Rating: R
Genre:
Romance
Theatrical Release: 03/02/1990(USA)
Release Date: 11/05/2002
SubTitles: English/French/Espanol
Dubbed: French
Sound: 2
Run Time: 92 Minutes
Flags: Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language, Profanity, Sexual Situations
Distributor/Studio: MGM
Bertrand Blier's films have explored the sometimes misogynistic sexuality of younger men, but here he offers an absorbing, funny, and moving take on a middle-aged man's adulterous affair.
Gerard Depardieu stars as
Bernard, an affluent car dealer who finds himself in the grip of a violent passion for his new secretary, a rather plain-looking, middle-aged woman played by
Josiane Balasko. Seemingly a happily married man with a beautiful wife (
Carole Bouquet) and children, he can't understand what is happening as his life is turned upside down. While it may seem that
Blier simply enjoys tweaking convention, he's clearly after far more than laughs given the tenderness he finds in the scenes between the adulterous lovers.
Bernard's age has suddenly made him more vulnerable, a state of emotion that he realizes
Colette grasps intuitively.
Depardieu and French comedienne
Balasko make a completely believable couple, and the photography of the great
Philippe Rousselot is stunning.
~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide