Ricky (2009) Online

As I read the other comments, I am surprised that I had a completely different feel about and interpretation of this film. As I see it, the entire part of the movie in which winged Ricky is portrayed only happens in the mind of the mother. A frustrated and desperate re-invention of how her life could be.

If you will bear with me, I will try to explain this and offer some distinct scenes and pointers in the movie that corroborate this interpretation.

In the first scene the mother is seen speaking with a social welfare counselor. She states that her partner has left her for a week and that she is desperate and willing to give up her child to foster-care. In the remainder of the film, when she is raising Ricky, she was at it as a single mum, for at least a couple of months and doing so happily. Why would she throw that all out after one week of being alone and after losing a previous child. Which she handled with grace.

Secondly, at the start of the second scene, it is clear that the rest of the movie is a flashback of the first scene. This is made clear by the text on the screen that says "A few months earlier" when the second scene starts. However the time-lines of the remainder of the movie cover much more. It starts at the conception of Ricky, the birth of Ricky (+9 months), Ricky growing, flying, and eventually walking (+ 12 months), the mother pregnant again and giving birth to another kid (+9 months). That spans at least two and a half years.

If however it is only Ricky that is born, and the mother that has a nervous and financial breakdown, while imagining how life could be if some fantastical thing would have happened, then the time-line make much more sense.

The fantasy of a flying baby and consequently the staying together of the family is her way of escaping the harsh reality. This also explain her lack of surprise and her readily accepting her loss.

A winged infant that flies away and still survives and is nourished in the wild, is symbolic for the outside world, and her desire, out of desperation to give up her child to foster-care and seeing it prosper.

The feel and the rhythm of the film are very much in tune with this interpretation.

But then again, I could be totally wrong. ;)

This movie was a bit disappointing, Ozon being one of my favorite directors especially for Swimming Pool among others.

It starts as a French family drama, turns into a Hollywood like movie you would normally expect from Spielberg in the supermarket scene and then back to a French movie. I even thought maybe Ozon is considering some Hollywood adventure! The movie goes into the life of a single mother who is stuck in life and could only turn it around with a miracle. And that is exactly what happens, after she starts dating another worker in the factory she gets pregnant and Ricky, a super cute baby, is born.

Ozon takes on French workers' stagnant, even hopeless life on a warmer tone than you normally would expect in a such story. Their life is no fun and only miracles and disasters can force them to rethink their situations.

Editing of the movie was the weak link, as it seemed like the director wanted to get the film flowing by editing and not naturally by the storyline. That approach did not really pay off. It gave me the impression that the movie was shot hastily.

Yet, I was lucky to see the film during its Istanbul Film festival screening and attended the Q&A session after the film. I was glad to see him as a director who likes experimenting with film, even after so many achievements so far. He is a natural movie maker that gets emotions across the screen easily. So I will be on the outlook for his next movie as usual.

Having watched all his other movies, it was only time before I stumbled into this film. I have 3 kids and reluctantly lately watch movies with kids. The movie starts in a typical French Ozon way. No stress, no fuss, no problems. We are captured. We get into it. Slowly we are dragged into his realm. And then... everything goes wrong. There is no way a mother wouldn't run to the hospital if she discovered her son to have bruises on his back. NO WAY. It's not realistic or convincing to say that "I don't want doctor involved"! Please! And then she blames the lover for the bruises and sends him away. But when the wings appear!!! She does not call him to apologise.... WEAK And when they finally face the media, showing off the flying chicken, sorry, Kid, the rope is so thin, it is unreasonable to imagine this happening in real life (because this is the problem with the movie, it's trying to convince us this is actually happening in real life!!!) with such lack of security, and of course he flies off into nowhere! Terrible. The characters are not developed. With the exception of the daughter of the main character, no one is into the performance (ok, maybe the chicken child is having fun). I went to bed thinking it could be a 5 for trying to introduce something new and for the beginning of the movie. But really, it's a ONE for trying to convince us with absolute rubbish. The first scene is possibly the only intriguing part of the whole movie that slowly disintegrates with no solution, answer, meaning, appeal.... oh, what a mess!

I realize that some Ozon fans are disappointed by the outcome of this project, as can be seen by another review here on IMDb also. I do understand that some might feel that Ozon should have better stick to what he was doing. But I think he did a very good job here. Behind all the "normality" of the movie, there lies an ambiguity. The movie deals with loss or better how people react to loss.

Loss of material things, emotional loss and of course other losses too. That's what I felt watching it, but I can also tell, that some people might have gotten a completely different vibe from the movie. And that is what makes it special. It might not be his best movie (I haven't watched all his movies), but it is pretty good. Especially since it disguises itself as normal movie ... well as normal as an Ozon movie can be of course.

