where: CINE ARTS @ PLEASANT HILL in Pleasant Hill, CA
when: Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
show: 9:45 pm
costs: $10.00 ticket + $4.00 junior popcorn + $4.25 medium Diet/Zero Coke + $1.00 Cookie Dough candy ( smuggled-in ) + $4.00 bridge toll = $23.25
auditorium: 1, "The Cine-Dome"
seat: 10th row, 25th column
La Belle Epoque ( 1890 - 1914 ) was a time accentuated by an opulent lifestyle and very fashionable clothes among the rich and priviledged few. A time when it was de rigueur for a young gentleman on the verge of entering haute monde to be under the tutelage of a courtesan well-versed in the social etiquette of that period's aristocratie.
In this tragic romance, Lea de Lonval ( Michelle PFieffer ), a most beautiful and highly sought-after childless courtesan is contemplating retirement. But a retired rival, Charlotte Peloux ( Kathy Bates ), asks a favor of Lea: instruct her enfant gate/cheri, Fred ( Rupert Friend, b.k.a. Cheri ), a spoiled, irresponsible and immature godson of Lea. What is meant to be just a few weeks' worth of "instructions" turns into a passionate six-years long affair as Lea commits the dreaded and unthinkable faux pas of falling in love with the needful, dependent Cheri.
Charlotte, eager to have grandchildren, arranges for Cheri to marry the daughter of another courtesan in her clique. Lea curtsies politely out of the picture and heads off to the South of France to heal and forget--"out of sight, out of mind."
Cheri's obsession with Lea threatens his marriage to Edmee ( Felicity Jones ), though. And when Lea hears of the impending divorce, she returns to the scene as "absence makes the heart grow fonder."
prediction: Michelle Pfieffer is a strong contender for an Oscar for Best Actress.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) Where-in Charlotte quips that "skin less firm holds perfume better;" 2.) The comparison-contrasts during the wedding, the consummation, and at an intimate moment; 3.) An "opium and cocaine" house; and 4.) Where Lea sees herself in the company of a well-past-her-prime courtesan at Charlotte's house for some aperitif ( a deliberately-orchestrated occasion by none other than Charlotte, herself ).
audience reaction: Hard to say, it was only I and two old ladies in the cavernous auditorium. And I was not about to reveal my secret identity. "Look! down in front. It's an employee. It's the security. No, it's Cine-Man! More powerful than a baby, faster than a speeding toddler, able to clamber over a turnstile in a single try." The Movie-Review World is a safer and friendlier place; thanks to me, Cine-Man! God Bless the Cinema.
recommendation: I am enamored of the rich Edwardian lifestyle depicted in this movie. Ah, to be young, and attractive, and rich, and care-free, and ... when am I gonna win the lottery or, better yet, does Bill Gates have a younger, single and available, sister? Oh! where was I ...? Yeah ... go see this period-piece movie for its sumptuous feast-for-the-eyes scenes.
spoiler alert! The deliberate and measured repartee between Lea and Charlotte seem more suited for a stage play.
The close-up scenes of Lea look diffused. For a good reason, perhaps--not enough "face paste" on the set?
fyi: The first movie that I saw at this cine-dome is the 1994 movie, FORREST GUMP, which also happens to be the very first movie shown after the re-construction was almost completed. I was hoping that TRANSFORMERS: ROTF would be playing here because last year's INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL was shown here. With its seats arraigned in an 120-degree ( I think ) arc, it would have made for a perfect venue for TRANSFORMERS. Interestingly enough, the title character in a preview for an up-coming movie, ADAM, mentions Forrest Gump, in reference to an offered box of chocolates.
