Le rempart des Béguines

Like Leontine Sagan's "Madchen in Uniform" or Jacqueline Audry's " Olivia" ,it could have been a milestone in the lesbian cinema.

Sadly ,it is not ; only Nicole Courcel saves something from the wreckage .Guy Casaril ,whose movies were dreadful ("les novices " , "les pétroleuses" ; "l'astragale" was saved by her principal ,Marlène Jobert , "Piaf " by its subject) did not rise to the occasion.

His movie,based on a novel by Françoise Mallet-Joris , takes place in the high bourgeoisie ,and acting is affected , with a rather self-conscious manner ,particularly Anicée Alvina and Jean Martin (unconvincing as a tolerant wealthy bourgeois :compare with what Michel Bouquet and Claude Piéplu would do in Chabrol's movies; note that Chabrol had already broached the subject in "les biches" ).

Don' t expect to get an eyeful : most of the time ,the actresses keep their clothes on. Apparently , these women are supposed to display a firm independence of men : they go shopping ,they spend the night in a lesbian night club (rarely filmed in mainstream movies) , they make love although the older woman is also the younger' s father's lover .

It' s would be feminism ,but all in all ,it is not so : women need men ,if it were only for their money which provides them with a confortable life ;hence the bourgeois conclusion and the ridiculous final scene.

By and large ,the readers of the book were disappointed.

Anicée Alvina is Hélène, a lonely, motherless bourgeois teen akin to that of the heroine from the lesbian cult classic "Mädchen in Uniform".

Nicole Courcel is magnetic as Tamara. Tamara's complexities and volatility shine through her nuanced performance - through the subtle tilt of the head, an insinuation of a smile, or through the listless movement of the eye.

Hélène's involvement with Tamara begins shortly after her father discloses Tamara's existence; and it starts - not much as rebellion - but as petty defiance to her emotionally aloof father, it then quickly evolves into ardour as soon as she meets her father's lover: the infamous and irresistible divorcée, Tamara Soulerr. Hélène is quickly captivated by Tamara and Tamara's colourful bohemian lifestyle, so contrary to her own lonesome and rigid one. Unlike Manuela von Meinhardis, Hélène's involvement with Tamara is never Freudian in nature; Hélène doesn't look at Tamara as a maternal figure.

As Hélène gets further pulled into Tamara's world, she would learn that Tamara is alarmingly mercurial, violent and, controlling. But despite being on the receiving end, Hélène is hopelessly beguiled; and they continue their liaison behind her father and Tamara's lover's back.

The film is dated, and through the eyes of the modern viewer: very problematic. But it is a film I invite sapphic film aficionados to see; wallow in its aesthetics, its premise, its eroticism and the solid performances from the leads (with emphasis on Nicole Courcel). And the fact that it doesn't suffer from the "Dead Lesbian Syndrome" trope.

It is such a versatile and profound movie when you really think about it. It isn't only about lesbian sex from left and right, but all the intimate moments have a deeper meaning engraved in them. The intimacy illustrates the running of the plot of the movie in an interesting and addictive way.

Nicole Courcel is amazing in the movie. She created a whole atmosphere with just her eyes and appearance. Anicée Alvina did act her characters feelings extremely lively getting the viewer to really feel like a part of the movie's world.

The way that Tamara is as a character is very disturbing, but then again subtle hints through out the movie give away why she is like that. We get small hints about Tamara's past, but the story still leaves gaps for the viewers to fulfill. This also applies to Helene since her relationship to her mother is left quite untouched. This technique for creating characters in movies is such a great way to create layered characters.

The ending also sort of leaves it up for the viewer to interpret. At the end of the day the interpretation of a film is largely up to the viewer and dependant of the viewers personal experience. Le Rempart des Béguines certainly is a great drama from an amateurs point of view.