La Belle Noiseuse
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Movie Reviews of La Belle Noiseuse
Movie Review: Pretentious yes - but it is a work of art
Summary: 4 Stars
This loses a star for its sheer length, at 229 minutes its too long. As with a lot of French films I found the beginning very slow. Nothing really seemed to happen in the first 1/2 to 3/4s of an hour. Others will probably rightly say that all this is character development...
However, don't let the above put you off, because actually its a rewarding film on many levels. If you are interested in art then the film will fascinate you. The scenes with the artist and his model are engrossing and even more engrossing for me was watching the creation of the art. You actually see, for minutes at a time, drawing with ink, and charcoal, as well as the frustration of the artist and the magic of creation.
Of course this is also an erotic movie. Emmanuelle Beart as Marianne is a stunning looking art model who is physically manipulated by Frenhofer, the artist, to try and capture something that he never completed when painting his wife ten years earlier.
The story is slight, and yes pretentious, but in the end rewarding, as at the end there are a number of surprises, which neatly tie all the loose ends together. You may like me not appreciate or understand the ending initially, but the revelation ocurred to me the next day and everything fell into place.
Movie Review: Watch in 2-3 sittings...
Summary: 4 Stars
Perhaps they should have released this film in two installments, like Tarantino's "Kill Bill" series.
Of course the only thing it has in common with QT's film is an exquisite blonde leading lady.
Like many French films, there's just an overabundance of random, pointless "quasi-journalistic" everyday stuff that should have been left on the cutting room floor because they do nothing to move the plot along, develop the main characters, or expound on an underlying theme. My guesstimation is that a good hour could have been cut from this movie and it would still be very good (I wouldn't cut out any of Ms. Beart's divine nude scenes of course, that would be sacriledge).
This is an "art" film in the literal sense of the word: you get to see not only the psychological/inspirational/interpersonal process of painting a human being, but also the nitty gritty physical/craft side as well. If you have a generous interest in such things you'll no doubt savor every one of the film's 240 minutes. If not, I suggest either sitting down with a pot of strong coffee or seeing it in 2-3 sittings.
Movie Review: "The Unknown Masterpiece"
Summary: 4 Stars
It is said that just before death the sum total of a person's existence passes before the eyes in a fraction of a second. The essence! Truth without pretense. For the artist, "La Belle Noiseuse" is that essence captured on canvas. Edouard Frenhofer is a master painter who has spent the past 10 years languishing in contented happiness. Languishing because an artist actively pursing the truth in art is never contented. Blood needs to be shed and suffering must be endured for truth can be cruel. "La Belle Noiseuse" was Frenhofer's unfinished masterpiece; an attempt that was abandoned. To paint the truth it is not enough to merely copy what is seen by the eyes. One must go all the way, to penetrate, to . . . invent! This film painstakingly details the relationship between the artist and the model. The attempt by the artist to venture into the soul, and to return not only with the essence of the subject, but the essence of the artist as well. The script is loosely based on the short story "The Unknown Masterpiece" by Honore de Balzac. This tale was also highly influential on the painter Picasso.Movie Review: Emmanuelle Béart is the quintessence of a beautiful woman
Summary: 4 Stars
"La Belle Noiseuse" is a lovely four-hour film about an artist and his model, and men and women. Emmanuelle Béart is the very essence of a beautiful woman. To watch her in this film must be difficult for women, because of her striking natural beauty and grace. Few if any would measure up, worldwide.
Such a film could never be made by the American studios because of its length and painstaking attention to detail, as the aging artist--played magnificently by Michel Piccoli--attempts to create his "masterpiece," one stroke at a time. The film has an intermission, which would seem to have been vital when it was screened in French cinemas and elsewhere.
To watch two DVDs, and take time to do so, underscores the brilliance of so many French films over the years. The supporting cast members are terrific too, all of them. The only reason for four rather than five stars is because its length will not enthrall everyone, but it is well worth watching from beginning to end, and then watching the special features that come with the DVDs.
Movie Review: A fine film about the art of painting
Summary: 4 Stars
Putting aside the (quite pleasant) nude modeling of Mlle Beart, this film is ultimately about painting and artistic struggle. It details a painter's efforts to capture the very soul of his subject in an image fixed on canvas, which therefore captures only a single moment. The effect of this struggle on both artist and model is the theme of the movie. Oddly, this struggle is captured in the film much more through dialog than visually. For those who will find this sort of conversation among characters interesting, the run time doesn't seem all that long. This movie is likely to appeal to the same audience that enjoyed "My Dinner with Andre," although unlike that movie I'm not sure this one would bear repeated viewings -- it seemed to deliver up everything it had to say on the first viewing.