Béatrice Romand in Rohmer's "Le Beau Mariage" [1982 France]

Here's your typical Eric Rohmer. "Le Beau Mariage" [Eng. Title: A Good Marriage] is a charming little comedy about a young woman's desperate quest for social mobility. Rohmer gently pokes fun at society's obsession with idealised myths, a perfect marriage in this instance, using the female protagonist as the butt of his jokes. What makes it engaging and a pleasure to watch is the beautifully structured screenplay, the almost perfect shot selection, and the dialogues laced with Rohmer's customary dry wit. Every single frame in the film is absolutely essential - the editing is that good. This post is merely an excuse to get across that point to anyone who would care to listen, there otherwise being very little need to talk about nudity in the film. A superb comedy from a French master, this late Nouvelle Vague gem is Highly Recommended Viewing..!

Amazon DVD Link

(a good deal going at the time of this post)

Storyline:

Sabine is fed up being a married man's mistress, she now wants to have an ideal marriage and get settled. Seems like a good idea, only she needs to find a suitor first. Enter Sabine's best friend Clarisse, the one she subconsciously tries to emulate. Suburban Clarisse is married and self employed by doing what she likes best, handicrafts. Despite Clarisse's worldly advise, Sabine is determined to seduce and marry the 'ideal' husband when she sees one. She finds the idea of marrying Clarisse's Parisian cousin Edmond appealing, and decides to pursue him vigorously, even as it becomes clear to us that he's not remotely interested in getting married, least of all to Sabine. But she is confident of her charms and chases him despite becoming increasingly aware that she herself might not be in love with him after all. It takes some plain talking from Edmond to bring Sabine back to her senses. The teasing ending is probably the best I've seen in a little while, as we see a resourceful Sabine get back on her feet after such an embarrassing fall from grace in front of Edmond. The film stars Rohmer regulars Béatrice Romand as Sabine, and the utterly delightful Arielle Dombasle as Clarisse.

Scene: Béatrice Romand

In the only brief nude scene in the film, we see Sabine walk off the bed when lover Simon gets a call from his wife and children in the middle of the night. It is then that Sabine decides to find herself a husband of her own and get settled, much to the annoyance of Simon. Béatrice Romand who plays Sabine has shown more in other films than this dinky little scene, notably the classic "Themroc" which as far as I know has never been released on DVD.

.

Isabelle Adjani & co in "L'Été Meurtrier" [1983 France]

I'm not sufficiently acquainted with the work of Jean Becker to comment here yet, but of the ones I've seen, his relatively recent film "Dialogue avec mon Jardinier" remains my favourite. His 1983 film, "L'Été Meurtrier" [Eng. Title: One Deadly Summer] is a mystery drama, which becomes apparent only around the halfway mark. It draws on elements across diverse genres - comedy, family, erotica, exploitation, and revenge, to name a few. But what's outstanding on the part of Becker is the manner in which he put them all together without making the film look incoherent, thanks to a fine screenplay (interestingly using characters to narrate parts of their story in background), crisp editing, and some excellent performances by the lead actors.

Notably that of Isabelle Adjani, truly one of the most beautiful and talented actresses in cinema. Record holder of the most César Awards won by an actress, she's a quintessentially French icon forged from Algerian and German parentage - how exotic is that! And ironic too, considering the heated debate as ever on immigration in the current French Presidential campaign. Ms. Adjani won a César for this film too, her second of five to date, playing a disturbed nineteen year old looking for revenge. What she brings to the screen cannot be directed, it had to come from within. But fortuitous though it might be, it required a director of Becker's class to capture that performance in the best possible manner to help narrate his story. Which he does admirably. Needless to say, Recommended Viewing..!

Amazon.fr DVD Link
(Having purchased two other editions prior to the one above, I wouldn't recommend anything else.)




Storyline:
Set in the 1970's, Eliane is the local village belle somewhere in the south of France. She arrived with her parents when little, and with rumours about their history floating, the village-folk have always looked down upon her family. But that doesn't get in the way Eliane's determination to become the most desired woman around, and she succeeds easily. But beyond her winning looks, she has a burning urge to seek revenge on the people responsible for her mother's rape (and her resultant birth). She feels her very existence is based on a violent act and this is her way of coming to terms with it. After learning of a piano in the household of local mechanic and part-time fireman Florimondo aka 'Pin-Pon', she thinks she had discovered one of the perpetrators. She sets her cross-hair on Florimondo, his son, and wins him over in no time before moving into his family home, even getting married. But things take an unexpected turn, and ALL is not what they seemed at the beginning...




Compilation: Virginie Vignon, Isabelle Adjani, Maria Machado, and Evelyne Didi
Some of the scenes reviewed don't contain nudity, but they're amusing, sexy, and broadly in keeping with the blog's theme. Certainly interesting nevertheless..!


