Le Divorce is a beautifully visual film directed by James Ivory.
BTW, one of my favorite older films directed by him is the stunningly beautiful A Room with a View. The screenplay is written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala who has written for many great films including the one I just mentioned. and she just died earlier this year.
Isabel (played by Kate Hudson) goes to Paris to visit and offer support to her married sister Roxy (Naomi Watts) who is expecting her second child. Little does she know how much support Roxy will need as her husband Charles-Henri is in the process of walking out just as his American sister-in-law is arriving?
This film is a great satire and commentary of French and American culture and attitudes.
Isabel (played by Kate Hudson) goes to Paris to visit and offer support to her married sister Roxy (Naomi Watts) who is expecting her second child. Little does she know how much support Roxy will need as her husband Charles-Henri is in the process of walking out just as his American sister-in-law is arriving?
This film is a great satire and commentary of French and American culture and attitudes.
According to this film infidelity is a common habit in
French society. It almost seems to be that people take it for granted when they find out that someone’s spouse
has strayed.
Quoting her French friends, Roxy mimics their habitual
phrases when they find out about infidelity: “Mais oui!” “Bien sur!”
“Naturellement!” I guess it’s considered
surprising when spouses stay faithful. But according to my own experience,
infidelity is quite common not only among the French in France but in many
other cultures that are French-speaking or not.
According to Roxy, the French will discuss every taboo
except money.
Thierry Thermitte is the philandering Antoine who always
gives his mistresses a special expensive handbag. I’m reminded of Marlene
Dietrich who always gave her lovers a special lighter as a souvenir of their
affairs. Though Thierry is getting a little “long in the tooth”, he still has a
certain charm with his hypnotic blue eyes.
In a funny way, Kate Hudson reminded me a little of her
mother Goldie Hawn when she acted in the movie with Peter Sellers in There’s a
Girl in My Soup.
Here's a clip:
Here's a clip:
Kate Hudson is the charming young Isabel who's ready to experience more of French culture and improve her French. Glenn Close is the mature American writer and woman of experience. Sam Waterston and Stockard Channing play the parents who are overly concerned that their prize painting doesn’t get lost in their daughter’s divorce settlement. Leslie Caron is the French mother-in-law.
Humor, satire, intrigue, mystery and romance—this film has a
bit of all these plus it’s also bilingual, in English and French!
A favorite quote from this film:
“In the end, every hero becomes a bore.” Attributed to Emerson
and slightly altered from “Every hero becomes a bore, at last.”
Here’s the official trailer of Le Divorce:
Below are a few scenes from Le Divorce:
Note of Interest:
Seems that infidelity is assumed to be a regular part of married life in French culture. It's also becoming a very regular part of American culture as technology is making it even easier for those whose desire is to stray from their primary relationships. In the United States, about 30% of divorce litigation is because of online affairs.
Seems that infidelity is assumed to be a regular part of married life in French culture. It's also becoming a very regular part of American culture as technology is making it even easier for those whose desire is to stray from their primary relationships. In the United States, about 30% of divorce litigation is because of online affairs.
