Very Cool!!!

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

This is one of director Claude Chabrol's final film projects. It stars Isabel Huppert as a dogged French magistrate investigating corporate corruption. Through the course of the film, despite threats and pressure from her superior, she keeps pushing and pushing and pushing-- barely sleeping, neglecting her husband and doing nothing but work on this complex case of corruption. As for the baddies, they keep thinking that she can't be THAT determined...but she certainly is.I really thought this was a fascinating topic and the film was well made. So why did I only give it a 6? Well, the film just ended...very abruptly and with no real resolution. It felt like a HUGE disappointment and left me feeling confused and unfulfilled. It's a shame as Huppert was excellent and the film really kept my attention...

L'IVRESSE DU POUVOIR, which was oddly re-titled as A COMEDY OF POWER for the North American market (I saw it under LUST FOR POWER on cable), is a very good French flick about corruption in the government and a magistrate's attempts to bring the bad guys to justice. The magistrate is played by the sublime Isabelle Huppert. One could say that the film can viewed as some sort of black comedy about how controlling the corrupting qualities of power is ultimately futile. The film is played straight. There are no big Hollywood moments in it which for many will turn off most viewers. The film can be described as dry. Very dry. There are no mushy sentimental moments. No sex. No violence. Very little swearing. The dramatics are very low key. Heck, the music is almost non-existing. The direction is so minimalistic that it creates a tension of sorts in that I expected the director to shock us with something really bad just waiting to happen at any moment and ready to derail the whole controlled tone of the film.The dialogue is spoken quickly and even though I understand French, the subtitles were good in keeping track with the rapid fire exchanges.Aside from the assured direction, the main reason to watch L'IVRESSE DU POUVOIR is Isabelle Huppert's laser sharp performance. She's so good and direct, not a wasted moment or emotion in her entire performance. It's something to behold. Watching the petite woman, with her red gloves and purse, corralling all these corrupt folks, is unforgettable and it's what remains in your head days after seeing the film. A very satisfying movie that's a nice change from the usually over-the-top approach most films take these days.

Claude Chabrol uses a very unexcited style to show how corruption penetrates industry and politics in Western societies, in this film by the example of France, but applicable for all states. And he gives a portrait of a strong woman, played by the ever-fantastic Isabelle Huppert, who comes to clean up but soon reaches a point where she has to see how many people are in this system and defending it. You never really get warm with Huppert's character, firstly because the camera is very distanced and just observes, and secondly because of the character itself. She never has the chance to show emotions, every sign of it would be considered a weakness and would be exploited by her enemies. This being the way to survive in her job, it seriously harms her private life. Her marriage is destroyed by it, and friendship is hard to get with many sneaky one's trying to use her. Definitely worth seeing and an interesting look behind the curtains. But of course, this film "doesn't describe concrete events of the day."

In November 2003, after a sensational trial that rocked the Republic of France for four scandal-soaked months, three key executives of that country's ELF oil company were found guilty of massive corporate malfeasance on a scale not seen in Europe since the turbulent days of World War II. The graft, money laundering, and granting of political favors for which these men were convicted extended into the upper reaches of the government as well, so the scandal served a concomitant salutary purpose of finally laying bare that nation's long-established practice of state-sponsored corruption."Comedy of Power" is famed director Claude Chabrol's very fictionalized take on the ELF scandal. Yet, while most of the names and many of the details have been changed or even fabricated for the movie, the themes and concerns are obviously very much in keeping with the spirit of the actual event. The always mesmerizing Isabelle Huppert plays a no-nonsense judge who is unrelenting in her pursuit of corporate corruption, obsessed with bringing the culprits - no matter their position or standing in the community - to justice. Refusing to buckle under to pressure from (equally corrupt) higher-ups who believe she is going too far in her investigations, Judge Jeanne Charmant-Killman zeroes in on her "victims," refusing to let go until she gets what she wants. Chabrol and Huppert together create a woman of conviction and strength who, nevertheless, knows her limitations and can even acknowledge what a strain her single-minded determination is placing on her personal life and marriage (whether or not she chooses to do anything about it is another matter).It's true that "Comedy of Power" feels a little underdeveloped at times, and the somewhat inconclusive and lackadaisical ending may well leave some in the audience feeling dissatisfied and cheated. For while there is a certain bravery in not succumbing to the need for a pat resolution, the movie leaves us wanting to know more about how everything turns out in the end. Yet, despite this drawback, this is an interesting, and, at times, even gripping little drama that gives us a chance to watch a beautiful, dynamic actress in action. It is Huppert's multi-layered portrayal of a moral crusader who is also very much a flawed and vulnerable human being that rivets our attention and helps us wade through all the arcane trivia of the corporate-world plotting. Chabrol keeps the film moving at an expeditious pace, with a tasty mixture of both humor and suspense thrown in for good measure. But it is in the confrontation scenes between Huppert and her various high profile targets that the film truly engages our attention.In addition to Huppert, Chabrol has elicited uniformly sharp performances from Francois Berleand, Patrick Bruel, Marilyne Canto, Robin Renucci and Thomas Chabrol (the son of Chabrol and the great actress Stephane Audran). As an ensemble, these gifted performers bring the larger issues into focus while keeping us thoroughly engrossed and entertained at the same time.