Bella di giorno ~ Belle de Jour (1967) **

Belle de Jour was hyped up quite a bit while I was in college. I pretty excited to watch it. I was able to watch it my Senior year (1996) in the Michigan Theater.


From Netflix:

Severine (Catherine Deneuve) is a wealthy young newlywed who's eager to live life to the fullest. Although she loves her husband, Severine can't bring herself to be intimate with him. To sate her physical desires, she indulges in erotic daydreams, often blurring the line between reality and fantasy. When that's not enough, she begins frequenting a classy Parisian brothel, working as a prostitute while remaining celibate within her marriage.




Length:
100 minutes

Director:
Luis Buñuel
Cast:
Catherine Deneuve
Jean Sorel
Michel Piccoli
Geneviève Page

The first scene was pretty graphic. Catherine Deneuve is tied to a tree and beginning whipped and then raped. I thought, "Bloody Hell!? This was created back in 1960s?" Then I felt ROBBED! We suddenly realize that this was merely a tease. This was only to get people into the theater to watch and talk about it. While it was pretty daring at it's time, the film ends up not being as deviant as suggested.

This film does not put a good light on house wives that are lady of leisure. This is great example of how idle hands are the devil's tools. Deneuve decides to have a bit of excitement in her dull life as a rich newlywed wife. Her husband's sexual needs are pathetic in her eyes. She wants something hard, grittier, more exciting. So she goes to work in a bordello. A BORDELLO!?! I am not sure how one even finds a bordello. I guess I am pretty sheltered.

She goes to work and then she places her specific demands of what she will or will not do. It is pretty mild. The trouble comes when a man who is more than she can handle, but desperately wants due to his element of danger takes a fancy for her. She believes that she can call the shots still. Right. . . when she realizes that she is in over her head, she tries to break it off. He says no. She is incredulous when he continues to pursue her. It goes from bad to worse when he stalks her and threatens to blackmail her.

Note to all who are getting action outside of their relationship in secret: THERE IS ALWAYS THE POTENTIAL FOR BLACKMAIL! I enjoyed watching how badly she wanted him and how he excites her with his light BDSM nuances in their sexual play. It isn't surprising that they are sexually compatible. The issue is that she is married to another man.

Her dangerous lover ends up severely hurting her husband. He becomes a paraplegic. He feels so terrible that she must take care of him. He doesn't know that this random violence (to him) was a targeted attack. In his eyes, he is guilt ridden and his wife is a paragon of a dutiful wife. This only makes Deneuve feel even guiltier. She confides in a mutual friend of her husbands, coincidentally the one that introduced her to the bordello. Then the worst occurs, her secret is revealed to her husband. The scene ends with tears streaming down his face, sitting in a wheel chair.

La Belle Noiseuse (1991) ~ The Beautiful Troublemaker *

On a Emmanuelle Béart kick, I decide to rent this movie. It was recommended by Wilson, my cohort in Foreign/Indie films. Remember, this was before IMDB or Netflix. So it was not an easy movie to find. Without IMDB, it wasn't so easy to find all the movies that an Actress or Actor featured in. One would have to rely on a thick movie book that some video places carried. This book was in index produced maybe a couple times a year to update all the latest films and the actors in it. Funny enough, it was before DVD so I had to find a VCR to play this movie. I rented it at an indie movie rental place in Minn when I worked at the time.

Now, Wilson warned me that this movie was not a movie for everyone and it was actual quite tedious and SLLLOOOWWWW for some people. He wasn't kidding.

From Netflix:

An embittered French painter named Frenhofer (Michel Piccoli) hasn't painted in years, but he's inspired when he meets the lovely girlfriend of a guest in his chateau. Following his muse, Frenhofer decides to finish work on his long-neglected masterpiece, "La Belle Noiseuse." And his young model will do all she can to keep him focused. This film spans two discs; both discs will be shipped to you simultaneously.

