Madame Claude

Yet another known to me movie lands in my lap. Billed as The French Woman, this is a surprisingly well produced French film based on a notorious Madame Claude. Who ran a high level prostitute ring for the rich and powerful. This is not just another 70's sex flick, but one based on a real person. But not being French and that old, I had no clue who she was. But what is telling is that Netflix have remade this for todays audience. So its obviously a tale of some importance.

Its not just the fact there are a few well known faces involved, but this movie screams 70's opulence and some of the cinematography is off the sale. You could take stills from this movie and they could be a 70's high end fashion shoot.

The women are also great to watch, no tattoos, piercings, coloured hair or even carrying too much weight. These are naturally good looking women which is not something you see today.

Its clear from the off this isn't a bawdy sex comedy, but one that weaves in both sexual and power dynamics, as well as questions of loyalty between client and workers.

The downside of this is definitely the audio, which sounds badly dubbed into English.

However the final third of the movie wraps things up very well with high levels of tension and some action.

I have no idea why this is rated so low, must be down to a bunch of frustrated men thinking this was simply a skin flick.

It's more than just a French soft porn flick. There's an intriguing complicated plot involving Washington, Paris, spies, the "Lockheed Scandal", the CIA, etc. It has a nostalgic feeling of the 1970's, the same way "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" brings you to the 60's. Officially, Fabian is Madame Claude, the owner of a Parisian modeling agency. It is an open secret, however, that her operation actually traffics in expensive call girls for the wealthy and powerful. Some of these girls will undergo blackmail, because David, photographer of trade, has images of these Johns in compromising positions. An awesome erotic film that shows all the actresses on different stages of undress. One of the greatest sex scenes ever taking place early on in a hot tub.