Place Vendôme

elegance is the basic virtue of this beautiful film. the elegance of story and performances, the elegance of details and the tension. and, sure, obvious, the elegance of Catherine Deneuve. a film about the confrontation against the past, the revelation about old experiences, the struggle for survive and the rules of a small world in which the gems are more important than the people. short, a seductive film. for the theme and for the inspired way to translate it in the image. for the beautiful science of trip in essence of the gestures and states of characters. for the air of an universe who seems be artificial. and for the great job of Deneuve.

By the time she made this Catherine Deneuve was already a veteran of over seventy films and almost twenty years had passed since she came of age as a 'mature' actress in 'Le Dernier Metro' for director Francois Truffaut. Her entry into films was undeniably aided by her good looks but it is a combination of astute career choices and a tireless work ethic that have sustained her long career. In Nicole Garcia's film she again proves that she is a mistress of her craft as Marianne, alcoholic wife of a diamond merchant. Facing bankcrupty he commits suicide and her subsequent attempts to sell diamonds that he had stolen get her into all sorts of trouble with an assortment of well-tailored, well-groomed low-lifes. This is definitely for those who like their films to be stylish and glamorous. It looks wonderful courtesy of Laurent Dailland's cinematography and Thierry Flamand's art direction. It is decidedly not for those who prefer worthy vehicles with a social message. This is the kind of film that usually attracts the comment: 'Style over substance'. There is little substance here to be sure but Garcia has assembled a good cast, notably splendid actor/writer Jean-Pierre Bacri, best known for his collaborations with his wife Anges Jaoui and the delectable Emmanuelle Seigner whose character beds not only Marianne's husband but her former and current lover also. Small world! Granted, Mlle Garcia's film might not be flawless but it is certainly well-polished.

This movie is neither complicated nor complex, but its reading is rather incomprehensible. I have the feeling that Nicole Garcia tries to artificially fill an emptyness with a kaleidoscopic narrative, fuzzily alternating with the different characters on the one hand, the present and the past on the other hand, but without giving any explaination about who, what, when, why, ... like within a slow, very slow hubbub. Although the high level actings and the permanent elegance, this movie is globally frustrating and boring.

I loved this movie. Yes, I can understand that it is often opaque and may make you reach for the rewind a few times to understand what it was you were just seeing - yes, there are many characters and not too much explanation - but it's not more complicated than, say Funeral in Berlin or The Maltese Falcon.

This is the sort of movie that people who think they might want to try a European movie should see - the clothes, the style, the characters, the stunning contemporary settings, the 85% explained plot, the beautiful women, the roles of jewels and mistresses, striving and excess, guilt and recrimination, forgiveness and imbalance, and an underworld pressing close up against a very haut monde.

I think this and My Favorite Season are as good as anything Deneuve has ever done. Both are quite remarkable given that she has been in movies for over forty years. All the actors are quite remarkable - and Emmanuelle Seigner (whom you may remember from Frantic with Harrison Ford, Bitter Moon with Hugh Grant) is all slender strong beauty - and a wonderful blonde contrast with the older blonde, heavy-set/blowsy (in character) Deneuve.

The movie completely jumps any moral compass headings - and yet somehow one doesn't mind.

So even though you may feel you must watch it twice, you'd enjoy it both times.

It's as cool and elegant a movie as I've ever seen. And yet almost as sad a movie as I've ever seen. It's wonderful.

The story of a woman that for meny years remained distracted from her own life, from the passions that made her feel alive. The importance of true love is compared with the material value of diamonds. Only one of these two truly lasts in time. She's got to choose witch one values most for her, the thing that will make her find happiness and psychical steadiness again. Award for Deneuve in Biennale di Venezia 1998 (55 festival d'arte cinematografica di Venezia)