Length:
128 minutes
Director:
Jacques Rivette
Cast:
Michel Piccoli

Jane Birkin
Emmanuelle Béart

Marianne Denicourt

David Bursztein

Gilles Arbona
Marie Belluc

Marie-Claude Roger

I dragged myself through this movie. I borrowed the condensed version and it was still painful to watch. I watched it only to see Ms. Beart play Marianne. She plays quite the conceited and self-absorbed young lady. She thinks she is the hottest stuff and demands the renowned painter to paint her portrait. He is known for painting what he truly sees in a person. Many of his patrons hate his completed work because he sees too truly and they can't handle his version of them. He even stops painting due to an incomplete portrait of his wife. He logic is that if it was completed, his wife would leave him.

Marianne believes fully that he will see her as she sees herself. And she flirts and tries hard to seduce him. All while her painter boyfriend is here and there with them. At one point, we see Ms. Beart fully naked. Sigh. I like her better with clothing on. Who knew her naked body would be so unappealing? Maybe it was a body double, doubtful.

The full length version is 4 long hours. It is like watching paint dry. We learn much about the muses and neurosis of an artiste. We also see the complex interactions between two people who challenge each other. While I did not truly enjoy the movie, I did like the ending where Marianne's fully exposed on the canvas. Whomever really painted the portrait did an excellent job of capturing Ms. Beart's character, Marianne. As we expected, she is not happy at all. It was a terrible rude awakening for her. She is so hurt by how Frenhofer really sees her. Buyer's remorse? Frenhofer does paint another painting on top of the original one. It is a kinder and gentler painting of Marianne. Only Frenhofer and Marianne know the truth.

This is a movie to watch when you are stuck in a snow storm for days and have a block of time to waste away. This is not a light hearted movie for everyone.

Jean de Florette / Manon of the Spring (1986) ~ ***

This is a classic dual French movie that I believe any one interested in Foreign movies watches. These two films are "starter" foreign flicks. From Netflix:

Claude Berri directs this pair of award-winning French dramas. In Jean de Florette, two men (Yves Montand and Daniel Auteuil) scheme to acquire a neighboring farm by preventing a natural spring from flowing, a water source that the new owner, Jean (Gérard Depardieu), needs for his crops. In Manon of the Spring, Jean's grown daughter (Emmanuelle Beart) goes after the two men with a fierce vengeance worthy of her proud and courageous heritage.

Length:
234 minutes
Director:
Claude Berri
Cast:
Yves Montand
Gérard Depardieu
Daniel Auteuil
Elisabeth Depardieu
Margarita Lozano
Ernestine Mazurowna
Armand Meffre
Emmanuelle Béart
Hippolyte Girardot

After I watched Camille Claudel, I decided to try another Gerard Depardieu movie. To my delight, I met Emmanuelle Beart. When people say that a person has arresting eyes, eyes that express more eloquently than their spoken words, Ms. Beart is that type of person. In the first movie, this cankerous old man bitterly tries to destroy his new neighbor Jean de Florette (Depardieu). His dastardly deeds do destroy Depardieu.

Why does Cesar Soubeyran (Yves Montand) want to destroy de Florette? Because he is the son of his past lover . . . a woman he was so sure he would marry after the war. He hates this man with a passion because it is the son of another man with the woman that should have been his. In addition, he mocks de Florette with his obvious physical deformaties.

In the end, when he is gloating over the destruction of de Florette, he speaks with an older woman from the villa. In this discussion, he mutters about the betrayal of his sweetheart. She in return questions why he is so cruel when his sweetheart begged for him to return to her in a letter during the war. She had written to him because she found out she was pregnant and wanted to know if he would claim her as his wife. If he felt that she was not the one, he could just not reply back.

Now, I hate communications like this. I don't care if the answer is a no. There should be no assumptions. Answers should be replied, Yes or No. Then you definitely know what the answer is to your question. Well, this is the classic scenario where the letter never made it to Cesar Soubeyran. So the woman had no choice but to marry another man to save her reputation. She tried to abort by hurting herself. It didn't cause a miscarriage; it only deformed the baby.

So now Cesar Soubeyran knows, that the woman he loved was lost due to a missing letter. And his bitterness and revenge only kills his son. The revelation almost does him in. And then they end the movie. Of course this is a French movie. No Happy Ending!

In part two, Manon, daughter of de Florette and granddaughter of Cesar Soubeyran returns to the property her father purchased. Ms. Beart does an excellent job of ignoring and deflecting any friendship that Cesar Soubeyran strives to create between the two. She only sees him as the man that killed her father. The hatred in her eyes shines through at the beginning of the movie. She is determined to right the wrong done to her father.

