The Balconettes

2024 [FRENCH]

Comedy / Fantasy / Horror

8
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 76% · 45 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 76%
IMDb Rating 5.8/10 10 2573 2.6K

marseille, france roommates female friendship murder woman director heatwave

Director

Noémie Merlant Photo
Noémie Merlant

Top cast

Noémie Merlant Photo
Noémie Merlant as Elise
Lucas Bravo Photo
Lucas Bravo as Magnani, le voisin d'en face
Souheila Yacoub Photo
Souheila Yacoub as Ruby
Annie Mercier Photo
Annie Mercier as La voisine
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB 1080p.WEB.x265
952.14 MB
1280*694
French 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  fr  
24 fps
1 hr 43 min
Seeds 24
1.91 GB
1920*1040
French 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  fr  
24 fps
1 hr 43 min
Seeds 24
1.73 GB
1920*1040
French 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  fr  
24 fps
1 hr 43 min
Seeds 35

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by aronharde 5 / 10

A bold feminist horror that trips over its own tone

This movie definitely has something to say about how women are treated by men, and in this case, our protagonists are sick of it and act drastically. At times more intentionally, and other times more accidentally. This is definitely a unique and feminist entry into the horror genre, and while the movie works well at certain moments, in others it doesn't work at all. It's a dark comedy, and there are definitely some comedic moments that made me chuckle. However, the overall tone was rather silly, and the performances by our protagonists didn't help. I don't want to blame the cast, because it felt like they were directed that way, but combining such serious themes with such exaggerated acting didn't quite work as well as it might have on paper.The movie features quite a lot of blood and decent gore for horror fans, though nothing too outstanding or shocking. There's also a lot of nudity, and even though it is meant as symbolism, it felt out of place and overdone at times. I'm definitely not someone who thinks nudity shouldn't be on screen, but it should be meaningful and not just thrown into scenes as it sometimes was here.Overall, it's a decently enjoyable movie, but what hindered me most from really enjoying it was the silly tone and humor, which overall didn't work for me but remained a constant presence throughout. Other than that, I think some audiences will really connect to this movie, and in the end, it's just a matter of personal taste whether the tone and premise work for you. [5.2/10]
Reviewed by JvH48 7 / 10

Many nice and intriguing ideas, but a few annoying things troubled my experience. No common horror but another newly invented kind, with room for humor too

Saw this at the Ghent filmfestival 2024. Lots of nice and intriguing ideas. However, even so many annoying elements turn this movie into a not so perfect experience. The controversial reviews I've read, are understandable and a logical result. One of the annoying things is that I have a vague idea that the story tries to educate us how to interact with women, when they say No it means No, but we already got that and needs no introduction. Other annoying examples are that the three female protagonists act unorderly and counter productively, while trying to remove the traces of a crime, hopefully not intended to expose that as typically feminine.All these annoying parts overshadow the serious moments in this movie. As a seasoned Horror-lover, I do not object to the blood, nor the screaming, nor the severed body parts (and dangerous hardware to make that so). Naked bodies, half or fully undressed, are no problem either. Bear in mind that we see lots of nudity in various stages of undressment (is that a word??), in house as well as in plein public.It is all ornamentation for me, not contributing much, alas hiding the good parts of the movie, the very original plot and the perfect acting of the main protagonists. Most of the characters appearing in this movie, are a bit vague in what they do and who they are. The only people clearly outlined are the couple in the beginning, where a man complains against his wife, whereafter she takes drastic action, later telling that her husband stumbled and fell into a shovel. We must wait until the end to see that the police accompany her handcuffed, most probably not fully believing the explanation for her dead husband. This story is only a side dish, however.The main course of the movie is the interaction between three women on one side of the street with a good-looking man on the other side. Contrary to the straightforward story with above couple and the deadly shovel, it is impossible to even offer a suggestion for the many complications that result from the three ladies visiting the opposite apartment. One of the women stays with him, probably awaiting a happy sleepover, but the rest of the story is completely different, and unexpected as well as unprecedented. Bloody remains must be dealt with, not an everyday task for people like you and me, unexperienced in crime. And they must cope with concerned neighbors suspecting something is wrong. And on top of all that, ghostly figures start to appear, not visible for everyone so extra complicated. Just a few hints I can give you, to say this story is very unusual, offering very original plot elements, and giving us unpredictable turns of events.All in all, lots of original ideas, some intriguing even. But some negative elements, maybe only negative for me and me alone, turn this movie into a halfway success. It is not a traditional horror that is built on atmosphere nor on eerie situations. There is blood, there are severed body parts, and there are ghost figures, but it nevertheless will turn into a different kind of horror, where there is room for humor as well.
Reviewed by derek-duerden 6 / 10

Overdoes the Frivolity?

Thematically (and I suspect, deliberately) this is all over the map in terms of its inspirations and borrowings from a wild variety of genres. As such, one just has to "go with it" if it's your kind of thing.I must say though that, for me, too many of the scenes felt familiar from other films (at one point it felt like a direct homage to Almodovar, for example), although Merlant the actor demonstrates admirable commitment to her debut directing project.There's a serious feminist message here but, given the total lack of sympathetic male characters, it's hardly the most balanced film - I suspect allowing any borderline cases to say to themselves "well, I'm nothing like *that* guy..." rather than perhaps take on board the need to change behaviour somewhat.Quite fun in parts, and worth a look, but less amusing than I was expecting.
Read more IMDb reviews

5 Comments

Be the first to leave a comment