La fiancée du pirate

...just as Manon des sources had done in Pagnol's film of 1952, to settle some old scores with the bigoted people in a small French town. The priest, the pharmacist, the bistro owner--they're all trying to cheat her in one way or another, and they all find her charms irresistible: no wonder, since she's played by Bernadette Lafont, the sexpot in so many films by Truffaut, Chabrol, Doniol-Valcroze, Molinaro etc. The story is flimsy, Kaplan's direction is loose and somewhat unfocused, and the viewer is left with the sense that this picture did not start a trend in French cinema (Bunuel, after all, was working the same vein at the time), nor is it the culmination of one.

I haven't seen Nelly Kaplan's other films, and don't feel any loss. I think she was more of a theorist than an auteur. The film goes along agreeably enough, and Lafont and Michel Constantin make an attractive couple, but this is hardly essential viewing.

I v seen a girl like that, not so long time ago, and, though, this could be art, in real life someone like that is just a real scum. This one is funny and the fools around her are ridiculous. C est drole, anyway!

This is an awesome film which needs to be seen and discussed by critical thinkers, Marxists and feminists in general. After seeing it last night I was fascinated to read reviews on this site, as well as professional film reviews written at the time of the film's release. Most of the reviews are simplistic (usually by men - Canby and then Hoberman 50 years later, both of the NYT), offering little in the way of deep analysis. However, my partner did dig up the best of the lot, a review from 1975 by Linda Green in Jump Cut. Green is able to break down the film in ways beyond my abilities. Just see the film, read the review, and decide for yourself. A profound and fun film. What more could you ask for?

The life of a cinephile holds surprises and sometimes these surprises are very pleasant. This is the case with the discovery of a film made in 1969 - 'La fiancée du pirate' (in English it was distributed under the title 'A Very Curious Girl') -, made by a very interesting director (Nelly Kaplan) about whom I knew nothing before, and with a remarkable actress (Bernadette Lafont) once considered considered "the face of French New Wave" about whom I should surely have known more in the lead role. These are completely or almost completely forgotten names, an undeserved forgetfulness in my opinion. 'La fiancée du pirate' is a film that should be taken out of the archives and re-released for today's audiences because it deserves to be seen, known and discussed by film lovers, now, 50 years after its first launching.

After seeing the film, which was a revelation for me, I looked for information about the director. Nelly Kaplan is a writer of fiction and film books, and began her career as an assistant to Abel Gance in the 1950s. A few 'art' short films followed in the 1960s. 'La fiancée du pirate' was her first feature film, after which she directed several more films, but none seems to approach its level. A unique career peak? Why? Has she been categorized as a 'daring' filmmaker close to soft-porn? 'La fiancée du pirate' has a dose of nudity and eroticism that today seems 'standard' but even in 1969, at least in French cinema, I don't think it was a very shocking film. However, her career as a 'serious' writer seems to have overshadowed that of a director. What a pity.

The story of the film takes place in a French village on the edge of which the main heroine, Marie, lives in a hut, performing the derisive work of a maid, being economically and sexually exploited by many locals, men and women. The shock of her mother's death and the visit of a friend, an itinerant film projectionist (the excellent Michel Constantin), determine her to decide that it was time for her life to take a turn. She will start charging for sexual services and will take revenge on those who exploited her until then. From the maid without rights she becomes the number one attraction of the gathering of villains who had taken advantage of her until then and the enemy number one of the hypocrites and of the jealous wives. The film can be seen as a social farce, in which a heroine, who reminded me of the unforgettable Giulietta Masina from 'Nights of Cabiria', refuses to continue to be a victim and faces the ridiculousness of evil, taking advantage of the vices and weaknesses of the people populating a world that predicts that of Emir Kusturica's films. The lead role is played by Bernadette Lafont, an actress with a rich filmography, an exceptional physique and a talent to match. I also wonder about her, why is she all but forgotten by now? We can see a few more well-known figures from other French films, in a colorful gallery of excellently drawn supporting roles. Georges Moustaki's music and Barbara's voice are additional reasons to enjoy. The film can now be seen in full on youTube and I recommend you watch it, because director Nelly Kaplan and actress Bernadette Lafont are two artists who do not deserve to be forgotten.

LA FIANCÉE DU PIRATE 's greatest asset is the gorgeous Bernadette Lafont, and certainly the sexual favors she bestows (at a price) on her local "clients" as she avenges the killing of her pet goat, and breaks free of near-slave bondage, are easy on the viewer's eye.

Rather dark humor runs right through the film, but that has always been one of Lafont's trademarks, and she is most comfortable in the nude in all her films. Her mother's death and burial is odd in the extreme, adding to the film's general screwball approach. The script is rather loose - to put it mildly -, the characters all seem to be on the verge of madness, photography is rather shabby, and direction... well, Director Nelly Kaplan seems quite satisfied to just let Lafont do what she likes, and it is plain to see that Lafont had a wonderful time doing the shoot.

Only the French, and perhaps the Italians, could have come up with such a rambling oddity of a sexual story... nothing memorable about it, apart from curvaceous, daring, brazen Lafont. How I love watching her!