Scene Guide:

• Florimondo sometimes comes for a 'late show' at the local cinema with the owner's wife. The naughty woman is played by Virginie Vignon.
• No nudity - village belle Eliane sure is one heck of a crowd head-turner, Florimondo merely being one among them. Eliane of course, is played by the incredibly talented and alluring (even if a tad skinny in this film) Isabelle Adjani.
• Thanks to some help from his younger brother, Florimondo manages to tag along with Elaine for a drink at a travelling dance club, but her attitude and swagger keeps throwing him off - she's just too hot for him to handle and the frustrated chap excuses himself soon after.
• After learning about the disused piano from his brother, Eliane becomes suddenly interested in Florimondo and asks him out on a date, also getting his suggestions on the best dress to wear.
• After spending the night with Florimondo at the barn, she wakes up early to look for the piano. Still in the nude, she walks outside to catch his mother's eye glaring at her. Now is Eliane bothered - hardly..!
• This is one of the few scenes that don't succeed in serving their purpose. The following morning, Eliane returns home depressed and seeks comfort in mother Paula's arms. This is supposed to be a tender moment of mother-daughter bonding when Eliane is suckled by her mother, but for me at least, it misfires grandly, given that Eliane doesn't exhibit this side of her nature anywhere else in the film. Far from it - she revels in her sexual prowess throughout.
• Brothers tease Florimondo as he gets busy with Eliane.
• No nudity but funny - Florimondo introduces Eliane to his family. His mother could barely conceal her contempt for her, and pointing at something Eliane was holding, asks what she'd already taken from the house. A defiant Eliane waves what she's been holding - her 'culotte' - apparently she doesn't wear them for longer than a day. Florimondo uses this moment to tell his mum that Eliane is moving in - oh, talk about timing..! :-)
• Eliane assures Florimondo that she won't forget to wear her knickers in future.
• But she needs to bathe now and there's not enough space in her room for her bathtub. Cue for another funny scene as Florimondo's mother and aunt have to now put up with Eliane's brash and naked presence in the kitchen.
• The film takes a dark turn while recounting the brutal rape of Eliane's mother many years ago. The scene comes out of the blue when you least expect it - it is disturbing, and positively shocking. Eliane's mother Paula is played by Maria Machado.
• Calamité is obviously besotted by Eliane, her erstwhile student. She'd do anything for a passionate kiss from her. Eliane knows that too well, and uses it to her advantage - her putty in her hands. At a restaurant, she challenges Calamité to remove her bra behind her transparent shirt, and she complies, claiming her reward in the car on their way back. Calamité is played by Evelyne Didi.
• Eliane is about to get married after claiming she's pregnant, here she's trying out stuff with her seamstress mom.
• Eliane visits a timber merchant at a nearby town believing him to be her 'father', and the man, not knowing who she is, instantly falls under her spell. He just can't take his eyes nor hands off her.
• When Eliane nonchalantly admits that she might indeed not be pregnant, a furious Florimondo lashes at her, and family arrive to help.
• He pleads her not to hide things from him. Eliane assures him it is he she loves, and that he needn't be too worried by her eccentric behaviour.

.

Alexandra Stewart & Cathryn Harrison in Louis Malle's "Black Moon" [1975 France, W.Germany]

During the time when Nouvelle Vague was in full flow, there was a French director who wasn't formally part of it, and yet explored cinema in his own unique way. Louis Malle started in film as a cameraman, and his evolution didn't stop with becoming a director - even as a successful director, he was always experimenting with new ways of telling stories just as he was exploring human nature through cinema. His can reasonably be considered one of the most varied body of work in film. While I have yet to discover many of his earlier classics, from what I've seen, his filmography is replete with controversial subject matter, sometimes also p*ssing off various governments for one reason or another. But they're all (the films, I mean) beautiful works - melancholic, filled with an air of foreboding, and deeply personal. While Malle also made films in the US, I hope to mainly focus on his European works in this blog.

"Black Moon" was one of his later films that his conventional fans might even consider an anomaly. Here we see Malle exploring the fairytale-fantasy genre and mixing it with modern-day politics and nightmares. Not only that - a life-long Indophile, he recreates imagery inspired from Indian folklore and rural life, and fuses it with Nordic/Gaelic symbolism to take us on a trippy journey - this is Alice in Wonderland after waking up from a night of rave, all in Malle's subdued style of course..! :-)

Human supremacy over the world is supposedly coming to an end as there's a war of all wars going on - between men and women. We see the world literally returned back to nature as husband executes wife, and sister slashes brother. Pubescent Lily, poorly disguised as a man, is ducking and weaving through gunfire to reach safety. Her less-frequented path leads to a dead-end. And a portly little unicorn! And some naked little urchins chasing a big fat pig, and soon a villa (Loius Malle's own home) inhabited by a bedridden old lady listening to her wireless set and talking to her rat called Humphrey. She seems to be looked after by a brother-sister duo - Lily, and Lily (no its not typo). This is just the first fifteen minutes of the film, and a lot more's coming your way..!

