I kind of resent my film history teacher, back in the day, showing us one of Bunuel's truly surreal films (The Golden Age) as an example of his work, because it put me off most of his output, which isn't that opaque. Belle de jour IS surreal, but much more subtle an experiment than Un chien andalou, etc. Waking dreams and memories keep breaking in until you're questioning the reality of even the main narrative. I came out of it confident that the absence of cats in the main thrust - Catherine Deneuve is a frigid wife who spends her afternoons playing the prostitute for reasons she can't quite figure out, psychoanalysis as unfolding text - meant that it did happen. But lingering questions undermined that feeling. What was in the Asian man's box, and for that matter, what language was he speaking? Isn't the plot about the thug who loves her something she might have seen in a movie, and resolved conveniently? Did she, in fact, ever return to Mme Anaïs' place after that first day? More overtly, what's the deal with the cats, and are the quick flashbacks meant to explain her frigidity or just show it was there from early on? The truth is that dream and reality intermix easily in Bunuel's work and whatever you're looking at is the reality, even if that reality is based on the subconscious - magical realism, but replace magic with psychology. Actual magic is practiced by Bunuel's images which ask those questions, but more importantly, trigger very personal Rorschach-like answers (you don't want to know what I think is in the box).
I enjoyed that this film was shot/feels like a dry 1960s drama but infused with ideas and motifs from 80s+ movies. The contrast between the beautiful shots and the ugly events taking place is challenging to take in
It is so nice to watch Bunuel's later work. It's such a treat to watch a drama film with a touch of his surrealist art. It truly made for a great film.
This, Bunuel's best film, is infused with that ungraspable sense of mystery that is unique to his work. How he exactly does it, is hard to put your finger on. It might be the interplay between his at times bone-dry mise-en-scene and the rich, ambiguous use of sound. It may be the wisps of flashbacks that do more to suggest the inner life of Séverine than a long monologue ever could. It might be in the unforgettable icy beauty of Deneuve's face, who in a heartbeat can show an entirely different side of her character that we would never have expected to see.
The subtlety and elusiveness of this film that will keep it alluring and fresh for atleast another fifty years.
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deckard.
the movies that blur the line between reality and fantasy and make the audience feel "something's not right here" hold a special place in my heart.this one is one of them.
and deneuve is an anomaly. a human being cannot be this surreally and ethereally and disturbingly beautiful. it is absurd.
Siskoid
I kind of resent my film history teacher, back in the day, showing us one of Bunuel's truly surreal films (The Golden Age) as an example of his work, because it put me off most of his output, which isn't that opaque. Belle de jour IS surreal, but much more subtle an experiment than Un chien andalou, etc. Waking dreams and memories keep breaking in until you're questioning the reality of even the main narrative. I came out of it confident that the absence of cats in the main thrust - Catherine Deneuve is a frigid wife who spends her afternoons playing the prostitute for reasons she can't quite figure out, psychoanalysis as unfolding text - meant that it did happen. But lingering questions undermined that feeling. What was in the Asian man's box, and for that matter, what language was he speaking? Isn't the plot about the thug who loves her something she might have seen in a movie, and resolved conveniently? Did she, in fact, ever return to Mme Anaïs' place after that first day? More overtly, what's the deal with the cats, and are the quick flashbacks meant to explain her frigidity or just show it was there from early on? The truth is that dream and reality intermix easily in Bunuel's work and whatever you're looking at is the reality, even if that reality is based on the subconscious - magical realism, but replace magic with psychology. Actual magic is practiced by Bunuel's images which ask those questions, but more importantly, trigger very personal Rorschach-like answers (you don't want to know what I think is in the box).BogartBaggins
I enjoyed that this film was shot/feels like a dry 1960s drama but infused with ideas and motifs from 80s+ movies. The contrast between the beautiful shots and the ugly events taking place is challenging to take incatherinefrances
It is so nice to watch Bunuel's later work. It's such a treat to watch a drama film with a touch of his surrealist art. It truly made for a great film.Pike
This, Bunuel's best film, is infused with that ungraspable sense of mystery that is unique to his work. How he exactly does it, is hard to put your finger on. It might be the interplay between his at times bone-dry mise-en-scene and the rich, ambiguous use of sound. It may be the wisps of flashbacks that do more to suggest the inner life of Séverine than a long monologue ever could. It might be in the unforgettable icy beauty of Deneuve's face, who in a heartbeat can show an entirely different side of her character that we would never have expected to see.The subtlety and elusiveness of this film that will keep it alluring and fresh for atleast another fifty years.
KaramAkerfeldt
Favourite Buñuel so far.GodPepper
Not that good.nicolaskrizan
interesting but ultimately too detachedhttps://beyond1001movies.wordpress.com/2014/11/25/backtrack-belle-de-jour-1967/
Dieguito
Buñuel masterpiece! Just perfect!Skyscore
http://www.afisha.ru/movie/167074/review/145405/juanittomx
nick-samuel
Interesting film. Peculiar blend of reality and fiction.mattmansfieldok
I wrote a review of Belle de Jour here if anyone's interested:http://overcastfilm.wordpress.com/2011/10/07/belle-de-jour/
Vinsmid
More like Freddie Mercury....bartekfm
I thought the same... They look so similiar.Showing items 1 – 15 of 16