Diary entries forBelle de Jour
Belle de Jour
Complex, confusing and at times insane plot, Belle De Jour is a wild watch. The main character needs serious therapy and all the help she can get. Her husband will probably need a better therapist though, good luck to him, he’ll need it. It’s an interesting film which has you hooked from the story, great imagery and mystery.
Belle de Jour
Finally getting to this one, too. I've only seen a bare handful of Buñuel's films but the last one, "Viridiana", stuck with me a fair bit so I didn't know at all what I could be in for here. Turns out, it's a quiet --and at times, nearly tender-- surreality that works oh-so-smoothly against the finely tuned sensibilities of the day. And it also centers a woman's pleasure and desire in a way I haven't... well, I have a lot of film history to get through, but for now I don't think I've even once seen another mainline 60's or prior film ever get this intent on it before, the balancing act of past and present traumas mingling with budding, flailing awareness in an era where you don't necessarily have the terms or community to describe what you're feeling. This film feels like her own trying to even get around to finding the words for the question, with the experience itself becoming the question in turn. What's fantasy, what's "real"... does it even matter where the line is drawn
Belle de Jour
"Eu lembro da moça bonita Da praia de Boa Viagem E a moça no meio da tarde De um domingo azul Azul era Belle de Jour Era a bela da tarde Seus olhos azuis como a tarde Na tarde de um domingo azul La Belle de Jour!" - Alceu Valença (Des)ilusões de um mundo materialista
Belle de Jour
Once again, a film that brilliantly portrays themes of desire, repression, and sexuality. Take notes, Halina Reijn. Through an ambiguous narrative, Buñuel presents us with Séverine’s internal struggle to rediscover her identity in a world that limits her, not only as a woman within a marriage but also as an individual trapped by imposed morality, forced to control her own impulses. Buñuel depicts eroticism in such an enigmatic way, without the need to show the sexual act on screen. The symbolism he employs is ingenious. It goes without saying that the scene with the box is precisely a gateway to repressed desire and a great metaphor for the mystery of pleasure, that which attracts and terrifies us at the same time, what we crave but do not dare to fully open. More than once, I found myself thinking, "Good for her," because I truly believe that finding refuge in fantasy is entirely valid when reality does not allow for freedom. Séverine does not seek pleasure merely for the sake of pleasure but as a way to gain control over something, which ultimately manifests in her desire for self-humiliation. I love how Buñuel does not judge his protagonist or overly dramatize the situation. He simply presents us with her internal struggle because, yes, there is obviously infidelity involved, but also a sense of guilt for failing to feel satisfied with the role imposed upon her. All I can say is that Marcel has captivated me, body and soul, and I love him, I love him, I love him.
Belle de Jour
didn’t really care for it but séverine and her husband are both hot so i watched it anyways
Belle de Jour
it's considered classic and praised by letterboxd and my mutuals. but i don't get the appeal. i like the cinematography and the outfit designs but aside from that it lacks a lot. im disappointed to say the least.
Belle de Jour
Stepping into Belle de Jour is like stepping into a house of mirrors, greeted by images that alter and mold and choose to materialize an embodying character into something diverse. Belle de Jour does so the same. Severine is a woman with a hidden appetite. She's played by the gorgeous Catherine Deneuve, a fantastic actress in this study-of-a-character film. She's introduced in a picture perfect setting, resting in a coach with her partner. Lanky autumn trees overcast the two (and the duo coach drivers), creating a fanciful and dreamy shot. Two minutes into the scene and the coach is pulled over. In the neighboring woods is Severine, shirt torn and tied to an overhanging tree branch. The drivers viciously gash her with a whip while her assumed partner glares on. And then, bizarrely, one driver initiates foreplay. The face on Severine sweeps from tormented to sedately enthralled. The real Severine though is a simple young housewife. She and her husband Pierre sleep parallel in seperate beds. There aren't any children around and no signs of it happening. When her eyes drift off, she erotically fantasizes. Her friend speaks of an old friend who supposedly spends her days working in a brothel, slightly intriguing Severine. Her stimulation encourages her to visit one, soon setting her up as a worker with the given name, Belle de Jour. The word prostitute, before you conclude, is never actually spoken in Belle de Jour. It isn't glimpsed upon either. It's an erotic film without the exploitation of sex. And no nudity at all. You don't need it with an intense supply of compelling characters and despite Severine's conventional appearance, she is but regular. Quiet and shy at first, her identity develops into an almost thriving and powerful female figure. The prostitute life can be frowned upon, but director/writer Luis Bunuel overshadows a woman, caught in the web of enticement, and resultantly feeling unrestrained in her own manner. Severine is eclipsed by bad memories that soon vanish at the sight of her manifested developing. Which on the contrary cannot be said about the stereotypical clients portrayed as average sleazeballs. Her first work is with the regular client who loves his girls and can't wait to test out the new one. Another sleazeball is the business looking man, stimulated by role play. It's weirdly amusing to watch. The clients (all men) see the girls as dick-hardening entertainment. The aspect I love about Belle de Jour is the satisfaction from both views. Luis Bunuel doesn't condone or even respect the work of brothels, but rightfully shines light to the enjoyment received by the client and the worker. It finely shapes its characters and in the outside world molds even more. Severine's dreams also expand the story and study of herself. This isn't so much a reviewing of its cinematography, acting and what not (all of that is great), it's a decipher upon realizing Belle de Jour's brilliance.
Belle de Jour
i wanted more of that subtle lesbianism 💔
Belle de Jour
Depois de pensar muito sobre esse filme e digerir sobre tudo que assisti, posso dizer que esse filme fala muito sobre solidão. Severine não tem ninguém com que ela possa sem 100% ela mesma, apenas pode dar pequenas versões de si para algumas pessoas. Na única vez que alguém a vê por completo, é julgada e humilhada. Se não fosse só isso, vemos a teoria da Senhora vs. Prostituta em ação porque uma mulher não pode ser ambos ao mesmo tem e nem escolher ser mais ainda. Severine é colocada em caixinhas tão pequenas que saímos do filme sem saber exatamente quem ela é. Conhecemos apenas seus amores e seus desejos, mas quem é ela? No fim das contas, A Bela da Tarde mostra como mulheres sempre são simplificadas ao ponto de termos versões tão simplórias de mulheres fascinantes. Não à toa que esse filme é um clássico e merece esse posto porque estarei pensando nele por um bom tempo.
Belle de Jour
i'm sorry but did belle de jour really just say she's 23 years old? i thought she was in her fourties omg this movie released 57 years ago and looks phenomenal!
