Belle de Jour (1967)

Overrated

There was something about the 1960s that brought out a playfulness in filmmakers which allowed them to not have to condescend to audiences and wrap up every little aspect of the film in a neat little bow. When the films' techniques and narrative strengths worked, as in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, Michelangelo Antonioni's Blowup, or Ingmar Bergman's Persona, the result was a great film. When neither worked, the result was a pretentious mess, like Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby or Luis Buñuel's Belle De Jour- his 1967 foray into color film, based upon the same titled novel of Joseph Kessler, released in 1928.
The film has been described as an `erotic masterpiece,' but forty years later one is left with a film that has so little sex in it that it could pass as a PG film if released today, as well as lacking all eros. Mild sex scenes are not, by definition, eros, and it's difficult to believe that anyone watching this film could have been shocked, much less aroused by a single scene in it. Yes, young Catherine Deneuve, as bored bourgeois hausfrau Séverine Serizy, is her typical gorgeous self, but having seen her in several of her later roles, plus her featured role in Roman Polanski's Repulsion, I seriously must question whether she could really act. In Polanski's film, she plays a neurotic, sexually stifled woman who sleepwalks through her descent to murderess, after what was likely a childhood of sexual abuse. Similarly, her character of Séverine was sexually abused (seen through flashbacks, and after which she refuses communion), but unlike the Repulsion heroine/villain, is not repulsed by raw sex, but attracted to the filthy sadomasochistic aspects of it.... Had Bergman made this film it would have been far subtler and better. That Alfred Hitchcock, by contrast, loved this film, says a lot, for his own films were equally dependent upon hamhanded views of sexuality, and most are equally outdated, as well, for that very reason. Apologists for the film claim that it allows viewers to bring their own thoughts and experiences into the film. Well, most films do, so that's not a great argument. Belle De Jour fails for the opposite reason; it lacks a core- emotionally, philosophically, and technically, masquing it all with claims of Surrealism- that label used to cover and alibi for all manner of bad art.
In short, this film does not even walk the walk, and Buñuel is not in a league with such filmmakers as Werner Herzog nor Antonioni, as far as symbolism goes. Belle De Jour may have titillated audiences four decades ago, but today it simply plays out as a wan and silly- as well as poorly wrought, exploration of a dull woman's sexual life, and how that keeps her deluded and miserable. One need not pay to see such, when a trip to the local supermarket can give you dozens of more interesting female subjects to choose from.
September 8, 2008

Great movie but get the Region 2 DVD, it's worth it!

I've seen both versions and although I have to watch my Region 2 DVD on my computer (all you need is to download a program like AnyDVD that allows you to watch other region DVDs), it's worth it. 16:9 anamorphic, great sound, clear picture and it's an anniversary edition with a booklet and a beautiful format. You can get it from Amazon UK. For those of you who aren't happy with the Region 1 version.

As for the movie itself, I just have to say I love Bunuel's dialogues. I have Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie as well and it follows along the same lines. Witty dialogue, very amusing how he manages to make the characters stand out but at the same time they're very comical and heavy topics are lightened up somewhat through the way he works around them.

Brilliant filmmaker. Absolutely brilliant. August 13, 2008

The gap between fantasy and reality in female desire...

Deneuve plays Séverine Serizy, a bored middle-class woman who never slept with her handsome husband Pierre (Jean Sorel). She eventually adopts a double life on weekday afternoons as a hooker... Here she explores the depths of her desires with her amazing sexual inhibitions... Although the film resolves around her goings-on at a high-class brothel, real nudity and sex are never shown...

"Belle de Jour" may seem one of the most mysterious, poetic, and provoking films ever made... Producing a body of work unparalleled in its wealth of meaning and its ability to surprise and shock, Buñuel leads us into a new world arousing wonder and astonishment, depravity and pleasure, weird and entertaining...

August 7, 2008

Belle de Jour

I agree with Wing J. Flanagan's review; there is nothing wrong with this DVD. Buy it! July 19, 2008

When shall I receive it????

I ordered the item, paid by credit card and still haven't received it. What's going on? Have I done something wrong? January 16, 2008

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