Belle de Jour

Luis Buñuel is one of the great directors, a master of surrealism and, when he delves into psychoanalysis, things can get very odd but incredibly intelligent.  In 1967 he released Belle de Jour, based on the 1927 novel by Joseph Kessel and starring Catherine Deneuve.  Like most of his films, it was very well received by critics and remains one of his finest films.
 
It begins with a couple riding in a coach, making small talk when suddenly the man decides to eject his female companion and, when she won't leave voluntarily, has the drivers pull her out, drag her through the forest, tie her to  a tree, strip her, whip her and then he leaves her to be raped.  Turns out that this is just a dream by a bourgeois housewife, Séverine, who is happily married to Pierre, a successful surgeon, but you immediately get the impression that a certain passion is lacking from their marriage.  During a trip to a ski resort to celebrate their first wedding anniversary, a conversation somehow turns to brothels and Séverine expresses surprise that they still exist.  She questions her husband about them and he says that they are undercover but doesn't deny having frequented them, saying that he spent some money and half an hour in one before feeling depressed for the rest of the day.
 

 
Back in Paris, Séverine seeks out a high-class brothel run by Madame Anaïs and, despite her reluctance, agrees to stay if she can work between 2 and 5 pm; as the prostitutes use pseudonyms, Madame Anaïs decides that the moniker Belle de Jour would be fitting.  After her first attempt as a dominatrix proves disastrous, she is chosen by a wealthy sweet salesman who throws her around and dominates her.  This proves successful and he leaves a satisfied man.
 
Leading a double life revolving around her husband's working hours seems to improve things at home and she is even picked to travel to someone's house where she plays dead in a sheer chemise while he masturbates under the coffin!  She also attracts the attention of a hood who doesn't respect the boundaries between professional and private relationships, wanting something from her that she can't and won't give.  Meanwhile her dreams around the coach persist and even become more vivid to include a scene where she is tied up and insulted whilst the men throw mud at her.  It is only a matter of time before the dream world and the real world meet and we find out in which one she lives.
 

 
Belle de Jour is an incredibly intelligent and rich film with multiple layers and meanings, repeating Buñuel's use of dream sequences and the otherworldly.  He has clearly read Freud and Lacan as his use of scopophilia, fetishism and eroticism testifies.  In the extra features the screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière mentions how Lacan was going to deliver a lecture but decided to screen Belle de Jour and the students were taking notes.  You don't need to have read Lacan or touched on psychoanalysis to appreciate this, but it helps!

The Disc

 
Extra Features
The commentary by Peter William Evans (credited on the menu just as Peter W Evans) is a revealing and academic discussion about the film, with Evans picking out themes and aspects of the mise-en-scène that illustrate the subtext.  It is a slowly paced commentary with the odd bit of dead air, but what Evans has to say is worth listening to and helps a great deal in your understanding of the film.
 
The 'History of the Film' featurette is a fascinating half-hour piece with contributions from Jean-Claude Carrière and assistant director Pierre Lary who talk about the development of the project, the themes and information from on the set - Carrière tells how Buñuel  told Deneuve that the chemise was not see-through and that she was furious when she saw the rushes which proved otherwise!
 
There are also the theatrical trailer, trailers for other Optimum releases and a sixteen-page booklet which wasn't provided for review.
 

 
The Picture
A very sharp and well defined transfer of a film that's 40 years old - colours and contrast are good and skin tones excellent; what you see of Catherine Deneuve looks fantastic and, though there are a few scratches and hints of grain, I got the impression that this was something that had received a great deal of attention.
 
The cinematography is superb and shows off the lush production design and art decoration - plenty of detail has obviously gone into the mise-en-scène and you can tell a great deal from the costumes.
 
The Sound
I guess that the sound has been restored as there is no evidence of hissing or pops and the dialogue is crisp.  The optional English subtitles are excellent and largely free from errors.
 

 
Final Thoughts
Belle de Jour is a wonderfully thought-provoking film that, like Buñuel's best work, improves with repeated viewing as you pick out lines and elements of the design that add to the subplot. Catherine Deneuve has never been better, this is her finest moment, and she lights up the screen even when dealing with some of the most complex and challenging subject material.