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This is a French sex farce from 1939 that has an amazingly positive reputation today. In its day, I'm sure it probably did well in the theaters, but in this day and age it just seemed really old and tired to me. This is not because I hate old films or French films--I love both if done well. However, I just found myself pretty bored by the picture and felt that watching practically EVERYONE (from the rich jet-setters to the servants) bouncing from partner to partner was not my cup of tea. It actually was rather funny that although practically everyone was cheating on their spouses in the film, they never really seemed to get around to having sex. Mostly, they just seemed to go through the motions of wooing and sneaking about instead of any real infidelity.
Although a few Hollywood films have similar story elements, this movie stands in sharp contrast to the average American film. The French in the 1930s would probably have seen most Americans in films of the day as uptight and too conventional, while Americans would have been amazed at how fixated the French were on infidelity. Even way back then, the differences in the two cultures seem extreme when we view them in film.
By the way, Octave is actually played by the director, Jean Renoir.
score 5/10
MartinHafer 25 July 2005
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1134180/ |
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2-12-2019 06:53:39
