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Qui a tué Bambi? (2003) More at IMDbPro »
12 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
A thriller based on dialogue rather than action, 2 August 2004
Author: raymond-15 from Australia
Isabelle ( Sophiie Quinton) a hospital nurse not yet fully certificated suffers from dizzy spells due to an ear problem. One of the senior surgeons Dr. Philip (Laurent Lucas) calls her Bambi. A stupid remark in my opinion and not befitting his character. The hospital looks ever so hygienic with its rooms and corridors in dazzling white and the doctors and nursing staff uniformed in white, white, white! But strange events are happening in this spotless hospital...patients are waking up under anaesthesia....patients are disappearing from their beds....what has gone awry?
As events unfold Isabelle, a sweet young thing, has strong suspicions about Dr. Philip's behaviour, but she really hasn't any proof. The film mainly concerns Isabelle's attempts to solve the hospital's continuing problems. The film is well cast with Dr. Philip suitably stern, morose and unyielding and little Bambi sweet and innocent and unsure of her nursing capabilities. (She may have done better in the police force!) As a thriller there are no menacing gestures and the excitement is restricted mainly to the dialogue.
The operating theatre has an air of authenticity about it as do the surgeons and nursing staff going about their business with hyperdermic needles and scalpels. I must say I think it was amiss of the medical staff not to notice the puncture in the fresh Pentothal phials. A minor criticism perhaps. As for the disappearing patients, it is a well known fact that frustrated patients do discharge themselves on occasions at short notice.
These thrillers are often conceived in such a way with clues that deceive. Consequently, with this in mind I carefully explore the motives of each character. I regret to say that I was tricked into coming to a wrong conclusion about the perpetrator of the crimes.
If you like hospital dramas and are not booked into an operating theatre in the near future, this film is for you.
8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Mesmerizing, 26 December 2004
Author: Ksenia Shomnikova (cresmix) from Russia
This movie is another good example of the 'How' prevailing over the 'What' in cinematic sense. I do agree with those who say that its denouement is plain and understand those who complain of the absence of climax but the question is - do we need a striking ending or a climatic revelation? Isabelle's gradual finding out that the charmingly monstrous Dr. Philipp is a psychopath is no surprise and the way the movie ends is no surprise either (which for some means the same as 'disappointing') but the unfolding of events, the characters' development and the quiet un-climatic finale - they all, in fact, are in great harmony with the tempo and atmosphere of the film which makes an absolutely hypnotizing effect.
I wouldn't dare to call this movie a masterpiece or sensation but as a psychological thriller it is very sufficient. I totally loved the acting from both the lead characters, Sophie Quinton (Isabelle) is lovely and subtle in her innocent, pure, unstable fragility and Laurent Lucas (Dr. Philipp) is completely stunning: at one moment he's unemotional and nonchalant, interested and cunningly smiling at the other, devilishly attractive and abhorrent at the same time; through the whole film you so want to believe that he is a good and kind guy but the further the story goes the more repulsive and scary he becomes; this is actually the change Isabelle's own attitude towards him undergoes. I also liked the bizarre line of the plot's development; as it was mentioned in the comment from Charbax - weirdness is the main trait of this film, and it only benefits from it, not vise versa.
The visual peculiarity of the film is its main merit (together with the acting). Beauty, strangeness and fear are perfectly conveyed through the set-design and fantastic cinematography. Music also adds a bunch to suspense slightly and eventually building up. Dream sequences, fainting fits, the snow-cleanness of the hospital and the stern darkness of the night, long corridors, lot of empty space - all is saturated with the atmosphere of unprotectedness and drowsiness which hangs in the air like an easily catchable aroma. Who cares for the plot and the dialogue when you can't get your eyes off the screen?
What I find especially interesting about the film is its treatment of the 'Good seduced by Evil' question. Isabelle's being both attracted and scared by Dr. Philipp till the very end as if keeps you on your toes, you can't say for sure whether she falls or resists. I give this film 9 out of 10 and highly recommend watching it. On TV screen, by the way, it is much more enjoyable to see - alone, relaxed, with choked lights and an open mind.
8 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Misleading thriller?, 13 November 2005
Author: lost-in-limbo from the Mad Hatter's tea party.
A student nurse Isabelle suspects a mysterious surgeon Dr. Philipp who basically lives his life in the hospital day and night, is responsible for a series of accidents that happen during surgery and the disappearance of a female patient.
While watching the opening 15 minutes you'll be thinking this is going to be an incredibly well made thriller, but actually, while it does look superb and very slickly done, it was just too bad that the actual story didn't follow the same suit. The lack of surprises and the familiar pattern of the plot really did seem to hurt it. Gee, I really wanted to love this film, but no matter how hard it tried to enthral and to be clever, you'll keep on thinking this could've been a whole lot better and more original if it didn't derail itself into recognisable territory halfway in and become rather repetitive. But like I typed before it had some subtle nightmare feel within its appearance. It just haunts your mind! The sterile hospital setting was made to great use. It was incredibly cold, and disquieting, especially during the night sequences when most of the startling moments pop up. Most of the film took place there and it was eerie as hell! But also the tantalising score that's smoothly enticing gave it a strikingly menacing aurora, but still somehow pulled you in. There was such just such a great sense of dread created. Plus nudity and flesh was depicted rather graphically within it's material, for some it might be erotic, or for others rather sleazy.