I apologize for using a bunch of French words and phrases, but they all seem a propos ( here I go again ) to the subject of this review. I remember, after immigrating to this country, being required to take an "English as a Second Language/College-Level English Preparatory" course in high school even though I had been taking English classes since first grade ( in some parts of the Philippines, kids learn at least three languages almost simultaneously--a running joke is this: What do you call a native who speaks only one language? A Tagalog! ) I think I know why I was enrolled in that class: Even though I already had a fair enough command of the literate aspect of the English language, my teachers couldn't understand a damn word I said because of my very thick accent! ( I thought the way to a girl's heart was through the use of a thick accent--it only works for the French and the Italians, I'm disappointed to say; it's not enough for me to just have a French-Italian name. ) So, there I was in class, the helpless and innocent victim of the teacher's verbal assaults as she hurled at me words and phrases in FRENCH, LATIN, GREEK and SPANISH--talk about "tongue-lashing!" I was beside myself, my eyes welled with tears, as I sat wondering, What the Hell did I get myself into--all I wanna know is how to speaky Ingles! And as if this was not bad enough, the French, for the most part, don't spell their own damn words phonetically. I swear, the first time that I came across the phrase, hors d'oeuvres, I thought its proper pronunciation was: horse de overs, to everyone's amusement! It is so obvious why we hate the hoity-toity Frenchies! To heck with them.
word of advice: In retrospect, I am glad that my teacher, Mrs. Halland, went through all the trouble of teaching me all those alien words to help me expand my vocabulary. I am a better writer for it, I think (now, if I can only rely LESS on my computer's "spell-check" function, I'll be able to proof-read my posts better). But I can still talk funny whenever I become lazy, tired or inattentive about how I enunciate my words.
And, if you're a "worker in the world's oldest profession," take a cue from the courtesans in this movie and dump your pimp!
tidbits: Reduced to its very essence, this movie is about a sexual affair between an older woman and an hormonal boy. With that in mind, here's a true story ....
I was in Reno, Nevada, with some friends ( different from the previous one ) on the fourth weekend of March, 2003. On Saturday, the 22nd, I stepped into the elevator on the thirteenth floor to meet with my friends, for brunch, who were already on the ground floor at Harrah's Hotel and Casino. Unknown to me at the time, I had unwittingly walked into the lair of a pride of white cougars ready to go on the prowl for some fresh meat ( and I was as fresh as fresh could ever be: I had just showered )! As soon as the doors closed, the Amazonian Alpha Cougar wasted no time in speaking in no uncertain way into my right ear (she wasn't drunk, mind you) as she was licking her lips, remarking about how hot and sexy I was ( still am ) and saying how she would love to spend some time with me, all to the appreciative, leery stares of her pride. I stood frozen on the spot, remembering what a narrator on a nature show on PBS once said: "In the wild, any sudden movement means death." There I was, surrounded by a pride of hungry, ravenous cougars ready to pounce on me as they salivated and breathed heavily ( I think one of them was wheezing ) before their seeming helpless prey. Ah, but the beauty of being born with exotic good looks is that one can always get away with this line: "Eh, no speaky Ingles. Sorry ...." (I learned this from my eldest sister who used it on an undesirable man who propositioned her while she was riding on a bus one day. Thanks, sis, you're a life-saver! ) That elevator took, like, forever to go down from the thirteenth floor all the way to the ground floor--even with no stops in-between! Finally, a relief in sight: The doors opened. Whew! They left me paralyzed as they went about on the prowl. I almost wetted my pants--with urine, dummy! not The Other bodily fluid.
So, that's how it feels like to be sexually harassed, huh? It felt good, actually, to be the center of such a sexual attention. No wonder girls always dress provocatively whenever they go out and about on the town. I was honestly flattered, mind you ( the "bitch" that I am). You know what they say about flattery .... Now, if only they had flattered me some more! From now on, I had better take a shower each and every time before I venture out into the wilderness. Wish me luck.
Can you honestly believe Kathy Bates as a courtesan? Come on, now! Did you see the movie, ABOUT SCHMIDT ( 2002 )? Kathy Bates did a full-body nude scene in a hot-tub with Jack Nicholson! Ahhh, my eyes! my poor innocent eyes--they're burning, I exclaimed. 'Twas not the kind of nudity that I was hoping for. If it was her idea of a practical joke, clearly, I was not at all amused! I should have reported her to the SPCA-W ( Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Audiences-Worldwide ).
P.S. It took me well over eight hours to do the necessary research, as well as to write, proof-read ( repeatedly ) and edit ( repeatedly ) this particular entry. And this is not counting the actual movie-viewing itself!
