Voyage En Douce
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: C- Film: C+
Michel
Deville explores sexuality and even lesbianism in his 1981 drama Voyage En Douce in which best female
friends (Dominique Sanda and Geraldine Chaplin) Helena & Lucie rekindle
their friendship in ways they may not have even expected. Friends since childhood, they have a long
history together and when one of them leaves her husband, the trip they take
offers reflections of all kinds. This
includes some interesting flashback sequences.
Though
this is a decent film, it is not always a successful one, despite fine
performances from the leads. The problem
is that writer/director Deville has some understanding of women, but not enough
to sustain a film at this level, for this length of time and enough to suspend
disbelief in the most intimate ways.
This is not to say there is some kind of “thought police lesbianism” or
the like, but just that being male causes the film to hit walls it might have avoided
with a skilled female writer and/or director.
Otherwise, it is often beautiful and is a mature work.
The
letterboxed 1.66 X 1 image has a flattened look that limits depth and detail,
with Claude Lecomte’s cinematography undermined by a transfer that should have
been anamorphically enhanced. Even color
is sometimes strange. The Dolby Digital
2.0 French Mono sounds a few generations down, but there are optional English
subtitles that will help those who don’t like the sound or do not speak
French. There are no extras, though four
New Yorker trailers are included.
- Nicholas Sheffo
