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PARALLEL LIVES

Today's film was Catherine Breillat's

Barbe Bleue / Bluebeard (2008)

Two little girls in the fifties read the story to each other. We see the story enacted.

In many ways, almost all ways, this is just a medieval costume drama about a young woman, actually a girl, in the clutches of a fiendish villain. But that is not really what we see. The villain is sedate. He is tender. He withdraws when he is "too big" for the youngster on the wedding night. And so on.

But she violates his trust in one respect and that is to go open the door to the room where he keeps the cadavers of his past wives.

The deal is that she will join them because she can't be trusted.

Things do not turn out quite the way we expect or at least the way I expect. Or, for that matter how Bluebeard or the girl expect. Or for the two girls, remember them? Reading the story.

The film is short and sweet with some medieval dancing and other twaddle but the central force is between this ugly man/brute and the sweet girl.

We almost do not notice the girls reading the story until, well, until.

I liked it. Once is enough but I kept going through the medieval twaddle which didn't last too long.

I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films