The premise intrigued me, and I started watching this movie on Netflix streaming. My 7 and 9 year old kids wandered in and became fascinated. What's not to love about a flying baby? They also liked a diaper changing scene, a breast-feeding scene, and some nude shots. However, there were some disappointing lapses in plausibility pointed out by another reviewer. My kids accepted wings on a baby's back but we couldn't figure out why the parents would let him get away. The movie is reaching for some meaning in the baby's flight away from a struggling single mother, but other than a vague feeling of sadness, the viewer isn't left with much to make sense of the final turn of events.

I saw this today as part of the Alliance Francais film festival in Brisbane.

While not Ozon's best effort (for me Swimming Pool remains his masterpiece) this is an intriguing whimsical story with disturbing undertones of obsession and sibling rivalry.

The story really makes most sense when considered from Lisa's point of view (a powerhouse performance by the young actress here). I took the fantasy aspect of the story to be a metaphorical expression of integrating new members into a tightly knit family of two (and not just Ricky either). This magical realism is very strongly grounded in the emotions of the characters and this is what gives the movie impact in spite of its imperfections. Ozon likes operating on the boundary of fact/fiction mind/reality, and takes huge gambles here which don't always come off--but in the moments they do the film is very satisfying.

Must to admit that I studied film making and worked on the field as a film director, and wrote several screenplays. So, possible I see something in this movie that "normal" would not see. Please keep it in mind while reading my review.

pros:* Great message of the movie. The message: "People are generally good. They only need a little of inspiration, care and compassion, and for coming to their loving nature." Love this message very difficult to come across with a message like this now days.

* Very good acting cast. And faces and nature of actors were matched to the message above. * In some places were good cinematographic work

* Brave mix of the fantasy and realistic methods * Good "hidden" references to Mary (mother Mary)

cons: * wings growth was rushed * "media crowd" to generic Meaning that some of the important elements of the movie were underdeveloped.

* most of the cinematographic decisions were generic and predictable (shots, light and such)

But I would suggest to watch this movie to be inspired a little.

I have rarely expected so much from a film but got so little. This was my experience with "Ricky". After all, it's a story about a baby who sprouts wings--and so it's a comedy, right?! Well, no...there really isn't anything funny or even magical about the movie and I thoroughly hated the movie.

The film begins with a single mom, Katie, and her obviously ignored and depressed daughter, Lisa. Lisa's needs or welfare NEVER seem to matter to Katie and often Katie just does whatever she wants. She sees a nice looking guy at work...she has sex with him in a bathroom stall. She has a daughter to pick up at school...she shows up much, much later than she said and the kid just has to wait. She decides to actually DATE the man she had sex with in the stall, she runs off to do this and you assume the kid is with a sitter or at home alone. Later, mom brings the guy home and they screw again--and it's very loud and the kid is forced to hear it all. The next day, the kid sees mom and her latest passion having breakfast and you have no idea how this will impact the child. Most animals seem to have more on the ball regarding parenting than this woman! Look, I am not anti-sex--but there is a reasonable time and place and being responsible sure ain't important to this couple. Later, they create a boy--and the guy runs off for a while. Call me old fashioned if you like, but I didn't think much of this parenting style.

So, at this point, I assumed that when Ricky, the baby, sprouts wings that the parents will FINALLY grow up and there will be some meaning to all of this or some needed personal growth. Nope. Apparently there is no message. Mom, true to form, misplaces Ricky and the film soon ends. Apparently, the baby's needs, like his sister's really don't matter. But at least mom feels inexplicably inspired.

Why do others like this film? All I know is that I couldn't relate to it or enjoy it at all. It's a waste of an interesting idea, that's for sure. And, it really annoyed me.

I am not sure if this is an independent movie because I am not a professional. The movie only filmed in limited locations, so we the audience put more focus on the actor's acting and facial expressions. The older sister Lisa (Mélusine Mayance) was acting amazing, and she is a puzzle, I still questing does she like her brother or not. It was creepy when she used the scissors and pointed it to Ricky's wing. Yet, she also smiled so sweet every time when Ricky was flying. I can only guess sibling relationship is complex if this is the message that the movie trying to send. Also the movie shows how parents plays their favorite and being unfair.

My interpretation about the ending; mine is quite dark and weird.

1) The mom, Katie was dead at the end. The character looks like having illusions when she saw Ricky, the baby angle was flying with wings, and she killed herself inside the water, especially the baby has hallo, it can be a metaphor.

2) the next screen, Lisa and Paco (Katie's daughter and husband) opened the door with shocked because they hear the bad news from police or something. Therefore, Lisa and Paco would live together after the death of Katie. Paco probably felt guilty and compensated Lisa, and Lisa was happy because she finally got all the attention and the love is only for her. Otherwise, there are no other reasons why Lisa would feel happy, she looked very suffer with my mom and brother. There is a statistic article shows how desperate and unhappiness when a child have more siblings were born.