This is a sad story of miscommunication and a family fueled by hatred, revenge, misunderstanding and tragedy. At the end of the these two movies, it makes me glad that I don't have familial relationships like this. I do recommend both movies for the emotions it pulls from a person. The glee, outrage, disbelief, angry and then great sadness is a whirlwind of a ride.

Le Château de Ma Mère ~ My Mother's Castle (1990) ***

Le Château de Ma Mère . . . something about French titles just gives me a shiver of pleasure. I love saying this title too. I picked this movie just because the title was cute and it was in French. I was going through a French stage.

According to Netflex:

This film based on the humorous best-selling memoirs of French novelist and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol highlights the alluring, magical country life of turn-of-the-century Provence. Young Marcel's mother longs for the tranquility of Bastide Neuve after spending a summer holiday there and encourages her family to make the 9-mile trek on foot. They try to shorten the journey by cutting across a private estate, which lands them in a bit of trouble.

Length:99 minutes
Director:
Yves Robert
Cast:
Philippe Caubere
Nathalie Roussel
Didier Pain
Therese Liotard
Julien Ciamaca
Victorien Delamare
Joris Molinas
Julie Timmerman
Paul Crauchet

This movie was very cute. The weekend trips to their cottage in the country side tells me that city people always want a getaway in the countryside, no matter which country. I say this because in Michigan, there are people who every weekend in the spring, summer, fall, do their best to go up "North" for the weekend. And they tried their darnedest to get out of work early on Friday and try any shortcut that no one else has found to get to their coveted cabin. It's rather amusing. I guess I don't have that mentality because I love being in my home. I try to make my home my refuge and retreat away from the world.

Then again, I live in a decent size ranch home with a full finished basement. So I have plenty of room to relax. Those in the city, it does get rather claustrophobic with their small flats. Anyway, this movie is from a boy's perspective of his trips out to the countryside. Each week, is an anxiety stricken trip to get through the shortcut and to the ultimate destination of their lovely cottage. While the trip is fun for the kids, the parents are nervous because they are trespassing. After doing it for so long, they get a bit relaxed and comfortable. Then they get caught and have to turn around when they are SO close to their destination and have to go all the way back and take the long way. This causes the mother much grief.

I found it highly entertaining. The ending where the young boy has grown up and actually purchased the property where the trespassing was forbidden was a nice closure. And of course, the grand property is Le Château de Ma Mère. I recommend watching this movie on a relaxing Sunday afternoon. One of the few non-tragic French movies that I have watched.

Tous Les Matins Du Monde ***

Tous Les Matin Du Monde . . . this just rolls off the tongue. All the mornings in the World; it just doesn't have the same ring, does it? I watched this movie not long after I watched Camille Claudel. I think I watched it for Gerard Depardieu. He was on my hit list for males who should be tortured a horribly long time for being so evil when he played Rodin.

According to Netflix, the story goes as follows:

Racked with grief after his wife's untimely death, gifted viola da gamba player Monsieur de Sainte Colombe (Jean-Pierre Marielle) moves into a small house in his garden to keep himself and his two young daughters (Anne Brochet and Carole Richert) safe from the outside world. But their solitude is broken when a young musician comes calling (played by Gerard Depardieu's son, Guillaume, and later by Depardieu himself) in search of a lesson.

Length:105 minutes

Director:
Alain Corneau
Cast:
Gérard Depardieu
Jean-Pierre Marielle
Guillaume Depardieu
Anne Brochet
Carole Richert
Michel Bouquet
Jean-Claude Dreyfus
Myriam Boyer
Yves Lambrecht
Philippe Duclos

Right . . . I am not sure exactly why they present the movie in this manner. Others may have watched this movie and walked away with a story about a musican who vied for the King's attention. A musician who wanted to be better than his potential and went to find a teacher to help him become better. And this young man was treated poorly by this master musican and then had an affair with the master musician's daughter. Right . . .

Obviously, I did not come away with that story. For me, the theme was once again how women are caught up in the middle of men's self centered goals. Madeline (Anne Brochet) is an amazingly gifted musician. I can't remember if it is the viola or the violin. She and her sister live with their grief stricken widower father. Madeline makes the mistake of falling for a shallow, fame seeking Marin.

