Highest honors go to this stylish, cinematically refined adaptation of a George Simenon thriller. Michel Blanc becomes a person of interest for a murder investigation mainly because he’s disliked and anti-social; Sandrine Bonnaire is the neighbor that he peeps at nightly, to stir his secret passion. Director Patrice Leconte directs with almost perfect control, turning the show into an emotional workout.
Monsieur Hire
Blu-ray
Cohen Film Collection
1989 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 79 min. / Street Date October 25, 2022 / Available from / 29.95
Starring: Michel Blanc, Sandrine Bonnaire, Luc Thuillier, André Wilms, Eric Bérenger, Marielle Berthon, Philippe Dormoy, Marie Gaydu, Michel Morano, Nora Noël.
Cinematography: Denis Lenoir
Production Designer: Ivan Maussion
Costume designer: Elisabeth Tavernier
Film Editor: Joëlle Hache
Original Music: Michael Nyman
Scenario, adaptation and dialogue by Patrice Leconte, Patrick Dewolf from the book Les fiançailles de M. Hire by Georges Simenon
Produced by Philippe Carcassonne, René Cleitman
Directed by Patrice Leconte
We’re fond...
Monsieur Hire
Blu-ray
Cohen Film Collection
1989 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 79 min. / Street Date October 25, 2022 / Available from / 29.95
Starring: Michel Blanc, Sandrine Bonnaire, Luc Thuillier, André Wilms, Eric Bérenger, Marielle Berthon, Philippe Dormoy, Marie Gaydu, Michel Morano, Nora Noël.
Cinematography: Denis Lenoir
Production Designer: Ivan Maussion
Costume designer: Elisabeth Tavernier
Film Editor: Joëlle Hache
Original Music: Michael Nyman
Scenario, adaptation and dialogue by Patrice Leconte, Patrick Dewolf from the book Les fiançailles de M. Hire by Georges Simenon
Produced by Philippe Carcassonne, René Cleitman
Directed by Patrice Leconte
We’re fond...
- 1/28/2023
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
"Woman on Top" illustrates what can go wrong when filmmakers conjure up magical realism outside of a cultural context. The film purports to be the story of a young female chef from the Brazilian state of Bahia who creates aphrodisiac magic with her chilies and spices. But the story takes place in a cosmos where Carmen Miranda would feel at home. The star is Spanish, the director is Venezuelan, and all of the characters, whether "Brazilian" or North American, speak fluent English.
While one can understand Fox Searchlight's determination to turn Vera Blasi's screenplay into mainstream entertainment, throwing an equalizing, all-embracing blanket over the subtleties of cultural and ethnic differences robs the film of the ingredients that might have turned "Woman" into an enchanting romance along the lines of "Like Water for Chocolate". Instead, the film wallows in tired Latin American stereotypes, and its magical realism feels more like Walt Disney's flubber.
Thanks to the charismatic star power of Penelope Cruz, "Woman" is never less than watchable, and on the strength of her name, it should generate business in specialty markets. But the broth is too tepid and its spices too off-the-shelf to entice the throngs Fox Searchlight is hoping for. The film, which debuted at Cannes and recently opened the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, goes into U.S. release in September.
Plagued since infancy by an unusually severe form of motion sickness, Cruz's Isabella has learned to control her condition by being in physical control of all things involving motion, which means she not only has to lead when dancing, but she also has to be on top when making love.
To compensate for this frustrating delicateness, a Brazilian sea goddess who governs all things in Isabella's village has given her extraordinary culinary skills, and she is sought after by restaurateurs far and wide. Yet Isabella is content to remain the underappreciated chef at the seaside diner run by her husband, Toninho (Murilo Benicio). She does so because of their fearsome passion for each other. Wildly in love, Isabella will tolerate anything -- except betrayal.
So when she catches Toninho, who desires just once to be on top, locked in a sweaty embrace with another woman, she flees Bahia for San Francisco, where she hooks up with her transvestite pal Monica (Harold Perrineau Jr.).
By paying homage to the sea goddess, Isabella is cured of her love for her husband. Then her culinary talents bewitch a local TV producer (Mark Feuerstein), who instantly gives her a cooking show. He too falls in love with her but soon faces a rival in Toninho, who has tracked his wife down and strives to win her back -- and break the goddess's voodoo spell -- with a mellifluous singing voice.
Cruz's dramatic flair and devastating good looks carry "Woman", but they're not enough to make up for the film's blatant artifice. The personalities are all too generic, ranging from Perrineau's "La Cage aux Folles" drag queen to Benicio's ersatz Ricky Ricardo. And Fina Torres, the France-trained Venezuelan director making her third film, relies on pretty postcard views of Brazil and the Bay Area interspersed with fatuous special effects.
Fake-looking food aromas from Isabella's kitchen drift through the streets of San Francisco, causing much of the male populace to drool and fall into a mad romantic frenzy. This foolishness gets compounded by the sight of 50 or so men trooping hungrily behind an oblivious Cruz as she marches down the street, the exact meaning of which is unclear. Are these men entranced by Isabella's spices or her physical beauty? And how exactly does this enchantment transfer to others who may or may not know how to boil water?
