There are some that put this film in their Top Ten list for 2005, but I greatly hesitate to list it along with films such as 2046 and A History of Violence.
It is a women's film. By that, I do not mean you will see it on Lifetime, but it stars women who are in full control of their sexuality. It celebrates that sexuality like no film I have seen.
Christophe Honoré (Love Songs) adapted an unfinished Georges Bataille novel and directed this film starring Isabelle Huppert (The Piano Teacher, The Bedroom Window, The School of Flesh, I Heart Huckabees) as a mother who has a child to raise after the untimely death of his father.
Pierre (Louis Garrel) has spent his time in a religious boarding school, so mom enlists the aid of her friends to expose his to her debauched lifestyle. Rea (Joana Preiss) and Hansi (Emma de Caunes - The Science of Sleep) do their best to erase all that religious training exposing him to not only regular sex, but some sadism as well.
The Elle Magazine fans who voted Louis Garrel one of their 15 Sexiest Men this year will not be disappointed at all at what they see. The rest, who are more interested in Isabell, Emma, and Joana will also be very pleased.
I am sure we all wish we had a mom like Hélène.
