As the boys continue
to stay at the Vichot home, Henry becomes infatuated with one of the daughters
and wants them to stay longer.
JL - This whole
sequence is like the sound of music on acid while it's pissing down.
JL - The giggly girls
haven't seen boys before. This is where there'd be a sex scene if this thing
wasn't aimed at children.
IB - How come Henry
has become exactly the person he was criticising when he bitched at Will for
wanting to stay at the chateau? Did the character outline for him and Will
suddenly get mixed up?
IB - Kirsty is about
twelve.
JL - Each to their
own.
JL - Henry wants to
hang on till Winter so that his girlfriend will have gone through puberty.
JL - I'm having
visions of Henry and that twelve year old girl playing footsie like they're in
the Emmerdale title sequence. Horrific. Or hilarious, depending on how liberal
you are.
IB - The only humour
in this lumbering thing is unintentional.
JL - Now Henry and his
underage love interest are treading grapes together. Nobody points out its
weird. Dominique-nique-nique....
IB - Will spends most
of the time staring out of the window, pining for his lost love. Good
continuity in that he's moping and hasn't forgotten the events with Eloise.
JL - More likely he
was just aching for a pound of coke and couldn't wait for the filming to wrap
for the day.
IB - Beanpole is
always forgiving, like Jesus. When Will and Henry are bickering (again) and
Henry says Will should have stayed with 'that girl' and this wouldn't have
happened, Beanpole is philosophical.
JL - They do bicker a
lot. It's like being stuck in the TARDIS bedroom with Nyssa, Tegan, Adric and
Peter Davison.
JL - Beanpole and Will
get their tops off at last (although only briefly). Beanpole has a surprisingly
good body. Shame he has a face like a bag of spanners to go with it.
IB - Beanpole is like
Adric, but in a good way. Who'd have thought that possible?
While Henry and will
continue another of their long arguments, Madame Vichot arrives and takes them
to the loft of her home, where she shows them all sorts of wonders (none under
her skirt) from one hundred years ago, such as record albums, toys and
photographs. Madame Vichot reveals that she is a kind of Vagrant, in that her
capping never fully took, so she remains inquisitive - and now wants to know why
two boys from England and a French boy far away from home are travelling
through the area.
IB - I hate to say it
but Will is becoming insipid. He's obviously been cast because he's pretty. And
he's sounding increasingly like his lookalike Paul McCartney.
JL - I detect traces
of Scouse also.
IB - There's a nice
little moment in the loft that's easily missed when Madame Vichot and Beanpole
are talking and Henry and Will examine a metal ornament of the Eiffel Tower
with enthusiasm - having been to Paris and seen the real thing.
JL - I'd love a
bedroom like Mrs Vichot's loft. There's Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and a
painting of the Moon landing astronauts.
They decide to be
honest with her and she tells them about the Alps - the White Mountain they are
seeking. Over the next few days Henry continues to fall in love while Will is
almost recovered, and the Black Guard returns for a meal. But this time the
Guard, Daniel, wants more: he wants to know what they are doing here and why.
They manage to put Daniel off temporarily but realise they must leave and that
night the boys say goodbye to the teenage girls they have gotten to know. After
a party everyone sayd their final farewells and the boys leave on their journey
again - observed by Daniel, who follows them.
IB - There's a brief
but sparkling sequence where Madame Vichot tells Will about the two different
forms of love: that for one person, and the other for all of mankind. With love
and courage mankind is capable of anything! Madame Vichot is glorious. This one
statement throws a light across the whole series about the human spirit and why
the boys are rebelling for control of their own destinies. It reminds me of the
Fourth Doctor's speech in The Ark in Space. Madame Vichot, even though capped,
is indomitable.
JL - It's hippie
bullshit. Ooh, the cap's kicked in, she's stopped romanticizing. She's going to
have an even bigger headache that one of Will's hangovers in the morning.
IB - It's an allegory about control and freedom
of choice. 'Do not underestimate the gift of peace of mind, Will, I shall never
have it.' This scene elevates the whole vineyard sequence above mere padding.
It's superb.
JL - And so we dive
straight into the excruciatingly embarassing hurdy gurdy dance and the moment
is lost forever. This decor just screams eighties. And it's meant to look
medieval. There's another close up of a bowl of salad. What is it with this
show and cucumber?
JL - The dancing has
to be seen to be believed. It's like something you'd expect at the end of The
Wicker Man.
IB - Hurdy-gurdy
tastic!
JL - 'We wish ye joy
and we wish ye health...' it's like Hogmanay!
JL - They give them
stout boots and warm clothes. I wish I lived with the Vichots. Henry: 'thanks
for all the depraved sex in the moonlight Kirsty.' Je ne regrette rien! Mwa.
Mwa mwa. Mwa. Mwa.
IB - The camera pans
around the empty kitchen...
JL - aw, it's sad!
IB - And so the boys
leave the vineyard forever. But wipe away those tears, we're into the Endgame!
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