The film is visually stunning, thanks to the chilled out direction, Bergman-regular Sven Nykvist's magnificent cinematography, and the exquisite lighting where some of the compositions are like classical paintings. Music is used sparingly, and to telling effect. There's plenty of humour too, as young Lily tries to make sense of what's going on around her. Some feel it is a surreal coming-of-age film, some think it is political statement, some think this is just plain lunacy. But whatever you think, this film is one fascinating experience that you'll never forget easily. Even after several years. Needless to say, Highly Recommended Viewing..!

Amazon DVD Box-set Link
Superb value for money - the box-set from which this compilation was made also includes some of his other late classics, and my favourite, "Au revoir les enfants". 



 

Compilation: Alexandra Stewart and Cathryn Harrison
Made from several blog-related scenes, it features a striking Alexandra Stewart (she also bore a child through Louis Malle) who plays Lily, the sister, and a charming fifteen year old Catherine Harrison (granddaughter of Rex Harrison) who plays young Lily the refugee. The rest of the cast includes veteran German stage actress Therese Giehse who plays the old lady - her last work and to whom the film's also dedicated to, and Warhol-regular Joe Dallesandro. The dialogues are in English which require no further explanation.








.

Brigitte Bardot in Jean-Luc Godard's "Le Mépris" BR720 [1963, France, Italy]

It's Nouvelle Vague time..!

Jean-Luc Godard had wanted to do a film with Brigitte Bardot for a while, and when his first choice actress Kim Novak turned down the role for his new Franco-Italian production "Le Mépris" [Eng. Title: Contempt], an opportunity presented itself for his wish to come true. Brigitte Bardot was after all the most sought after among sex kittens by auteur directors, undoubtedly the best actress among her kind.

Brigitte Bardot was already a seasoned actress with a decade's experience under spotlight and a world celebrity, while Godard wasn't yet widely known beyond French New Wave devotees and of course his home country. This film would make him more widely known, not so much for its artistic merit, as discerning as it might be, but for Mlle. Bardot's presence in it, in colour, in CinemaScope, and occasionally in the buff to top it all up - who says nudity can't sell! Ironically Godard hated the novel and the script and couldn't wait to get the film out of the way. That doesn't mean he didn't bother to apply his genius, rest assured no detail was spared, expenses included - after all the film also stars none other than one of the granddads of cinema, the German-born director Fritz Lang (remember Metropolis) - Godard certainly can't be seen to be slacking here - and that's some pressure! As it turned out, while this may not be Godard's finest film (oh I hated the story too), it is interesting nevertheless because it's something totally different from his otherwise avant garde filmography - we get to see him making a mainstream film at last. But that doesn't mean he foregoes his trademark symbolism - far from it - it's there in many a nook and corner if you care to look for it, right from the compositions to the colour palette, the seemingly pointless musings which can initially go past your head but return with vengeance upon reflection, and his ironic sense of humour. It is a fine, stylish film in its own right, even if it's an atypical 'Godard'. Those who've yet to get acquainted with his work can easily start here, and those who have, can see a different side of him here. Needless to say, Highly Recommended Viewing..!

Storyline:
Playwright Paul (Michel Piccoli) has been commissioned to write the script for Hollywood producer Jeremy (Jack Palance) halfway through making his cinematic version of Homer's Odyssey. The film is directed by Fritz Lang (as himself) and Jeremy isn't liking the way it is shaping up. But when they meet, Jeremy couldn't help noticing Paul's attractive wife Camille (Briggite Bardot), and the rich and powerful magnate tries everything at his disposal to entice her. When Paul pretends not to notice Jeremy's infatuation for his wife and tacitly even encourages Camille to accompany Jeremy when asked, a rift opens in the husband-wife relationship. Paul only hoped it would placate Jeremy and enable him to complete the juicy project which could potentially pay off his mortgage, but he never envisioned this could lead to Camille loathing and wanting to leave him. For the best part of the film, the couple are arguing and hurting each other verbally as their relationship breaks apart in front of our eyes. The idealist Paul begins to equate the protagonist of the film he's writing - Ulysses - as someone like himself, forced to wander the Aegean for ten years even after the battle had ended. According to his theory, Ulysses avoided returning to Penelope because she had already stopped loving him before he originally set sail...

