Critic Reviews
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Tom Milne, Time Out
Sexuality takes precedence over salvation, but there is the same interiority, the same intensity, the same rigorous exclusion of all inessentials.
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Bosley Crowther, New York Times
It is slow, solemn, rigidly conventional and as stilted as a silent film, but it shows Bresson's early ability to catch sober and smoldering moods with his camera.
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Like much (if not all) of Bresson's best work, it can't be assimilated to realist criteria, but it's unforgettable for its fire-and-ice evocations of tragedy in an unlikely setting.
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Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
The blend of flame and frost in Maria Casares' gaze is where Bresson and Cocteau really meet and meld
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
The performances by both Casares and Labourdette were strikingly captivating and were enough in themselves to carry the film.
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Jake Euker, Filmcritic.com
The fact of Bresson's as yet undeveloped style, coupled with Cocteau's fearless lyricism, produces a one-of-a-kind film. It's irreproducible, a jewel.
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Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Bresson's treatment of the material has the marks of his later style, but it's also more overtly stylized than anything else he did later.
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Dan Jardine, Apollo Guide
Elina Labourdette is wonderful as Agnès, conveying her character's ethical strength with real beauty within and without.
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James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
Les Dames has moments of subtle power that suggest the direction Bresson's filmmaking aesthetic would eventually take; in fact, it was the last film he made in the traditional style before striking out completely on his own.
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, Film4
Already [Bresson] exerts complete control over the entire work, stripping away extraneous emotions.
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Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle
Praised by such filmmakers as Jean-Luc Godard and Michelangelo Antonioni, the film is rarely screened.
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Matt Bailey, Not Coming to a Theater Near You
It is not, by any means, the best film made during the Occupation, but it is a key work in Bresson's oeuvre and one that is surprisingly absorbing even today.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
... a brilliant romantic melodrama...
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Mark Robison, Reno Gazette-Journal
Its dialogue still stings, and its heartbreak still rings true.
Read all 14 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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Maria Casares is wonderful in this film that is otherwise too melodramatic for its own good. Style of Robert Bresson is evident everywhere here, but the main problem is the Dialogue Written by famous Jean Cocteau. Even if it makes the film a interestingly off-beat it just does not… More
Maria Casares is wonderful in this film that is otherwise too melodramatic for its own good. Style of Robert Bresson is evident everywhere here, but the main problem is the Dialogue Written by famous Jean Cocteau. Even if it makes the film a interestingly off-beat it just does not come out naturally from the actors. Some charming moments, but leaves a bad aftertaste.
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an interesting early bresson exercise in noir style. maria casares makes a stunningly vicious femme fatale tho i must say her former lover was naive to allow her to arrange his wedding! for as everyone knows, hell hath no fury....and, at least in bresson's world, the… More
an interesting early bresson exercise in noir style. maria casares makes a stunningly vicious femme fatale tho i must say her former lover was naive to allow her to arrange his wedding! for as everyone knows, hell hath no fury....and, at least in bresson's world, the 'society' lady is far more corrupt than the so-called 'fallen' woman, in spite of hypocritical social conventions. bresson definitely had his craft down at this stage, tho it's more conventional than his later work
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Like 1950's "Les Enfants Terribles" (also scripted by Jean Cocteau), "Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne" is a tale of a spiteful shrew manipulating others into a false romance. Did Cocteau have issues with women that I should know about?
The film opens with the… More
Like 1950's "Les Enfants Terribles" (also scripted by Jean Cocteau), "Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne" is a tale of a spiteful shrew manipulating others into a false romance. Did Cocteau have issues with women that I should know about?
The film opens with the split of a rich, socialite couple as Jean (Paul Bernard) confesses that he no longer loves girlfriend Helene (Maria Casares, also the co-star of Cocteau's "Orpheus"). Jean is a naive, idealistic sort who means no harm and wishes to sustain a friendship, but Helene secretly plots revenge. Taking advantage of her ongoing influence, she wickedly steers him to court Agnes (Elina Labourdette), a cabaret dancer and prostitute whose grace and fresh beauty belie her tawdry background. Similarly, Helene builds a calculated relationship with Agnes and pushes her toward Jean. Jean quickly falls in love, like people do in dreamy '40s movies, and thus seems bound for crushing disgrace when he (and his peers) learn of his new mate's past.
It's hard not to unfavorably compare "Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne" with "Les Enfants Terribles" -- the former suffers from weaker visual style, a less charismatic cast and a corny, melodramatic ending. And while "Boulogne" may be an early Robert Bresson film, it has few of the director's stylistic trademarks. The characters do have the rapturous, artistic passions familiar to Cocteau scripts, and fans of his work will find plenty to enjoy.
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In "Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne," Jean(Paul Bernard) dumps his lover Helene(Maria Casares), having the termerity to not only be polite about it, but also on their second anniversary, which he had forgotten about. So, of course, you know this means revenge. Helene's… More
In "Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne," Jean(Paul Bernard) dumps his lover Helene(Maria Casares), having the termerity to not only be polite about it, but also on their second anniversary, which he had forgotten about. So, of course, you know this means revenge. Helene's fiendish plan starts on a kind note with the rescue of Agnes(Elina Labourdette), a dancer, and her mother(Lucienne Bogaert) from their debts, both financial and moral. Having set them up in a new apartment, all Helene wants them to do is go for a walk in a nearby park...
"Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne" is an above average melodrama that again shows that unless you are Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss how hard it is to adapt a classic story(in this case from the 18th century) to the present day. Adding a degree of difficulty here is that this particular tale concerns morals, which makes it hard for even the most astute viewer how to apply them, considering this movie was also made in 1945. In any case, Helene's scorched earth approach leaves a little to be desired, as Agnes suffers through no fault of her own and much more compared to Jean who certainly has more to lose. In fact, Helene's behavior is almost so over the top that she actually reminds me a little of an evil witch from a Disney cartoon.
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It was hard to get into and really difficult to stay focused, but it is definitely a film that makes it all work by the end. The last 15 minutes are excellent, the only question is that did everything that preceded it have to be presented as such to make the ending work or could… More
It was hard to get into and really difficult to stay focused, but it is definitely a film that makes it all work by the end. The last 15 minutes are excellent, the only question is that did everything that preceded it have to be presented as such to make the ending work or could Bresson have spiced things up a little in between and still maintained the same effective ending?
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A haunting French film noire, which could easily be responsible for coining the phrase femme fatale. Maria Cesares is brilliant portrating the plotting spider who weaves the web around the men she loves and the women she despises to lure them into a fatal liason. The dialogue is very… More
A haunting French film noire, which could easily be responsible for coining the phrase femme fatale. Maria Cesares is brilliant portrating the plotting spider who weaves the web around the men she loves and the women she despises to lure them into a fatal liason. The dialogue is very lyrical and the emotions (particulary the ending) ooze with vivid tearjerks, this movie from France after all. This movie is also remarkably raunchy for 46 showing some decent amount of underwear and skin, which makes this movie both a classic and a dare. If you have any affinity with film noir or French cinema at all this movie is highly recommended and it might serve as a good introduction to French Cinema for you if you have not been confronted with it yet.
Go fetch it and tell me what you think of it !
Henrik
Read all 6 featured audience ratings
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