Hemmungslose Manon

This is a very enjoyable film, and as another poster has said, it has a perfectly cast Catherine Deneuve in the role of Manon. The music becomes a focus of the film, with the sound and lack thereof almost a motif. The film sees Sami Frey's character, Francois, chasing and trying to keep Deneuve's Manon to himself, however she and her brother have been 'trapping' rich men, rather than working for themselves. This film sees Manon have to battle between her love of money and her first 'true love'. Though it is never sentimental drivel. It treats the subject fairly and is interesting throughout. Deneuve would have been about 25 at the time of making this film, and looks fresh and lively in it. Frey, likewise, though it is a Deneuve film. This film has finally become available in the Deneuve box set. It is fun, enjoyable, and never sentimental, has interesting music, and I would recommend it.

This film made my brain hurt and I didn't like it very much at all. That was a surprise to me, as I usually enjoy Catherine Deneuve films. I just found that the characters behaved unpredictably and irrationally--and I kept thinking to myself "does anyone REALLY talk or act like this?!". Now has this been an Absurdist film (like "Buffet Froid"), I might have been able to get some handle on the film. Instead, I just felt very confused and disconnected.

The film begins in Japan. Deneuve is with one man and another is like a stalker--he follows her back to Paris. Within seconds, they are suddenly lovers and announce to each other that if the other cheated, they would leave...or kill them. So naturally, just a few minutes later, each is with another person--she's with some married guy (whose wife is also there and seems fine with this) and he's in Stockholm having sex with some bimbo. Neither kills the other or leaves--and Deneuve actually catches him in the act and immediately takes him back. It's all very civil and completely irrational. After a while, I simply got tired of all this and turned the film off--something I rarely ever do. By then, I simply cared nothing for the characters and the story bored me--as did ALL the characters (not just Deneuve and her kooky boyfriend). All in all, a waste of my time.

A film made by Jean Aurel, a Romanian like me, a reason for pride. And, a very, very good movie! Excellent acting performances: a very young and very beautiful Catherine Deneuve and a very young and talented Sami Frey. Alongside them, other superb actors: Jean-Claude Brialy and Robert Webber. Jean Martin in a small role. The beautiful Elsa Martinelli also in a small role. Another beauty unknown, Manuela von Oppen, small role too. Another reason why I wanted to see the film is Chris Avram, also a Romanian, also in a small role. Excellent music by Carlos Seixas, Antonio Vivaldi and Serge Gainsbourg.

In the classic 80s comedy "When Harry Met Sally", the premise is set up by the two lead characters discussing if men and women can truly be friends due to sex getting in the way. According to the male perspective, men are always after sex thereby ruining any friendship. The female perspective is the opposite: that women are not so obsessed with sex and therefore emotions reign.

Here we have a sexy 60s film with a very similar structure, except that the point of discussion is whether infidelity happens at a physical level (sex) or an emotional one (love). The male perspective believes infidelity occurs when a person has sex outside the relationship. The female perspective insists that sex is meaningless, and infidelity occurs only if a person falls in love with someone outside the relationship.

The film wastes no time in setting up the premise and showing us how each character reacts when confronted with the reality of the situations. Having a male perspective myself, I definitely side with the dude. However, I'm sure the point of the film is to give the audience a choice. Beware: if you see this film with your wife/girlfriend/husband/boyfriend, you might want to avoid discussing it, lest one of you end up sleeping on the couch.

I have to admit that I didn't like this film at first, due to my personal opinion on the matter, but now that I've had a chance to think about it objectively (it's amazing what a night on the couch can do for a guy), I really want to watch it again.