BELLE DE JOUR
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1995 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): * 1/2
BELLE DE JOUR is a classic French film from 1967 that has been out of release for a couple of decades. It has recently been rereleased and distributed.
BELLE DE JOUR is by the famous director Luis Bunuel and stars the equally famous Catherine Deneuve as Severine Sevigny. The dashingly handsome Jean Sorel plays her husband, Pierre Serizy. Severine is a frigid wife. She and Pierre sleep in separate twin beds in the same room, but there exists a logical Grand Canyon in her mind between the beds. She has horrible nightmares and daydreams of sadomasochism and other fantasies.
She gets bored with her rich, extremely handsome husband and the life they lead. She turns to prostitution but only between the hours of 2 and 5, hence her pseudonym, Belle de Jour. Her bouts of prostitution again feature S & M which is attempted to be presented as great fun and very playful. For anyone wanting a more serious treatment of prostitution, they should see the excellent, albeit quite depressing, 1986 movie WORKING GIRLS by Lizzie Borden.
Surprise - this prostitution makes her marriage start to work as she starts now getting interested in her husband. I'll let you find out the rest of the story by seeing the movie.
I found the story unbelievable and very dated. I know the critics are going gaga over its rerelease. The party line from them seems to be that Severine is demonstrating her independence and equality. I do not buy it. She looks pretty degraded and unhappy to me even though she does start to smile some toward the end of the film.
I thought the performance of all the actors, most especially that of Deneuve, was wooden. It was as if the director wanted more of a tableaux that a motion picture. To the fans of this show, I say they can have it, I want nothing of it.
BELLE DE JOUR runs 1:40 which, with its loose editing by Louisette Hautecoeur, keep making me want to shout "okay, lets get this scene moving." It is in French, but the English subtitles are easy to follow. It is correctly rated R for sadomasochism. There is little sex and almost no nudity. It would be okay for mature teenagers. I do not recommend the show, but I do give it * 1/2 for attempting to be innovative in its time.
**** = One of the top few films of this or any year. A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = One of the worst films of this or any year. Totally unbearable.
REVIEWED WRITTEN ON: July 27, 1995
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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