Tara's Indie Pick Flicks

AprMon 2010 Filed in: Tara's Indie Pick Flicks

Bluebeard

Directed by: Catherine Breillat
Starring: Dominique Thomas, Lola Créton, Daphné Baiwir, Marilou Lopes-Benites and Lola Giovannetti
Now playing: IFC Center - 323 Sixth Ave., NYC

Bluebeard is Breillat's adaptation of the classic fairy tale by Charles Perrault. Bluebeard is a wealthy nobleman with a penchant for murdering his wives. Left destitute by their father's death, sisters Anne and Marie-Catherine are given a way out of a life of poverty when Bluebeard extends a dinner invitation their way. Despite his fearsome reputation, the young Marie-Catherine is taken with the ogre-like man and marries him shortly thereafter. The two have a somewhat loving relationship until business takes Bluebeard away, and Marie-Catherine discovers the horrible rumors about her husband are true.

The story unfolds through the eyes of two sets of sisters: Anne and Marie-Catherine, who live the tale, and the younger Marie-Anne and Catherine, two little girls from the modern era who stumble upon a copy of the fairy tale while exploring a forbidden attic. Like a lot of Breillat's work, themes of sibling rivalry, pedophilia, and burgeoning sexuality abound as both sets of girls experience the tale of Bluebeard. It works as both a cautionary tale and a story of feminist power.

I really like Catherine Breillat. Her films are raw, honest and unflinching in their depiction of female sexuality. While Bluebeard is more restrained than her other work, it's definitely worth checking out.

Tags: Tara, Movie reviews