Marin only wants to steal from the master musician Sainte Colombe. And he does. He steals his musical creations; he steals his daughter; he steals her life. The self serving b@$!@>& is tossed out by Sainte Colombe. Does Marin ever one why he was tossed out? No, he just feels it is unjustified. And Madeline, yet another young woman foolishly following her heart, throws away her life to help a Marin who is an ungrateful greedy SOB. She betrays her father by teaching Marin. Then she falls for him and gets pregnant! Of all the dumbest things to do.

This whole time, Marin professes his love and devotion. He shallowness is evident when he lets his undeserved fame get to his head. He tosses Madeline aside like yesterday's rubbish. He heartlessly shatters her heart. Grief stricken, she kills herself. What does Marin then learn? He lesson was the Saint Colombe was right! Marin was not a true musician. He then spends THREE years hiding and waiting to hear Saint Colombe play again so that he could once again steal from the master musician. No thought for the disaster he has caused.

When I first saw the movie, I was so angry that yet another bright shining star was snuffed out. And specifically snuffed out in a Male dominating/destroying/desecrating a Female scenario. It once again confirmed my believe that males are inherently evil and will never treat a female as a partner or even as a cherished loved one. (See my femi-nazi side showing? Did I mention I had recently broken up with my boyfriend and he was very unhappy that I scored higher on standardized test than him and was accepted at better colleges?)

When I look back at it now, I see that while the male was definitely a jerk, the female enabled him. Her weakness for him undermined her. She could have not killed herself. She could have striven to show him how much better she was than him and gone to court herself and taken up the spot he so cherished. That would have been vengeance that I could appreciate. For hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Un Coeur en Hiver (1992) ~ A Heart in Winter ****

This was probably my fourth French movie. Up until then, I had only watched Chinese saga movies. Those dramas were long and rather confusing. Once I left home, I was able to test out experiences that I could not find at home.

I watched this because of Emmanuelle Béart. I first saw her in Manon du Source and fell in love with her classic beauty. Until her, I did not realize that there really were women quite that arresting in looks. When I think of the phase, "A face that launched a thousand ships", I think of Ms. Béart. Sure there are models galore that are supposed to be beautiful. They were all just 2 dimensional faceless mannequins that I could care less about. Watching the emotions and expressions of Ms. Béart flit across her countenance, I could not help being drawn into her characters.

Summary According to Netfix:

Sexual tension flares and fizzles in this subtle French drama set in the confines of a violin shop. Stephane (Daniel Auteuil), the chief instrument builder, is so committed to his work that he barely notices the beautiful young violinist (Emmanuelle Beart) who's sharing a bed with his business partner, Maxime (Andre Dussollier). Problems arise, however, when she aims her passions at Stephane's cold heart.

Length:
101 minutes

Director:
Claude Sautet
Cast:
Daniel Auteuil
Emmanuelle Béart
Andre Dussollier
Elisabeth Bourgine
Brigitte Catillon
Myriam Boyer
Jean-Claude Bouillaud
Stanislas Carre de Malberg

This movie was yet another one I watched in my militant feminist college years. I must admit that this movie probably didn't help the men in my life. Watching this when dating a male who was obviously older, yet definitely less than I in ambition, motivation and perhaps potential, the feelings I felt after watching Un Coeur en Hiver was rather detrimental to Edmund (my then bf).
Where to begin? Although this movie was ranked only as a 4 star for me, it touched me in such a way that I named my blog after the movie. Was it because I bonded with Ms. Béart's character or was it because I felt like Stephane, the violin maker? Honestly, it is probably a little of both.

What was it about this movie that spoke to me so? At the time, I believe it was the rage I felt for a woman so talented with a great future ahead of her, and she throws it all away on a male who could care less. It was obvious that the violinist was going places. And yet she messes it up by entangling herself with a man who was not worthy of her attention. Stephane was a true workaholic. He loved his job so much that it exclude everything else.

