Le Bal des folles

This film was breathtaking from start to finish. Brilliant story, incredible acting, beautifully haunting music score. It was intriguing, and mesmerizing. One of the better films I've seen recently.

In reading some of the other reviews, I see people looking for answers to parts of the story that are really 'subplots' of the main story. This is a story of female bonds & friendships - particularly an understanding & friendship between two women who, due to opposing 'sides' in the foundation of the plot (I won't specify, as it would contain spoilers), would not be friends had it not been for a mutual understanding & an open-mindedness of a caring person working in a facility filled w very few individuals of that nature.

It is also a story of friendship among women who were suffering the victimization of the times & the misunderstanding of what it meant to be so easily mislabeled as mentally ill.

It's a beautiful story & I don't know if reviewers who are looking for solid 'answers' are used to American cinema & don't respect or understand what MAY just be cultural film differences; or it may just be the idea that the story is really just about friendships, sacrifice & freedom, not a story ending in a nice, satisfying fashion - folding up neatly in the end simply for viewer satisfaction.

There are subplots in the movie that will be left unanswered & while that might be frustrating to some, they ARE simply subplots that leave the viewer in a position to decide for oneself what may or may not have followed in the storyline.

I highly recommend this, although it's not action packed along the way there is something very beautiful about the entire story.

I was totally unaware of this film because I did not see any publicity but I was encouraged to see it without even knowing what it was about. What can I tell you, this movie was awesome from start to finish. The story is brilliant, costumes and performances impeccable, the music is beautiful and I am fascinated. I Love French cinema! In fact it is the first French film produced by Amazon.

Lou de Laage is Eugenie, a headstrong woman who is committed to an insane asylum in 1885 France by her wealthy and domineering father. Victor Hugo's funeral opens the film and Eugenie was amongst the large crowd.

The young woman goes into fits and claims to communicate with the spirits of the dead. She finds a long lost necklace of her grandmother's while in such a state. Somehow, this event does not convince the rest of her family of her ESP like abilities.

At the asylum, Eugenie is subject to all kinds of atrocious "therapies," including ice baths and a month long stay in a what looks like a dungeon.

De Laage is magnificent in the lead and she can be seen as a doctor in postwar Germany in The Innocents. The actress deserves more widespread recognition.

The Mad Women's Ball is difficult to watch but a very good movie.

This is really a delightful movie. A beautiful and dramatic story . A touching tale of suffering , friendship , salvation and redemption in a time of barbaric psychiatry methods .