Belle de Jour (1995)

Too much of everything

People are voting emotionally.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Catherine Deneuve is perfectly cast as a frigid, rich, bored wife who decides to explore her carnal urges by sidelining as a prostitute in this deceptively straight forward film by Luis Bunuel.Deneuve plays Severine, who loves her husband but can't open herself to him sexually. Brief flashbacks hint at traumas in her past which may contribute to her struggles as an adult. In any case, she's turned on by the idea of servicing men for pay, which she does under the tutelage of Madame Anais, who runs a tasteful brothel in the city. Whether this little experiment of Severine's is a success or not is left ambiguous. Taken literally, the film suggests that Severine is liberated by being allowed to explore her sexuality with strangers and therefore becomes a better wife in the process. But Severine is an unreliable narrator, and in typical Bunuel style, the film blends fantasy with reality to the point where we don't know where one ends and the other begins. Is Severine drawn to prostitution as a way to take control over something that scares her? Or is she punishing herself in a way for things that have happened to her in the past, as is typical in many who have been sexually abused? Bunuel himself has said that he isn't really sure how his own movie ends, so how are we supposed to? But it doesn't matter. The point isn't the ending, but rather the psychic exploration of a woman who on the surface is dull as dishwater but who internally harbors a rich and complicated personality.Grade: A

You know, had this dreary "whore-by-day-good-little-wife-by-night" story (from 1967) been directed by an American film-maker, instead of a foreigner, then, to be sure, its puzzling reputation of being lauded as a cinematic "masterpiece" wouldn't have endured, as it has, for 50 years now. No. It wouldn't.Believe me - Belle de Jour's story about a frigid, empty-headed woman's walk-on-the-wild-side certainly had some promising potential - But, when put into the incompetent hands of that over-rated, hack-director, Luis Bunuel - It was the driest, most antiseptic look at whoredom that you could ever imagine possible.And, speaking about the gorgeous, 24-year-old actress, Catherine Deneuve as the Severine/Belle de Jour character - (Me-oh-my!) - If only this vacuous beauty could have acted even half a good as she looked, then, yes, this agonizingly dismal picture might have actually been elevated into something worth tolerating.

A frigid young housewife (Catherine Deneuve) decides to spend her midweek afternoons as a prostitute.Catherine Deneuve is one of the European greats. Americans (myself included) are not familiar with many foreign actors or actresses, but she is one that was able to break through into our world, and without even having to speak English (though that often helps). She is as good here as in anything she has done.Being a Bunuel film, it is a bit surreal, a bit odd. The story is more or less straightforward, except that various scenes blend fantasy and reality, dream and real life. Not as strange as some of his stuff, but still odd enough. The man with the box is especially interesting, and one cannot help but wonder if it inspired Tarantino. Surely, it must have.

Belle de Jour (1967): Dir: Luis Bunuel / Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, Genevieve Page, Michael Piccoli, Pierre Clementi: Rousing erotic masterpiece that takes the whole idea of secret lifestyles and prostitution from its common place during the night hours and places it within the midst of day. Catherine Deneuve stars as the delusional housewife of a wealthy surgeon whom she is unable to commit herself sexually. She has submissive fantasies such as being tied up or being plastered with mud. She eventually discovers a brothel where she embarks upon erotic sexual play with males of all class and race. She is reluctant yet curious. What is interesting is the world she now inhabits and the dangers that accompany it. Insightful directing by Luis Bunuel who previously directed Deneuve in Tristana. Deneuve is compelling as she descends into fantasy not realizing the dangers or consequences. Jean Sorel as her husband accepts her unwilling sexual nature yet becomes the victim of her double life. Genevieve Page plays the brothel head who makes the demands yet accepts her willingness to leave. Michael Piccoli plays a blackmailing friend of her husband's who introduced her to the brothel until having second thoughts. Pierre Clementi plays the obsessive young gangster who desires more than a kinky afternoon delight. Brilliantly crafted examination of brothels and the women who inhabit them. Score: 10 / 10