Cinematographer Thierry Arbogast has caught the touristy sides of Bahia and San Francisco, while Luis Bacalov's snappy score -- along with a wide range of Brazilian songs -- nicely propels the romance. And Elisabeth Tavernier's costumes help Cruz, in one of her first major English-language roles, make a lasting impression.
WOMAN ON TOP
Fox Searchlight
An Alan Poul production
Producer: Alan Poul
Director: Fina Torres
Screenwriter: Vera Blasi
Executive producers: Bronwen Hughes,
Fina Torres
Director of photography: Thierry Arbogast
Production designer: Philippe Chiffre
Music: Luis Bacalov
Co-producer: Nancy Paloian-Breznikar
Costume designer: Elisabeth Tavernier
Editor: Leslie Jones
Color/stereo
Cast:
Isabella: Penelope Cruz
Toninho: Murilo Benicio
Monica: Harold Perrineau Jr.
Cliff: Mark Feuerstein
Alex: John De Lancie
Running time - 85 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
While one can understand Fox Searchlight's determination to turn Vera Blasi's screenplay into mainstream entertainment, throwing an equalizing, all-embracing blanket over the subtleties of cultural and ethnic differences robs the film of the ingredients that might have turned "Woman" into an enchanting romance along the lines of "Like Water for Chocolate". Instead, the film wallows in tired Latin American stereotypes, and its magical realism feels more like Walt Disney's flubber.
Thanks to the charismatic star power of Penelope Cruz, "Woman" is never less than watchable, and on the strength of her name, it should generate business in specialty markets. But the broth is too tepid and its spices too off-the-shelf to entice the throngs Fox Searchlight is hoping for. The film, which debuted at Cannes and recently opened the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, goes into U.S. release in September.
Plagued since infancy by an unusually severe form of motion sickness, Cruz's Isabella has learned to control her condition by being in physical control of all things involving motion, which means she not only has to lead when dancing, but she also has to be on top when making love.
To compensate for this frustrating delicateness, a Brazilian sea goddess who governs all things in Isabella's village has given her extraordinary culinary skills, and she is sought after by restaurateurs far and wide. Yet Isabella is content to remain the underappreciated chef at the seaside diner run by her husband, Toninho (Murilo Benicio). She does so because of their fearsome passion for each other. Wildly in love, Isabella will tolerate anything -- except betrayal.
So when she catches Toninho, who desires just once to be on top, locked in a sweaty embrace with another woman, she flees Bahia for San Francisco, where she hooks up with her transvestite pal Monica (Harold Perrineau Jr.).
By paying homage to the sea goddess, Isabella is cured of her love for her husband. Then her culinary talents bewitch a local TV producer (Mark Feuerstein), who instantly gives her a cooking show. He too falls in love with her but soon faces a rival in Toninho, who has tracked his wife down and strives to win her back -- and break the goddess's voodoo spell -- with a mellifluous singing voice.
Cruz's dramatic flair and devastating good looks carry "Woman", but they're not enough to make up for the film's blatant artifice. The personalities are all too generic, ranging from Perrineau's "La Cage aux Folles" drag queen to Benicio's ersatz Ricky Ricardo. And Fina Torres, the France-trained Venezuelan director making her third film, relies on pretty postcard views of Brazil and the Bay Area interspersed with fatuous special effects.
Fake-looking food aromas from Isabella's kitchen drift through the streets of San Francisco, causing much of the male populace to drool and fall into a mad romantic frenzy. This foolishness gets compounded by the sight of 50 or so men trooping hungrily behind an oblivious Cruz as she marches down the street, the exact meaning of which is unclear. Are these men entranced by Isabella's spices or her physical beauty? And how exactly does this enchantment transfer to others who may or may not know how to boil water?
Cinematographer Thierry Arbogast has caught the touristy sides of Bahia and San Francisco, while Luis Bacalov's snappy score -- along with a wide range of Brazilian songs -- nicely propels the romance. And Elisabeth Tavernier's costumes help Cruz, in one of her first major English-language roles, make a lasting impression.
WOMAN ON TOP
Fox Searchlight
An Alan Poul production
Producer: Alan Poul
Director: Fina Torres
Screenwriter: Vera Blasi
Executive producers: Bronwen Hughes,
Fina Torres
Director of photography: Thierry Arbogast
Production designer: Philippe Chiffre
Music: Luis Bacalov
Co-producer: Nancy Paloian-Breznikar
Costume designer: Elisabeth Tavernier
Editor: Leslie Jones
Color/stereo
Cast:
Isabella: Penelope Cruz
Toninho: Murilo Benicio
Monica: Harold Perrineau Jr.
Cliff: Mark Feuerstein
Alex: John De Lancie
Running time - 85 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 7/26/2000
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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