3)The last pregnancy screen was a flashback when Katie having Ricky. The movie never filmed Katie's pregnancy period, it just skipped to Ricky's birth. So this part can be tells as a beautiful memory of Lisa and Paco.

As above, they just my weird thoughts, different people can have a different interpretation.

… at least, when he was a baby.

This is a strange movie : it begins like a social drama : a single mother with a kid tries to make ends meet with an alienating job in a grim town and living in a dreadful building. For those who would like to immigrate in France, it could be revealing as my country is really rotten like this. Watching this, i thought that things never change and it was still the industrial revolution, difference being that nobody is shocked now ! In the credits, i saw that this was an Ozon's movie so i expected also and got indeed a lot of gratuitous nudity and dumb love story.

Then, at the middle, the movie changes everything and becomes supernatural : the baby has wings ! nothing is explained, nothing is suggested (angel ?). This is the typical french fantasy because it's only facts. My fellows are just unable to dream, to imagine and are stick to the bare reality. With that, the movie drags and closes without having tell something.

At the end, the movie is bad : the characters are dumb or inappropriate (the daughter looks like a maniac). The cast is awful, especially with this Spanish actor. There is only « Chouchou » who is left and who was my motivation to watch it.

It is easy to dismiss Francois Ozon's fantasy film "Ricky", which seems to have been overlooked by most of his fans. There are subtext subtleties which point this is no ordinary fairy tale devised by a man that has tackled families in crisis before, as it is the case with Katie, a struggling single mother with a daughter Lisa, of about ten years old, who is wiser than her years. Perhaps the director wanted to explore with this new venture how the working classes deal with their ordinary lives.

Katie who works in a chemical plant, meets a new fellow worker, the Spaniard Paco, a good nature man who likes her immediately. Before long, Paco moves in Katie's council estate flat. Lisa is reluctant, at first to accept the new man in her mother's life. Nothing is revealed as to whom is Lisa's father. It does not take long for Katie to realize she is pregnant. One night, at dinner, Katie has prepared a roasted chicken. Paco, cutting the bird, asks Lisa what part of it she wants to eat. The wings, she replies. This incident bears into the story later on.

The arrival of little Ricky is welcomed by all. The infant is a problem baby. He does not appear to be like others, but he appears to be healthy. Katie becomes alarmed when she notices bruises on Ricky's back, and becomes suspicious of Paco's care. Paco is enraged when confronted by her. He decides to go away, leaving his newly found family to fend for themselves. When the bruises are examined by a doctor, it is clear the boy is developing wings. What's a mother to do?

Little Ricky is in fact developing small wings. They catch him over a wardrobe; little by little he is flying all over the apartment, even bumping into the glass of a window. Paco returns to find this new development. He has an idea to help with the costs they will incur if they want the baby to have an operation. How about get a friendly journalist to take their case? In fact, that only serves to get media attention when they did not want. The mere mention of this turns Katie off; how could Paco be thinking about commercialism at a time like this? After the family decides to cooperate, they come outside the housing complex holding Ricky. Paco, tying a cord around Ricky's ankles to secure he will not fly away, gives it to Katie, who in a moment of not paying attention, lets the cord loose and the infant flies away.

What is a mother to do next? Missing Ricky so much, she has decided she is going to give a try on motherhood, as we watch her in bed visibly pregnant!

Francois Ozon obviously wanted to tell a story that was entertaining as well as making a statement while he was at it. This film is not easy to grasp. All the elements are there and perhaps in being ambiguous, he wanted to challenge the viewer. He certainly had a way to get the attention of an audience, although it is a complex metaphor about a family and their environment and how the arrival of the new man upsets the universe between mother and a daughter that is more mature than her years.

Akexandra Lamy is perfect as Katie. She is a capable actress with a natural intelligence in her approach as the mother. Little Melusine Mayance surprises with the way she plays Lisa. This girl is not obnoxious in contrast with other screen young actresses; she appears to be a natural. Sergi Lopez is the affable Paco, the immigrant who is rewarded with an instant family in his adopted country. Mr. Lopez keeps giving strong performances. Arthur Peyret is adorable as Ricky.

OK,a winged Ricky...whatever the metaphor is, has been designed to be the shock and climax of the movie. And what does Ozon have to offer after that? Virtually nothing... some big steps back in Ozon's career... still a good decoupage and some memorable scenes. ( I particularly like Lisa chopping the chicken's wings,which intensifies the threatening atmosphere, Ozon wants to imply... the light of insight on Katie's face when she was in the lake..resemblance of Ricky to his father as far as hair growth is concerned!...contrast of the music and rapid growth of the wing...)But,looking forward to see Ozon's back to his basics