.jeri.

I'm running short on time today but wanted to be better about posting, so here's a quick review of a movie I saw probably two months ago! How do I get so far behind so easily?

Belle de Jour stars Catherine Deneuve as Severine, a newly-married woman. Severine has many day dreams and fantasies, but within her own marriage, she is celibate. She loves her husband, played by Jean Sorel, more and more each day but can't seem to reach that level of intimacy with him. As complicated as it may sound, she is able enough to hire herself out as a prostitute during the days while her husband is at work. When one of her clients takes a dangerous fancy to her, things start to get even more complicated.

I have to say, this was an interesting one. What I appreciated about it was that director Luis Bunuel was able to explore ideas about love and sexuality without being gratuitous in the least. Even Severine's fantasies aren't explicit. The tact taken with the imagery forces the audience to focus on the mind of Severine and why she behaves the way she does.

In a way, while it does focus on some different themes, I actually find this to be much more interesting and effective than Juliet of the Spirits, which is also about a woman (albeit older) and her relationship with her husband and with herself.

I can't say that everyone will love this movie, but I liked Severine a lot, and I liked the interesting dynamics she had with her husband Pierre. I especially liked the ending, which seems to be another one of Severine's day dreams. It's an ambiguous ending, but appropriately so. Pierre Clementi is very notable as Severine's obsessive client as well.

It would be nice to talk with someone about this movie one day, but I'm not going to get into detailed theories and descriptions here. It doesn't rank as an all-time classic for me, but I liked what it had to offer, being both odd and intriguing.