Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne (1945)

Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne
Directed by Robert Bresson
Written by Robert Bresson; additional dialogue by Jean Cocteau; story by Denis Diderot
1945/France
Les Films Raoul Ploquin
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Agnès: We’re unlucky. Every time we meet alone, it’s raining.[/box]

I’ve seen this before but remembered exactly nothing about it even while I was rewatching. Not a good sign. This is beautifully shot and acted but I just could not wrap my head around some of the character motivations.

Helene (Maria Casares), a wealthy socialite, is head-over-heels for long-time lover Jean (Paul Bernard).  When a friend tells her Jean’s ardor seems to be cooling, she denies it but decides to check things out.  She makes the first move and tells him that the thrill is gone for her.  To her dismay, Paul is greatly relieved to hear this and says he feels the same. They vow to continue their friendship.  Silently, Helene plots revenge.

She begins by meeting a widowed former neighbor Mme. D, who has fallen on hard times.  Her daughter Agnes, trained as a ballet dancer, is now making ends meet by working in a cabaret.  The degradation of her low occupation has led to her notoriety as a loose woman.  Helene offers to provide Mme. D and her daughter with a home and to pay for their expenses.  Her only wish is that they keep to themselves for three years so the world can forget Agnes’s  perfidy.  For some reason, they go along.

Simultaneously, Helene arranges an “chance” meeting between Jean and Agnes.  She then puts up all kinds of barriers between the two.  She has correctly assessed that Jean likes them hard to get and her revenge plan looks like it will be a screaming success.

Casares, whom I recently enjoyed in Children of Paradise, is exceptional here.  She has to do a lot of saying one thing while feeling another and is excellent at letting the emotions play across her face in a subtle and believable way.  Everybody else is fine and Bresson obviously knows how to tell a story.  But all along, Helene’s strategy just seemed like it should be super-obvious to all concerned.  In addition, being kept essentially in jail seemed to be a high price to pay for financial support especially while Agnes could make an adequate living as a dancer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMdkOau5Ucg

Clip – unfortunately I can’t find anything with subtitles