Perfect Love (1996)

Just perfect...

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Blistering performances.

Having admired some of Catherine Breillat's films, and not ever having seen this movie, we decided to watch the DVD. The transfer to this format has a washed out look, and not having seen the original copy, we can't determine whether it was done on purpose, or just that it was a bad process that was used. In any case, it appears not many people have seen this movie at all. I doubt if it was released commercially in this country.The beginning of the film says it all. Since we already know what happened, our interest is somehow dampened by what one realizes will follow. The only shocking thing going for the film is the romance between Frederique, a woman in her late thirties and Christophe, a much younger man. That said, the film is too talky for its own good.Ms. Breillat fills the movie with interminable scenes where Frederique and Christophe are seen in bed talking and drinking Coke. The other issue is Christophe's sexual duality, something that Philippe, his bad-mouthed friend has no problems explaining his sexual escapades to a would be shocked Frederique, who is in fact bored with the whole thing. To say the couple's relationship is ruined by jealousy and recriminations is to make it better than what it really is.The best thing in the film is Isabelle Renauld, who plays Frederique with great conviction. Her character, an eye specialist, seems to be completely the opposite of the man she falls for, yet who can deny that it happens in real life? Francis Renaud is Christophe, who is at times lovable, and irritating. Alain Soral is seen as Philippe.After watching this moody film, the viewer might wonder what made him watch it in the first place.

Another frank depiction of sexual obsession from Breillat which, despite several instances of full frontal nudity, is not particularly graphic until a short orgy sequence in the film's latter stages. While the film is rather long and talky, it is also surprisingly compelling, aided considerably by its two excellent central performances, particularly Isabelle Renauld's; its semi-documentary/flashback framework, then, leads to a shocking, inevitable finale. Having a relationship with a beautiful, mature woman is every young man's dream and, for a while, Francis Renaud lives it but before long, his unwillingness to let go of his chauvinistic male friends (who are prone to graphically describe their sexual prowess in front of his female companion) and seriously commit to his relationship is too heavy a burden for them both; ironically, it is Renaud's attempt at taking on the role of father-figure (by taking an interest in Renauld's teenage girl) which triggers off the differences between them and which keep escalating as the film goes along. Out of the three films I've watched so far from this interesting and controversial French film-maker, this is certainly the best so far and I'm looking forward to catching more of her work in the future. Luckily, I've managed to convince my pal at the local DVD rental store to add the Criterion DVD edition of Breillat's A' MA SOEUR! (2001) to his already impressive library...

"Perfect Love", an intentional misnomer, opens with a man showing police detectives how he murdered a woman. The film then flashes back to the beginning of his relationship with the victim, his lover, a beautiful ophthalmologist. The remainder and bulk of the film is dedicated to showing the rise and fall of the couple's relationship from falling in love to the souring differences and it's ultimate and irreversible dissolution. A product of a controversial auteur who is known for her graphic sex scenes, "Perfect Love" falls on the lesser side of her rather uneven body of work. Though the players work well together, the genesis of the relationship is unconvincing and the psychology behind the relationship seemingly preposterous at times. Given subtitles, only two players, very little story arc, a sloth-like pace, and an unconvincing presentation, "Perfect Love" is difficult to recommend. (C)

This is the kind of French movie which makes most of the viewers take to their heels.A bizarre cross between nouvelle vague stuff ("les amants" ,Louis Malle,1958) and post nouvelle vague stuff for diehard highbrows ("la maman et la putain",Jean Eustache,1973) ,this movie has got endless dialogues,mostly in bed where the hero ,a heavy smoker,drinks a lotta coca-cola .Roughly,the first part is the happy phase of the affair with erotism and nudity galore ;then comes the second part,in which the heroine looks like an Edward Albee's character (Martha in " Virginia Woolf") and her lover reveals he does not like sex at all,which is hard to swallow,after all we've seen.The movie is a long flashback ,which tries to dissect a murder.Acting is pretty good,particularly the male lead ,that's the main interest of a sometimes boring story.