The performances were decent. Laurent Lucas is truly unsettling as Dr. Philipp and Sophie Quinton brings a naive persona to Isabelle. You really do care for her and despise Dr. Philipp. There's also some okay support roles that add to the film. The down side was there was such a carefree approach, which made it rather monotone to sit through. Sure, this is a slow psychological thriller, but really it does goes on for far too long. What makes the momentum drag is that is falls into many different clichés and familiar patterns, sometimes nothing really was happening at all. During the first half your caught up in the mystery of Dr Philipp, which played on the things we don't see, but the in the second half all of this change and the mystery was starting to wore thin. But it's the third act where things kind of go pear shape. Things start to get all arty, disjointed and tried to hard to be clever in its context. I didn't mind the downbeat, but bizarre ending. It's just I didn't know what it was trying to come across as, or imply by it? From what I grasp the plot is about making your own fate or maybe it's story which plays on people' fears … nah, it's actually about freaking people out of staying overnight in a hospital, but then again that's just my thoughts. I just didn't think it was that smart as it was trying to be. Although while watching it, how the film played out and certain touches, Hitchcock does kind of ring a bell.
Overall, this French thriller just left me feeling indifferent. Looks great, highly atmospheric, but I can't say the same about the story.
8 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Fabulous mix of Drama and Suspense, 1 October 2003
Author: achilles2ca from Ontario, Canada
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 it
Marchand 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.
4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Who killed Bambi?, 21 January 2008
Author: laurasinead from London, England
A slow thriller about a young trainee nurse who suspects that one of the doctors working at the hospital is up to no good.
The white wash of the entire hospital gives the film it's eerie, anonymous feel, however it remains highly predictable throughout which is a little annoying. Fortunately the obvious chemistry between the main actors compensates and certainly adds to the tension that is needed. Sophie Quinton is entirely believable as the naive Isabelle and never 'overplays' the part and Laurent Lucas is perfect for the charming yet sinister doctor.
One for those who like Hitchcock and don't mind sitting though a 2 hour film, although it does make you think twice about going to the doctor again ...
6 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Atmospheric thriller, 8 February 2006
Author: dbdumonteil
"Qui a tué Bambi?" has big qualities:gore and special effects are almost absent and the story is wrapped in an agonizing atmosphere .
The director knows his classics: in turn ,I've thought of Henri-Georges Clouzot's "la Prisonnière" (the relationship between the doctor and the nurse which verges on sado-masochism) ,of Crichton' s "Coma" (there's an hospital where patients disappear,and one of their surgeons' behavior is dubious),of Polanski's "Rosemary's baby " (a character is in the middle of a strange conspiracy ,nobody believes her,but there's more: the jewel the doctor gives to the nurse strongly recalls the one Minnie Castevet gives to Rosemary;and in both movies the jewels had belonged to another woman (dead) before)and of "Carnival of souls" (the car wreck).
The director adds hints at Walt Disney's "Bambi" as well;the title is no misnomer: "Your mother will not come round anymore" " Your legs are giving way under you,just like Bambi" .
Perhaps the best ideas of the script are the "games" subject: an innocent game the nurses play in the corridor where they tell if a person is a man or a woman by the way they look at their fingernails; wicked games such as the consonants and the vowels one.You may remember in "the crying game" the story called "the scorpion and the frog" which comes back later at the end of that Jordan film . "The consonants and the vowels " game plays the same part here.It's downright disturbing when the nurse plays it for the first time in a hellish nightclub.The second time,not only the heroine but also the audience can play too.
The two leads are convincing and they never overplay ,which is a tour de force in such a context.One can regret the last minute .It comes almost as an anticlimax.
It's a good thriller.The director knows his classics.
6 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Interestingly botched, 26 July 2004
Author: jwarthen-1 from Massachusetts
A pretty dreadful French thriller in which a gifted scenarist may be learning how to direct. The 126 minutes' length hints of a genre-piece that can't stop itself: the director wrote twice as many fainting scenes, dream sequences, and face-offs between heroine-villain as any film could sustain, and then left in every damned one of them. Its only suspense lies in the gradually revealed nastiness of the director himself-- "He's not going to do THAT to his actors.... My God, he really IS." The casting and the peculiar violations of genre logic show vestiges of a much better movie than BAMBI. In a day full of interesting French films shown at Boston's MFA, this ringer, of course, turned out to be the only one secured for American distribution. You are seeing the Director's Cut on screen-- a case in which a Studio version of this frayed and rough-cut would be superior.
1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Trust me, I'm a doctor, 3 July 2005
Author: N J Darrant (njd123@gmail.com) from London, England
A good thriller. At times it did feel like a made-for-TV film, but maybe that was due to the small cast and the constant hospital setting (both of which do give the film a claustrophobic feel).
Unfortunately I missed out on the Q&A session with the director who had attended an earlier showing at the Institut francais in London, otherwise I have nothing much else to add to the other comments posted here.
In short, a creepy film set in a hospital with a good enough cast - but nothing out-of-the-ordinary. One thing that I couldn't get out of my head though: all modern hospitals have CCTV cameras, which would have prevented the events in this film from taking place.
2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
I killed Bambi., 10 July 2006
Author: DisgorgedMenstrualSludge from Hell
Who Killed Bambi?: A nurse trying to finish her internship, learns that a doctor at the hospital is drugging and molesting female patients after their surgery. He has even killed some of them and stolen their belongings. Of course, nobody believes her since he has been a well respected surgeon there for years. Though it is rather slow moving at parts, this is a rather well done french film that has some excellent cinematography and acting. The fact that we know who the perpetrator is right off the bat, leaving nothing to to actually figure out was kind of a let down and tended to drag down the last half of the movie. I would still recommend it for it's good points, just make sure you are in the mood.
3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
wonderful movie, 21 July 2005
Author: mariebrohard from United States
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
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.
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