morrison-dylan-fan Finding her performances in The Story of Adele H and Deadly Circuit to be fabulous,I decided to check Isabelle Adjani's IMDb page. A huge fan of auteur Jacques Becker,I was excited to find that Adjani had worked with Jacques son Jean, which led to me looking forward to the Summer season.View on the film:Not making anything else until a segment in 1991's Lest We Forget,director Jean Becker shows here what could have been,with a highly distinctive style,that retains the elegance of his dad Jacques production, but is proudly it's own creation. Wiggling Elle into the Montecciari family life, Becker and his cinematographer brother Étienne give the first half a lush Erotic rural Drama atmosphere,with sharp outdoor lighting giving the many naked appearances of Elle a sensually-charged mood,and the warm,golden glow within the Montecciari household colouring the cold shoulders and snide remarks Elle gets from family members. Closely working with editor Jacques Witta,Becker undresses Elle's flirting with tightly-coiled editing that brings to light a mystery in her family life, that gains clarity with each note Elle hits on a secret that her parents have locked from her sight.Adapting his own novel,Sébastien Japrisot wonderfully draws each member of the Montecciari family with quirks that abrasively rub against Elle, from the hot and cold romance of Pin-Pon and the frozen glances from the mother, to the fragile attempt at friendship from a half-deaf relative. Gathering the pieces to Elle's family life, Japrisot displays an excellent maturity to the horrors inflicted on her family,with exchanges between Elle and her locked behind a door dad allowing Japrisot to peel open the psychological damage that the secret has had on Elle. Looking ravishing from her first appearance,Adjani gives an incredible performance as Elle,who is given a sexual swagger in the naked scenes,which keeps the mental fragility just underneath the skin during this one deadly Summer.

christopher-underwood I don't know how I've managed to not see this film till now, except I guess, for some reason it was only available for a short time. But it is a stunner, all bright, golden and light, at first, but rapidly the evidence of some dark undertow becomes evident. Alain Souchon seems a barely adequate pairing for Isabelle Adjani but it all gradually comes together. Adjani is skimpily dressed, partly undressed or completely nude for the entire picture and so hypnotises that we are distracted and unable to foresee what will be the doom laden, final denouement. I cannot think of another film where the leading lady looks so sensational from every angle and throughout an entire movie as Adjani does in this. Never a dull moment, as they say, and more than that, little is what it seems at first and those we think have a handle on things maybe don't. There is an intimate moment between Adjani's character and her mother that astonished and baffled me that does resonate as the film builds to its explosive ending.

brunoabp It seems incredible, but I only got to see this picture 26 years after its release. A surprising plot that, at first, seems just like any other we would have already seen on screen. Allthou later it reveals itself to be full of surprises. Isabelle Adjani is at her peak of beauty and talent.One thing was always on my mind while watching her figure and style. It seems as if the director Jean Becker had based her image on one of Milo Manara's characters. Adjani's body lines and her face were a form of inspiration for one of these two artists.An absolute "must see".

Nicholas Rhodes Quite unique in its genre, this film tells the tale of a young lady seeking to avenge the rape of her mother and therefore her own origins. It all takes place around Carpentras, in the Vaucluse departement in Southern France. In the original book, the action takes place elsewhere but director Jean Becker thought that Vaucluse would provide better surroundings for the script. A mixture of eroticism and suspense in a hot summery atmosphere. It seems the action is situated in 1976 when the young Elaine is 20 years old. Adjani, a beautiful actress of pied-noir origin plays the principal role and Alain Souchon, well-known French Singer plays the role of the man who becomes her husband. Elaine although very sexy is mentally unstable and is out to catch those who raped her mother in the village twenty or so years previously.I find the film rather tedious at times, other moments, such as the wedding scene where they dance to the music of "Trois Petites Notes de Musique" sung by Yves Montand are pure joy. One of my favourite tunes, the "Roses of Picardy", an old english WW1 tune becomes the leitmotiv of the film as this was playing on the old piano when Elaine's Mother was raped. The end of the film is rather disappointing and leaves things hanging in the air.Elaine is in a mental institution, and Pin-pon (Alain Souchon) who thinks he's discoverd the rapists goes out to avenge them but targets the wrong men ...........we don't learn what happends after. No doubt Jean Becker wanted the audience to be left holding their breath !Picture quality is reasonable for the early eighties but contours are ill-defined and contrast too high. The DVD is available in France for around 15 dollars/euros but TF1 video obstinately refuses to but any subtitles, even French ones on it. So unless you speak fluent French, no chance of understanding the dialogues.