older, sadder, alcoholic version of the girl in the movie!! Right down to her hair color and cut! And of course the real transplant took place in France, and this is a French movie. Just file this one in the 'couldn't be weirder' file! lol -
Flight_of_Fantasy — 15 years ago(February 05, 2011 02:00 PM)
I hadn't seen the film when that happened, but when I finally saw the movie yesterday I immediately thought of the woman in France.
shudder
"That woman has a feminist agenda. Tell her to get in the wallpaper that's in the kitchen." -
agera — 14 years ago(April 15, 2011 06:06 PM)
No, I wasn't creeped out at all by the news of real life facial transplant surgery.
For me, the creepiness of the movie in is the doctor's obsessive and domineering personality, not in his daughter's deformity. It's clear that he is the truly ugly person, despite his normal appearance and that his daughter is a beautiful person inside, despite her disfigurement.
I've seen pics of faces horribly disfigured and I think for such persons, a facial transplant is the only real hope of being able to lead a more normal life; i.e., going out in public without concealing their disfigurement.
"The night was sultry." -
Nick_Jones — 14 years ago(April 16, 2011 01:09 PM)
I don't think of the doctor as an ugly person, but as a man who has lost sight of his empathy, compassion and humanity for other people out of love for his daughter.
When there is no more room in Hell,
The Devil
will reapply to the Zoning Commission. -
agera — 14 years ago(April 19, 2011 11:40 AM)
Good point and thanks for your reply. But I think the doctor is motivated more by his own professional vanity and pride than by concern for his daughter; that is, he sees her deformity and her body's rejection of the faces as a reflection on his ability.
But yes, he's lost sight of his own humanity and the humanity of others. To me, that makes him ugly. I think of this movie as a weird inversion of "Beauty and the Beast". The daughter, who has a "beastly" deformity, is nevertheless beautiful in spirit and her father is the one who is the real beast.
Or maybe I just feel over-protective of Christiane. She is one of the most enchanting female character in movies.
"The night was sultry." -
Nick_Jones — 14 years ago(April 19, 2011 12:35 PM)
Enchanting indeed. But she
is
pretty handy with a knife herself. Must be an inherited trait.
Seriously, the last shot with her gliding into the forest has to be at least one of the most poetic scenes ever filmed.
When there is no more room in Hell,
The Devil
will reapply to the Zoning Commission. -
agera — 14 years ago(September 17, 2011 11:04 AM)
But she is pretty handy with a knife herself. Must be an inherited trait.
Well, but she
was
cooped up all by herself with not much to do. I'm not surprised she honed her knife skills. She probably got a lot of reading done, too, maybe even some bird-watching.
Ah, that last scene. She is so gorgeous gliding into the forest, as you say. I've never been affected by any other film the way this one affected me.
"The night was sultry." -
Nick_Jones — 14 years ago(September 17, 2011 12:41 PM)
There is an end scene in a 1930s film of A Midsummer's Night Dream that is equally eerie and poetic. I'll have to look it up; I do know that James Cagney played Bottom, and I think the director's name was Max Rienhardt. Oh yeah, Puck was played by Mickey Rooney.
When there is no more room in Hell,
The Devil
will reapply to the Zoning Commission. -
Nick_Jones — 14 years ago(September 17, 2011 12:52 PM)
I got the name of the movie and the director wrong, but here it is:
http://www.imdb.com/board/10026714/
When there is no more room in Hell,
The Devil
will reapply to the Zoning Commission. -
agera — 14 years ago(September 18, 2011 08:39 AM)
I've seen that movie but I was very young and frankly, don't remember the ending. I mainly remember James Cagney in it, I'm sorry to say.
But Max Reinhardt was very influential. (I just googled him and almost 70 years after his death, there were 500,000 hits.) I'll have to watch that film again, thanks for the recommendation.
Edited to add: OK. I cheated a little bit and found the ending on YouTube.
Here is is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTeQDMfq8Gw&feature=channel_video_t itle
WOW. It is gorgeous and very magical. I love the use of Mendelssohn's Overture.
But part of why I love the ending of
Eyes Without a Face
is its poignance. Christine has finally been released from her father's imprisonment, if not from all her suffering. Somehow the girl so like a fragile swan has found the strength to stop her father from committing terrible crimes and has freed herself and the animals. But yes, just on the visuals alone,
A Midsummer Night's Dream
is the equal of
Eyes Without a Face
. Again, thanks for reminding me of it.
"The night was sultry." -
agera — 14 years ago(September 18, 2011 11:10 PM)
Picnic at Hanging Rock
has a good ending, not quite in the league of the two movies we discussed but good.
And
Repulsion
has an ending that is famously chilling.
Have you seen these? If not, you might enjoy them.
"The night was sultry." -
Nick_Jones — 14 years ago(September 19, 2011 01:40 PM)
Unfortunately, the scene I was thinking of is NOT the end of the movie. I'll have to check the rest of the YouTube clips to see if they have it, or rent it from Netflix to find the time when it happens. A 35+ y.o. memory is NOT the most reliable of resources.
In any case, the scene I remember(?)is Oberon flying off into the moonlight with the Indian Prince, his cape floating lazily behind him. I'm wondering if it would be as impressive now, since I saw it back in my college days of, shall we say, herbal experimentation?
When there is no more room in Hell,
The Devil
will reapply to the Zoning Commission.