Belle Toujours

Belle Toujours
Directed byManoel de Oliveira
Written byManoel de Oliveira
Produced byMiguel Cadilhe
Serge Lalou
StarringMichel Piccoli
Bulle Ogier
Ricardo Trêpa
CinematographySabine Lancelin
Edited byValérie Loiseleux
Release dates
  • 8 September 2006 (2006-09-08) (Venice)
  • 11 April 2007 (2007-04-11) (France)
Running time
68 minutes
CountryPortugal
LanguageFrench

Belle Toujours is a 2006 French-language Portuguese film directed by Manoel de Oliveira. It was Portugal's submission to the 80th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee.[1][2] It is a sequel to the film Belle de Jour (1967).

Plot

Severine and Henri are reunited decades after their earlier encounter in Luis Buñuel's 1967 film, Belle de Jour. Severine is reluctant to see Henri again, yet he is adamant about seeing her again. She resents that by seeing her former blackmailer she has to confront her past of adultery and prostitution. Nevertheless, she is curious to know whether Henri revealed her secret life to her paralysed doctor husband as he was dying.[3]

Reception

The film was generally well received. It holds a 71% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 42 reviews, with an average score of 6.29/10. The site's consensus reads: "An unexpectedly moving sequel to Luis Bunuel's Belle du Jour, Belle Toujours is a short and sweet elegy on aging, sexuality, and the power of cinema".[4]

Philip French writing in The Observer described the film as "caviar to the general, but an elegant treat for cinephiles."[3] Time Out said that the film offers "a deceptive, philosophical and cautionary meditation, not only on age, appetite, pleasure, betrayal, mendacity, revenge and disillusionment but also in idle curiosity."[5]

Nominations

European Film Awards

Golden Globes (Portugal)

LUX Prize 2007

  • Best Film

The film was also in the Official Selection of the 63rd Venice International Film Festival, screened in the "Out of Competition" section.

See also

References

  1. ^ "A Record 63 Countries Vying For Best Foreign-Language Oscar Nod". Yahoo! Movies. 17 October 2007. Archived from the original on 26 September 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
  2. ^ Gaydos, Steven; McCarthy, Libby (15 January 2008). "Oscar's foreign film race heats up". Variety. Archived from the original on 30 June 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
  3. ^ a b French, Phillip (23 November 2008). "Belle toujours". The Observer/The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  4. ^ "Belle Toujours (2007)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Belle Toujours". Time Out.. 20–26 November 2008.