Review of Belle de Jour (1967) by Michael C — 11 Jul 2012

The late 60's/early 70's were an emancipatory time for the depiction and discussion of issues regarding sexuality in film. France was one of the first countries to take greater storytelling risks in this regard, and even to this days many of those films remain highly compelling.

Luis Bunuel's classic 1967 classic "Belle De Jour" is a terrific film that displays the shift during the openness that was creeping into film artistically and in an engrossing fashion. The film depicts the story of a bored, beautiful housewife (Catherine Deneuve) who decides to work as a prostitute during the day while her husband is at work.

While the film could have veered into exploitation easily with a plot of this ilk, it stays well-crafted throughout the running time. Deneuve's performance in particular gives the film a huge jolt of energy; her character Severina is the sort any actor would be delighted to explore, as her transition from a timid woman with a secret desire for unorthodox sexuality into a strong-willed individual and then into a woman who sees her secrets erode the life she has built, the range of the role is vast.

Deneuve handles it skillfully and the changes the character experiences always feel organic and natural. I also felt the way the interaction with the other girls in the brothel was treated like routine work chatter was interesting.

The film takes a huge shift in tone the last 30 minutes which might be jarring to some, but it makes logical sense in the manner in which it plays out. Despite the lurid topic, the sexuality in the film is not at all graphic; Severeinas fantasy sequences will lightly shock some, but there isn't much here that hasn't surfaced in a PG-13 film.

The thing that makes this film still very watchable is that it tells it's story very well, and uses suggestion rather than non-subtle graphic imagery to illustrate that story. The overall effect is still entrancing.