By
Raymond Benson
It
was surrealist filmmaker Luis Buñuel’s most popular film and his biggest
financial success, even outperforming the great Oscar-winning The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (the
idea for which was given to the director by actor Owen Wilson during a time
travel escapade to Paris in the 1920s*). Starring an effervescent, young and beautiful Catherine Deneuve in a
defining role that would forever typify her as the kind of cool, intense,
independent blonde she would portray for the rest of her long career, Belle de Jour broke ground for eroticism
and feminism alike.
Released
in 1967, the picture is one of Buñuel’s most accessible pictures. The plot is simple enough. Severine, a frigid and frustrated woman of
the Parisian upper class who is married to a successful doctor, has disturbing
fantasies of being sexually humiliated and degraded. When a friend of her husband’s (a man who has
tried many times, unsuccessfully, to seduce Severine) tells her about a high
class brothel, she becomes curious. At
first frightened and timid, Severine applies for afternoon work at the brothel,
and there she ultimately discovers the path to her own sexual fulfillment. Yes, she’s a masochist, but she is one by
choice and desire. Her new vocation
improves things at home with her husband until she becomes involved with a
client who happens to be a hit man. The
gangster also grows obsessed with Severine, a story twist with tragic
results.
As
with any Buñuel film, there’s a lot more going on. There is humor, to be sure, as well as the
kind of shocking imagery typical of the auteur’s work. Severine’s fantasies take on the surrealistic
touches the director has been known for since his first picture, Un Chien Andalou (made with Salvador
Dali), but the “realistic†scenes in the brothel also venture into absurdist
territory. For example, one client, a
successful gynecologist, insists on role-playing a disobedient servant to a punishing
mistress. Another client, an Asian man,
carries a jewelry box, which, when opened, emits a strange buzzing sound. We can’t see what’s in the box, but whatever
it is gets mixed reactions from the various prostitutes (usually disgust). It is only Severine who finds the mysterious object
fascinating. Of course, Buñuel means for
the audience to interpret what’s in the box for themselves.
The
new edition from Criterion features a magnificent high-definition digital
restoration. Audio commentary is by
Michael Wood, author of the BFI Film Classics book on Belle de Jour. A very
interesting video interview with activist Susie Bright and film scholar Linda
Williams sheds light on the sexual politics and feminist themes in the
picture. Co-writer Jean-Claude Carrière
talks about working with Buñuel in a new interview. Finally, Deneuve appears in a vintage French
television program on the making of the movie. Also included is a booklet featuring a 1970 interview with Buñuel and
more.
Belle de Jour is a classic of the
new permissiveness of the late 1960s, and it is a must for true film
buffs. And watch for Buñuel’s cameo
appearance at an outdoor bar/restaurant!
*
As seen in Woody Allen’s new film, Midnight
in Paris
Click here for video clips
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