Catherine Breillat’s MISTRESS at Cannes
by Andre Soares
Lisa Nesselson reviews Une vieille maîtresse / An Old Mistress in Variety:
"Catherine Breillat [right] has spent more than 30 years showing a knack for directing individuals wearing no costumes at all, so it’s doubly heartening she knows precisely what to do with lovesick characters in lavish costumes in An Old Mistress. Splendidly cast tale of a handsome young man who intends to stay away from his desire-stoking, long-term mistress after his marriage, brims with pointed dialogue, with the occasional duel or forthright sex scene interspersed to fine effect."
At the press conference for the film, Catherine Breillat talked about the stroke she suffered in October 2004 that left half of her body paralyzed. Via Allocine (Google translation):
"Simply put, that makes me laugh because I use numbers as symbols for everything, and 11 represents a body that is hemiplegic. And this happens to be my eleventh film. The courage to make this film stems from [producer] Jean-François Lepetit, for this is the most financially burdensome film I’ve ever made. The most burdensome film to carry around, too, since it’s a costume drama [the pun here is: heavy costumes = heavy film]. But filmmaking is my life, and my life in its plenitude has been invested in this film. I don’t believe it’s a hemiplegic film."
Une vieille maîtresse stars Asia Argento and Fu’ad Ait Aatou (top photo).
60th Cannes Film Festival winners
Cannes Film Festival 2007 - Official Competition Line-Up
Cannes Film Festival 2007 - Un Certain Regard
60th Cannes Film Festival - Cinéfondation
Cannes 2007 - Special Screenings
Cannes 2007 Opens with MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS
Cannes 2007: Polanski, DiCaprio, and Dumb Journalists
Cannes ‘07: Four Funerals and an Orphanage
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