Even though I own the DVD which would suit Godard fans the most for its generous interview extras, I also recommend the recent Blu-ray release of this film - sunny Capri from the 60's and gorgeous Bardot's curves come out in striking detail in this exceedingly well restored version.

Amazon Blu-ray Link




Compilation: Brigitte Bardot and Linda Veras



Scene Guide:

• The film practically starts with a naked Camille asking Paul for reassurance that he really liked her various body parts. It is a silly lengthy scene probably inserted at the insistence of the film's financiers - an excuse to show Brigget Bardot who plays Camille in the nude...
• A bemused Jeremy watches some takes by Lang for his film - this is the scene of a mermaid apparently enticing sailors to their doom at sea. The Sirena is reportedly played by Linda Veras (according to IMDB).
• Snippets from various little scenes - of a long and protruded argument between Paul and Camille, first at their home, and later at Jeremy's villa by the sea. Towards the end, Camille swims off bidding Paul farewell, that leaves Paul devastated.

.

Arielle Dombasle & co in "Pauline à la Plage" [1983 France]

The great Eric Rohmer took a while getting into directing films, and has since been a bit of an enigma. He finds himself in the pantheon of the Nouvelle Vague, but is quite unlike his peers in terms of defining for himself a trademark style - even the very approachable François Truffaut has a distinct style. In contrast Rohmer's films are unassumingly straightforward, charming and witty even, without any distinct embellishment save his innate sense of morality, but there's no mistaking his great eye for cinema and an incredibly deep insight into human nature if you care to peel back a few layers. This becomes evident through the viewing experience - and I shall use the film of another equally enigmatic director to illustrate - Jacques Rivette's "La Belle Noiseuse" - what we experience watching Rohmer's films can be roughly equated to what the artist Frenhofer goes through while working on his painting - as it becomes evident, what he ends up creating is not as important (or relevant even) as his experience in the process. The fact that Rohmer can neither be pigeon-holed nor defined in material terms despite having won worldwide acclaim and produced several timeless classics speak volumes of his artistry. For those interested in a more informed reading on Éric Rohmer however, check out this interesting website dedicated to New Wave Cinema.

I shall start with a delightful little comedy from around the middle of his career, "Pauline à la Plage" [Eng. Title: Pauline at the Beach], a film whose idea originated way back in the 1950's in a heavily thumbed notebook that Rohmer enthusiastically waves to the camera in the DVD interview. It is also one of Rohmer's personal favourites (and mine too), and therefore a fitting start to his filmography in the blog.

Storyline:
Set in a sunny northern coastal town, the film observes the coming of age of adolescent Pauline amidst the antics of her much older cousin Marión and the other adult men they encounter. They're on holiday and a recently separated Marión had been asked to be the minder of precocious, intelligent, and inquisitive Pauline. We see them drawing attention from prospective suitors, falling in love, being betrayed, getting confused, and moving on in this comedy of errors. Towards the end, it is Pauline, belying her tender years that comes through as the most mature of the lot.

Despite the fact that the actress playing Pauline was barely sixteen when the film was made, I've chosen to post the compilation because the film is such a beautiful piece of cinema, one that all members of my family, young and old have watched and enjoyed. Beautiful French icon Arielle Dombasle who plays Marión was in her stunning prime, and Amanda Langlet is adorable and incredibly cute as the young Pauline in the verge of becoming an adult. The screenplay and characterisation is flawless, as is the visually arresting cinematography and the charming direction. Needless to say, Highly Recommended Viewing..!

I've cut my compilation from my Eric Rohmer Collection box set, which includes a must-see interview with the great man, and also a radio interview with English subtitles. But for those who want to purchase the film separately, I'm not sure if there are any extras, but here's a link anyway.

Amazon DVD Link




Compilation: Arielle Dombasle, Amanda Langlet, and Rosette



Scene Guide:

• Marión meets up with an old friend Pierre, and introduces him to cousin Pauline. Marión is played by the sexy Arielle Dombasle, and Pauline by the adorable Amanda Langlet.
• But soon they befriend Henri, a serial womaniser unbeknown to them, and Marión ends up inviting him to bed.
• Local lad Sylvain sets his sights on Pauline, and Henri more or less encourages their contact as he feels it's about time she had her cherry picked. Marión sees them in the act and leaves shocked.
• Henri with Marión.
• Pierre notices local loose girl and peanut vendor Louisette frolicking naked in Henri's bathroom and assumes the obvious. Louisette is played by foxy Rosette.
• When Marión drops by Henri's house unexpectedly, Sylvain sounds off the alarm and is pushed into the bedroom along with Louisette.
• Pauline comes looking for Marión at Henri's house when she learns Sylvain had been fooling around with Louisette.

.