Elles

From Polish filmmaker/screenwriter Malgorzata Szumowska (Stranger, Happy Man) and co-writer Tine Byrckel comes a film about self-reflection in Elles. Starring actress Juliette Binoche (The English Patient, Three Colors: Blue, Cache) and young talents Anais Demoustier (Therese Desqueyroux, Last Winter) and Joanna Kulig (The Woman in the Fifth), Elles was released on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of Kino Lorber. VIDEO: Elles is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:35:1 anamorphic widescreen). While watching this film, there was something beautiful about the Michael Englerts cinematography. From scenes showcasing the women outside of their patio and you can see the buildings and scenery around them, for me it was the juxtaposition of beautiful images through Annes home. From her cooking food to wearing her silk pajamas, there was this look of beauty that was captured on camera. Almost heavenly to describe the living conditions of Anne, vs. the more grimy nature of her going to some location where graffiti is spraypainted on walls and she cant bare the thought of using the bathroom in that facility. But as beauty is captured in Annes home, theres also a beautiful capturing of sex scenes that involve Charlotte. They are subtle sex scenes but the way they were filmed was beautiful. Composition was fantastic! I didnt detect any problems during my viewing of this film on Blu-ray but overall, a solid presentation. AUDIO & SUBTITLES: Elles is presented in French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 with English subtitles. The film is primarily front channel driven, dialogue was crystal clear and the music from the classical music channel also sounds great coming from the front channel. There is good utilization of music from classical music to Swedish electro-pop. Subtitles are in English. SPECIAL FEATURES elles comes with the following special feature: Edited and Unedited Trailers - Featuring the original theatrical trailer (1:52) and the red band trailer (1:55) Stills Gallery - Featuring seven stills from the film. JUDGMENT CALL: Elles is a fascinating film as it tries to show us another approach to why people take part in prostitution. It is known that there are women putting themselves through college through erotic dancing and sex, but what makes Elles so different is that these women are not complaining about the work that they do or the men they have sex with. They are mostly negative about the living conditions that they once came from. While Anne tries to probe into why the young women do what they do, there is no remorse for having sex with married men. Its through these men that these young women feel they are in control, it is their freedom to do as they wish and if they want to make money through prostitution, then so be it. Charlotte and Alicja are just happy to have the money to live the way that they want. And while Anne is surprised by this, she finds herself wanting to be with them, interviewing them but also putting herself in their shoes of how life would be to live like them and be independent, sexually free and just enjoying life like the two young women are. Meanwhile, these two women look at Anne and are envious because she is a person with status and living a life that they want. Charlotte tries to explain to Anne that she has no problems having sex with men but her past life of living poor is much worse than what she does to make a living. She will never return to that life of being poor and for Charlotte, her questions for Anne is if she has a window in her bathroom. Taking Anne by surprise, she starts to realize that these young women dream of having things that she never really took notice of. So, its this journey of watching how Anne transforms herself from being a woman and journalist under deadline, always stressed out but seeing that these young women living a life of independent freedom, she admires that. While her husband criticizes her to not talk about feminism during a dinner with his clients. Part of the efficacy of this film lies in the performance of Juliette Binoche. Not only is she able to portray the role of Anne as natural but she is also an actress that can take small nuances and play with it and make us feel comfortable and that her character is natural. One scene features the character of Anne eating with Alicja and Binoche just shows us a woman having fun, trying to chew but always laughing because she is drunk. Its such a natural way of acting this scene out and goes to show how much of a talented, veteran actress she truly is. The other part of the films efficacy is the cinematography by Michal Englert. The film looks absolutely beautiful because of his composition and on Blu-ray, the film looks great. The scenes of Anne working at home and trying to tidy up to the sexual scenes of the film, the way its presented in film looks great! I may need to warn people that this film does include many sexual scenes. I know that there are people who complained about the use of sex in the film. Personally, I thought it was integral to the film, which was showing how these women have no problem doing requests for these married men. These men are not able to have their wives enact their fantasies, but these two women will make their fantasies come true. I will say that I dont think I have ever seen a golden shower scene in a film before, so suffice to say, the film really goes out to show how far these two young women will go in their sexual exploits. But as far as the Blu-ray is concerned, picture quality for the Blu-ray was very good, lossless audio was crystal clear and as for special features, there isnt really much included with the Blu-ray but trailers and a stills gallery. Sensual, natural and entertaining! Overall, Elles is a film about life and self-discovery. Its also a film featuring a magnificent, realistic performance by actress Juliette Binoche. And while it may not be the best film to star Juliette Binoche, its definitely one of her best performances seen in a film!

This movie presents the lives of some students that struggle to have the life they want in the middle of a wealthy society. They are presented with the options of a hard life doing waitressing or boring jobs getting a pay that does not allow them to build their life, or to render their services to men that are willing to reward them in more ways than money can do. This is a hard thing to present in front of our hard coded values. It is the difference between being exposed to landlords that want to abuse them for no pay, to live in unsafe neighbourhoods or to explore other avenues. All of this for a woman (Juliette Binoche) that feels neglected by her husband, overwhelmed by her housewife duties and at the same time producing an article for a magazine the famous Elle magazine about students that become call girls. Confronting this reality and her own boredom, frustration and sadness makes her reevaluate her life and her options. The end shows something that maybe is not what we want but many times it becomes what it is. The movie is very well acted and directed and addresses these very difficult topics in a caring way. I may disturb some people as some views may show a reality that some may not want to see.

I think the film did a good job dramatizing the disconnect between men and women and their need for play, adventure, danger, exploration, vitality in their relationships - in short everything that older marriages dont offer to the men and women who inhabit them. Juliette Binoche is always a joy to watch in any film, and the young prostitutes deliver powerful performances as well.

Love it

A different understanding of what may be part of the complex circumstances that result in a womans becoming involved in the sex trade.

I wanted to like this movie but it didnt happen, such a boring movie I didnt like it at all

A story of a woman, a family, another world; its honest and real. I love the ending scene, life a usual.

Well done and I enjoyed the unpretentiousness of the characters and film. I always like the French Movies as they say it like it is.

Kind of has a basic there and back again plot. No character arcs. An arrogant exploration of banality. Might have been funny with an REM soundtrack, everybody hurts.... sometimes.... Instead they ripped off classical music.

Whatever the implications and motivations are, Elles—the female form of they in French—doesnt spell them out, preferring to let us draw our own conclusions. The reductive suggestion that all women are whores and all men essentially johns certainly plays in here, but the film is more complicated than that, recognizing that sex itself is complicated, a once-simple evolutionary imperative thats now tangled up in the web of human consciousness. In its non-procreative form, its ideally a mutual expression of love, but the film portrays its darker side as a commodity to be bought and sold. A power to wield. A source of frustration and a vessel for misplaced desire. This might be nothing new, but Małgorzata Szumowskas provocative treatment of the topic makes Elles worthwhile, and something more than just a showpiece—which it also is—for Juliet Binoches significant acting abilities.