The Black Box

Original title: La boîte noire

2005
1h 28m

IMDb RATING

5.7/10

YOUR RATING

Mystery Thriller

Images flash through Arthur's brain, voices buzz in his mind, uttering disjointed words and sentences. Arthur Seligman seems to have had an accident but did he run over a little boy or not? ... Read allImages flash through Arthur's brain, voices buzz in his mind, uttering disjointed words and sentences. Arthur Seligman seems to have had an accident but did he run over a little boy or not? And what was he doing near Cherbourg while he lives in Paris? When he regains consciousnes... Read allImages flash through Arthur's brain, voices buzz in his mind, uttering disjointed words and sentences. Arthur Seligman seems to have had an accident but did he run over a little boy or not? And what was he doing near Cherbourg while he lives in Paris? When he regains consciousness (but does he really?) Isabelle Kruger, a nurse, tells him that he had lapsed into a coma... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.7/10

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), mentioned by Arthur's doctor, is used to assess and record the level of consciousness of a patient after head injury. Three aspects are noted - the responses of a patient's eyes, his/ her verbal responses and motor responses. A score is generated which ranges from a low of 3 (deep unconsciousness) to 14 (or 15, depending upon which version of the scale is used). The GCS score can be used to give an indication of the level of brain injury (severe <9, moderate 9-12, minor >12).

Soundtracks
L'Aria
Written by Gaëlle Méchaly and Nathaniel Méchaly
Performed by Gaëlle Méchaly

User reviews8

Review

Featured review

6/10

Superficial psycho thriller

Good beginning: a car that drives too fast along a narrow winding coastal road. The viewer expects an accident, and after a while, it happens. The driver (we still do not know who that is) couldn't escape his fate.

Next, the viewer (who once again is put in the hero's place) finds himself lying helplessly in a hospital bed, in a state of mental confusion, assailed by blurry visions ans disjointed sounds.

Unfortunately the rest of the film, although reasonably intriguing throughout, is a disappointment. Not that it is not well made. On the contrary, Richard Berry works hard at creating an unsettling atmosphere, resorting to nearly all the visual and sound effects existing. The real trouble is his naive approach to psychoanalysis. Just like in those old-fashioned Hollywood psycho thrillers of the 1940's and 50's, he tries to explain everything. In the course of his investigation Arthur manages to figure out ALL THE CODED MESSAGES his brain has been sending him during his coma. He identifies the source of his trauma and now he can live happily ever after! Oh, I wish reality was like in those pictures. You feel bad mentally, so just consult a shrink and sooner or later you will be cured. But I do not think the things of the brain are so square, so well-organized, so mechanical. To make matters worse the final explanation is outright ridiculous. While the credits roll, disappointment sets in.

Luckily you are not aware of all this while you are watching the movie due to the careful direction of Berry, the intense performance of José Garcia and wonderful character actors by the name of Michel Duchaussoy (as the elderly ailing father) and in dual roles the excellent Gérald Laroche and Bernard Le Coq.

Good time guaranteed before you realize how shallow all this is.