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.

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.