Thérèse et Isabelle

I must admit, when I read the description of the genre on Netflix as "Steamy Romance" I was a little bit skeptical. "Steamy"? In a movie from 1968?? I was prepared for disappointment. And when I realized it was shot entirely in black & white, I knew my erotic hopes were dashed.

Boy, was I wrong! Not only does this film have all of the elements of a steamy romance -- the discovery of first love, fear of the secret being found out, a sudden unexpected end -- but at times this movie was downright erotic. You will soon forget that it is shot in black & white. The cinematography deserves every accolade it has received over the years. And the performances from the two stars (Essy Persson and Anna Gael) are intense and memorable. OK, so they're both in their mid twenties trying to play school girls. It's 1968. Do you really expect teenagers from the '60s to be able to effectively explore a lesbian love story like this? Many adult women were still trying to come to grips with their sexuality back then. Anyone looking for real teens here is expecting too much.

I think this movie was way ahead of its time. The level of eroticism was an unexpected pleasure; yet it still managed to leave a lot to the imagination, opting instead to give us poetic descriptions to add to what we were shown.

I have no doubt lesbians will identify with the characters here. As for you straight guys who love watching lesbians in action: Although it won't be all you expect, I don't think you'll be too, too disappointed.

You hope for a good film, you get promised a good film, you pay good money for a film, you view film and... oh jeez, its a load of crap!

Disappointment #1: Its black and white. My fault. Read those labels!

Disappointment #2: The "girls" are clearly in their late twenties. Now I really have to work hard to believe this story, but wait...

Disappointment #3: There is no story! I won't spend much effort describing how thin the plot (and I use the term loosely) is. There is no drama. I expected to see them meet, do things together, friendship deepen, etc. It doesn't happen.

Disappointment #4: Practically no nudity. If you're not going to provide any cinematic value, at least let me see some pretty, nude women! Why do you think people would buy this film anyway? For the record, the women are beautiful, and you do see them naked from the waist up for a few seconds. Not enough to even make it to the "tease" level. Stories can be very erotic without explicit graphics if told with style, but such finesse is beyond the range of this director.

Summary: A complete disappointment on every level.

It's kind of interesting reading some of the negative raps on this movie. Yes, it is in black and white--so is "Citizen Kane" and any number of other classic movies. The girls are a little long in the tooth to be schoolgirls and the nude scenes are pretty tame (but there certainly are some in the unedited version). However, considering that hot lesbian action between actual schoolgirls is a no-no even today in most countries, it's not surprising they didn't try to pull it off in 1968. Besides, it was necessary that at least one of the actresses be older as she had to play the same character as both a schoolgirl and a middle-aged woman.

I'm sure this movie is not exactly like the book (few movies are), but I was impressed at how it managed to combine memorable passages from the book with discreet and tasteful visuals to create some truly startling scenes. (And this is no mean feat--witness Adrian Lyne's ham-handed attempts at this in his recent adaptation of the literary classic "Lolita").This movie also deals with a lot of themes that were pretty taboo at the time--pre-marital sex, lesbianism, female masturbation--in a tasteful, non-exploitative way, which many people probably won't appreciate today living in the age of Howard Stern. This movie certainly inspired a lot of later movies-- "Don't Deliver Us from Evil", "Heavenly Creatures", and the more recent "Lost and Delirious". It's less melodramatic than any of these--nobody commits suicide or is brutally murdered-- but then again most real-life adolescent lesbian relationships don't end in murder or suicide. If you're a Howard Stern fan you probably will be bored with this, but if you don't object to subtle, classy European art films this is pretty alright.

This is a very good movie. Good example of a European film of it's time. Black and White? Yes, and for the dolts that can't seem to get through a movie without color, go back to cartoons.

Yes, the actresses do seem a bit long in the tooth, but the story is well paced, the cinematography very good, and all in all a pleasant movie.

If you're a lesbian, you'll appreciate this movie. If you're a straight man looking for a hot movie... go elsewhere and look for some porn; this ain't it.

If you're a movie lover and looking for a good representation of cinema with a lesbian theme, this is a good example. It's also a good example of European cinema in the late 60's even though the moviemaker is an American.

This is a film.., not porn.

This is a wonderful film!!! Full of tender moments and memories!! A beautiful piece of work!!! Excellent!!! For intelligent, viewers only!!!

If you are a film lover. A romantic. A person who has loved deeply, this is your film!!!!

It has a beautiful surreal quality. Fine acting and directing. Watching this film made me remember my first love.

Thi is a film for those who want to reflect on life, love and the meaning of loss.

Highly recommended for all film lovers.