Rue des plaisirs

There's much to like about Laetitia Casta; she's pretty much the only supermodel who consistently has main roles in her movies (even Elle Macpherson's biggest fans have to admit she doesn't really deserve the prominent billing she often gets), and she's an appealing and stunning woman as well. True, she's not going to be winning any Cesars (the French equivalent of the Oscars) in the near future, but then again Tom Selleck once won an Emmy. "Rue des Plaisirs" was a box office underachiever in France, and while you can see why it's not the curvaceous Laetitia's fault. In fact, it's not even a bad movie - just an underpowered one.

Patrice Leconte's movie starts with three prostitutes plying their trade on a slow, rainy night in Paris - with nothing coming their way, one of them tells the other two about another hooker who actually did make something of her life... cue flashbacks to 1945, and the ladies of a brothel taking care of the son of one of their own, who grows up to continue working there as the handyman (Patrick Timsit), but when he sees the newest arrival (La Casta, still gorgeous with shortened black hair), he falls for her on the spot. Rather than try his luck with her, he tries to make her happy in other ways, namely by playing Cupid. The man he eventually matches the romantic young prostitute with, however, isn't quite as perfect as he'd wish.

"Rue des Plaisirs" doesn't glamourise prostitution (it avoids any easy humour about being the only man in a houseful of women, and the scenes of Laetitia's character in action aren't shot for eroticism at all), but it also short-changes the people - the main characters aren't really that developed, and it's fairly passionless at first despite the title and the setting, but the movie does improve as it goes along; you never really love it, but you can like it.

It doesn't really work overall, and you do wonder how the women who narrate know everything that happens, but there are plenty of bits to enjoy - Timsit's sympathetic performance as Louis, a man whose devotion to a woman he'll never have is touching to behold; the montage of women raising money to help the couple (literally a matter of life and death); the big-screen singing debut of Laetitia, whose character uses music as one release; the '40s soundtrack... the movie has lots to like, but in the end it falls short. It's probably because there's not enough emotion in the tale, or maybe because in the closing stages we get a wonderfully shot but profoundly sad ending which ultimately renders the movie a bummer. (The original script for "Pretty Woman," another love story about a prostitute, also had a downbeat finish - but not as downbeat as this movie's.)

But give Laetitia Casta credit for stretching herself on screen instead of being content to play The Girlfriend; and at least she can act (Kate Moss, please note). I'd like to see her in an English-language movie or in something set in the present day, but Casta fans should still check this out - like they need me to tell them that. Now if only someone would put out a subtitled version of "La Bicyclette Bleue"...

You're always on for something special with Patrice Leconte. While "Rue des plaisirs" is not his best film, by far, it's still enjoyable. The cinematography is great and the cast is doing a good job. The story is told by a trio of Parisian prostitutes well past their best-before date. It's the story of P'tit Louis, the handyman at the brothel, and Marion the newly arrived girl. P'tit Louis vows to take care of her for the rest of her life. He's in love with her, but he won't tell her. He'll just be by her sides, to try to make her happy, even pushing her in the arms of a prince charmant who turns out to be a trouble maker. It's not a great film, but one could argue that it's a great love story. Great music from the 30's on.

Seen at home, in Toronto, on March 12th, 2006.

78/100 (**½)

I know some movies just miss their mark, but this one's outta the freakin universe. Laetitia Casta can't act! Fine. At least show some of her real talents! But no!!! A movie about French prostitutes with a hot supermodel and absolutely no nudity? What were they thinking? Please someone give me back the 82 minutes this movie stole from my life.

This story is about a prostitute (Marion) and her loving friend, bricoleur and brothel mascot (Petit Louis) in post-WW2 Paris. He believes that he is not good enough for her, he mentions that he cannot make her smile (she does however love him in her own way, a fondness without rapture). But he has a selfless amour fou and so sets about finding a man who does make her smile (mainly is good looking and reckless enough to make her smile).

The story reminded me a lot of the work of Marguerite Duras, she also told tales of amour fou and desperate living. This movie, similar to her India Song, has a chorus of three women in the background, providing some narration / commentary / framing. It feels like an overt homage / reference to Duras.

Whilst I did enjoy the movie, it wasn't capable of achieving those Duras-ian heights. Leconte wasn't working with Delphine Seyrig and Michel Lonsdale, nor with a cinematographer like Pierre Lhomme. Also, Leconte is not a madman. The movie does not have that Duras / Genet level of absolute commitment to madness, it does not have the weird revelry of those who felt the scorpion's sting and just went with it / danced the tarantella, instead of looking for help. It is a mad tale that is not imbued enough with madness. It should be liquor-soaked and hallucinogenic, it is not. The calibre is not the same as with a masterpiece of urban madness such as Berlin Alexanderplatz.

It is not helped by very improbable in scene action moments.

Another jaw-dropping oversight is to create a movie set in a brothel in the transition from Occupation to Post War Paris, and just not mention that one of the main reasons they were closed was collaboration with the Nazis. It's a gobsmackingly large elephant in the room.

I did give the movie a good rating in the end, because I got a glimpse of something beautiful of something that was close to happening, of a near entrant to that obscure and overgrown part of the cemetery that holds the pantheon of despair-drenched mad love movies. Because of the shiver I had whenever that black Citroen turned up.

This movie caught my eye while I was channel surfing. I don't know what kept me from changing the channel despite the slow, unstructured plot - but I'm glad I stayed with it. The story is highly predictable, but I think they didn't try to avoid that. Instead, they tell the story in a very creative way. I can see why it would annoy those who like a very structured movie. But this movie is kind of like listening to a song without really caring about the words. Likewise, the story isn't really the point here, it's about the characters in the story.

Midway through the movie, I was pretty sure the lead actress was Casta, but I didn't even know she had an acting career. I look forward to seeing more of her. She was very graceful, above obviously beautiful, and helped center the rest of the cast. I really loved the sets and the costumes as well, and I believe this is the first time I've taken a line to mention this in a review. All these little things put together made it an enjoyable viewing experience, as long as you believe enough in the characters to want to know what happens to them.

You'll probably never seek out this film unless you're already a fan of Casta. But if the mood fits you right, or you simply like movies set in the '40s, this can be a very rewarding film.