Sure Stephane would release his sexual needs on Camille (Béart) whenever he could. She was just a convenient hole to him. Harsh, but my interpretation as a militant 19 year old feminist. My anger was directed at him for not welcoming and wanting to partner with her. How could he get her emotions so tangled that she starts to lose it all? Really, he is the heart in winter. Watching the movie made me determined to be un coeur en hiver so that I would never be as devastated as Camille. No man would destroy my career ambitions or bring me down ever again. (Hence the first ex-bf)

As I look back and watch the movie again years later, I see quite a bit more, having experienced life and (gone through quite a few more males). The fault lays with both. The affair should never had occurred, and perhaps a friendship may have bloomed and stayed. To watch the heartache Camille went through and the high ups and downs, it reminds me that youth enjoys these roller coasters that are not as desirable later in life. Camille's lover Maxime is not the ideal partner either, but at least he tries to be a partner.

It does make me wonder about women who are so driven. What is about us that likes the bad boys badly enough to be burned time and time again? It is almost as if these women purposely sabotage themselves with horrid relationships that only bring the worst out in them.

I recommend this movie to all my fellow sisters who have ambition to do well . . . let this be an example of how easily it would be to fall off the ledge.

Camille Claudel (1989) ~ *****

Camille Claudel, the one that started it all! WARNING: This movie should be watched only if one is very depressed. Happy people should not watch this movie.

Synopsis from Netflix:

The talent and ambition of French sculptor Camille Claudel (Isabelle Adjani) catch the attention of legendary sculptor Auguste Rodin (Gérard Depardieu) in this passionate biographical drama. Claudel abandons her work to assist the womanizing Rodin, becoming his muse and his lover. When the affair ends disastrously, Claudel spins into an emotional turmoil that eventually sends her spiraling toward madness.

Length:
159 minutes
Director:
Bruno Nuytten
Cast:
Gérard Depardieu

Isabelle Adjani

Daniele Lebrun

My first sighting of Isabelle Adjani was in Camille Claudel. Just saying her name brings a smile to my face. I had never seen an actress before who had real dark hair and vivid blue eyes. The combination is traffic stopping. I never knew what milk white skin meant until I laid eyes on Ms. Adjani. Her beauty surpasses all other women I had seen to date. Granted, I was only 18; still this was beauty that I have never seen before and have been hard pressed to spot again.

The beginning of this movie we see a very young and radiant sculptress, Camille. She is talented and loved by her father. Loved so much, that he pays no attention to his younger son and daughter. Camille is a willful woman who wants to create beauty with her hands. And create she does. Then she meets Rodin (SOB, B@$T@RD, &^^%$#@! - you get the picture).

Rodin is portrayed as an aging Sculptor who takes on students who have a gift. Prior to this movie, I liked Rodin's work. Let's just say after this movie, I wanted to destroy all of his "supposed" work. The movie takes us on a terrible downhill slide as Camille's innocence is perverted and destroyed by her mentor, Rodin.

In the beginning, Camille is dressed in simple and comely outfits. Her hair shines lustrously ebony. Her face is without cosmetic. As the movie progresses, she looks a bit worse for the wear, still it looks good on her. She has been creating master pieces that even I, no art critic can recognize. As her disastrous affair with Rodin continues, we start to see how Rodin abuses his role of authority. As a teacher, instead of nurturing his student, he debases her and uses her work as his. He fucks her mindlessly. He tells her wonderful thing as he is stabbing daggers in into her back, slowly and painfully. His sweet words cover his vicious actions.

Camille's loving and devoted father is helpless to stop the corruption of his daughter. Her mother only alienates Camille more pointing out her foolishness. Camille's family struggle to bring her back from the brink. With the death of her father, Rodin's influence worsens. Camille's desire for a man's acceptance and approval is her ultimate undoing.

In the end, Camille is no longer the doe eyed ingenue. Instead, she is wearing ill fitting ripped clothes and covers her face in clownish white powder. Her mind is quite broken as is her spirit. Rodin successfully soils her and voraciously strips her of her dignity, creativity and confidence. Even Camille's younger brother has difficulty recognizing her. Camille's vacant stare and embarrassing behaviour leaves her younger brother no choice, but to commit her to an insane asylum ~ a prison which only tortures her to death.

The lesson I learned from this movie is to never be close with a male who has power or authority above me. The male will fear a female's natural ability and do their best to undermine it and desecrate her mind, body and soul. This movie put another nail in the coffin for me to be a man hating feminist. It took me over a decade to get over the fear.