Belle Toujours (DVD)

Connect to Facebook/Twitter, recommend via email and much more.

---

Indeed, the film is permeated by the spirit of Buñuel, not just in its direct references to "Belle de Jour" (a picture here, a gift there) but in its relationship to his entire work. Viewers unfamiliar with Buñuel might be puzzled when the film appear to continue one scene "too long" after the main characters have exited and the servants are talking to each other, but it´s the sort of moment that cropped up again in again in Buñuel´s work, most notably in his masterpiece "Exterminating Angel" (1962).

Piccoli, as usual, is brilliant. Though a mere whippersnapper next to de Oliveira, Piccoli has been a screen star for sixty years now, and has done some of his best work in recent years, especially with de Oliveira (Piccoli was also phenomenal in "I´m Going Home" (2001)), and he relishes his opportunity to re-visit one of his best-known roles. Here, Henri Husson makes the leap from supporting character to protagonist with Severine as more of a fringe character who flits about the edges of the screen until the climactic dinner sequence. Bulle Ogier cannot match the screen presence of Catherine Deneuve, but she isn´t called on to do much here except to simply be Severine.

Will you be unable to enjoy "Belle Toujours" if you aren´t a Buñuel aficionado? No, though it´s fair to say you won´t necessarily be fully in tune with de Oliveira´s project. Even on its own, the film is an ambling, amusing psychosexual cat and mouse game which proves that the march of time doesn´t mean you have to be any less of a sick bastard. That´s a theme we can all identify with.

Video

The film is presented in a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer. Though the transfer is interlaced, it´s unusually strong by New Yorker´s standards. The color saturation is just right (sometimes a problem with this studio) and the image quality is fairly sharp. Still, it would be nice if they could offer progressive transfers in the near future.

Audio

The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0. Optional English subtitles support the French audio.

Extras

With such a short film, it would have been nice to get a few more extras. What we get isn´t bad though. There are four interviews, the best of which, of course, are the ones with de Oliveira (23 min.) and Piccoli (9 min.) Interviews with Bulle Ogier (5 min.) and
Richard Trêpa (2 min.) provide a few brief perspectives on working with the veteran director.

Also included are a Trailer, a Photo Gallery and a Press Kit which can be accessed as a PDF file on your PC.

Film Value

At 65 minutes (not counting the end credits), this strange coda to "Belle de Jour" is over almost as soon as it starts or, more accurately, speeds away after its lightning-strike hit and run job. I suppose you could consider this film to be a meditation on aging (as many critics have written), but it´s a pretty pervy one and certainly not a "sweet elegy" of any kind. In all honesty, I like this film more than "Belle de Jour" which, I admit, is not one of my favorite Buñuels. Long live Michel Piccoli! Long live Manoel de Oliveira! Well, I guess they´ve already done that. But you know what I mean.

---

Connect to Facebook/Twitter, recommend via email and much more.

---