Belle Toujours (2006)

67% of critics liked it
(39 reviews)
37% of users liked it
(2,106 ratings)

Portuguese filmmaker Manoel de Oliveira pays homage to Luis Bunuel's masterful exercise in surreal eroticism, Belle de Jour, with this latter-day "sequel." Years ago, Henri Husson (Michel Piccoli) lusted after Severine, a beautiful and innocent young housewife who satisfied her less than wholesome… More Portuguese filmmaker Manoel de Oliveira pays homage to Luis Bunuel's masterful exercise in surreal eroticism, Belle de Jour, with this latter-day "sequel." Years ago, Henri Husson (Michel Piccoli) lusted after Severine, a beautiful and innocent young housewife who satisfied her less than wholesome erotic desires by working afternoons at an upscale brothel while avoiding intimacy with her husband. While Henri knew Severine's secret, he never told her if he did (or did not) reveal her secret life to her wheelchair-bound husband, and she's long wondered if he ever betrayed her confidences. One day, while attending a concert, Henri is startled to see Severine (Bulle Ogier, in the role Catherine Deneuve played in Belle de Jour) is also in the audience, and he arranges a candlelight dinner. However, while Henri is as sly and randy as ever, he discovers Severine is a changed woman -- after more than thirty years and the death of her husband, she's a mere shadow of her former self, and is considering joining a convent for retirement. Belle Toujours received its North American premiere at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 10 min.
Directed By: Manoel de Oliveira
Written By: Manoel de Oliveira
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Jun 8, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Jun 24, 2008
Studio: New Yorker Films

Critic Reviews

Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times
Belle Toujours lets us peer at one master embroidering on the legacy of another master.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
It's also more about class and less about sexual desire.
Sid Smith, Chicago Tribune
Belle Toujours is doggedly inconsequential, deliberately non-eventful and blank.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
The question lingers: Do we really need a sequel to Belle de Jour?
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
The 98-year-old [director] Oliveira addresses the beauty and cruelty of aging with such subtlety that the movie is worth taking on its own terms, as the hard-earned musings of its creator.
Manohla Dargis, New York Times
This 70-minute exercise ends before it begins.
Wally Hammond, Time Out
Beautifully, economically, directed, acted and photographed (by Sabine Lancelin), 'Belle Toujours' is essentially an affectionate, witty, often farcical jeu d'esprit, sweetly and knowingly bringing together the old-fashioned and the modern.
Tom Dawson, Film4
Oliveira's slender Belle Toujours has a certain curiosity value for fans of Belle De Jour, even if it never matches the surreal brilliance of the earlier film.
Kevin Maher, Times [UK]
As such, you want it to be a timeless triumph, but sadly it's a minor work.
Cath Clarke, Guardian [UK]
There is something reductive in all these talky explanations, nailing down the mysteries of fantasy and dream life that Buñuel so audaciously left hanging.
David Gritten, Daily Telegraph
The film is a maddening mix of mild fascination and boredom. Bulle Ogier plays Séverine, as Deneuve opted not to reprise her role. Without her, the film lacks the required frisson.
Tim Evans, Sky Movies
Pointless and just a little bit silly, it lumbers from one unlikely scenario to another while also managing to shoehorn in a couple of blousy strumpets who look like they've wandered in from an adult panto.
Nigel Andrews, Financial Times
Belle Toujours is a teasing charmer from a Portuguese centenarian.
, This is London
As an echo of the Buñuel masterwork, it could hardly be better in teasing out and expanding on its themes. Effortless artistry, in fact.
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
A watchable and intriguing drama, with subtle moments of humour, although it's essentially a companion piece to Belle de Jour and doesn't quite stand up on its own.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Cinematical
Belle Toujours allows Oliveira to reminisce, to be slightly playful and naughty, but still thoughtful.
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
Toujours suggests either creative immortality of a work of cinema as it flows through the imaginative process from one director to another, or simply sexual obsession perpetually unresolved. Or perhaps even a little of both.
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
Toujours suggests either creative immortality of a work of cinema as it flows through the imaginative process from one director to another, or simply sexual obsession perpetually unresolved. Or perhaps even a little of both.