The Blonde with Bare Breasts
Encyclopedia
The Blonde with Bare Breasts is a 2010 French
film written and directed by Manuel Pradal.
), 25 years old, and Louis (Steve le Roi), 14 years old, are brothers. Their father often beat Julien, who defended Louis from also being beaten by him. He is terminally ill now. The brothers do not care much, but try to obtain ownership of his river transport ship, which they already use.
A gang offers money for stealing the Edouard Manet
painting La blonde aux seins nus (The Blonde with Bare Breasts) from the museum. They agree, and Louis actually does it, while the young guard Rosalie (Vahina Giocante
) is distracted. Rosalie comes after him, onto the ship, but Louis manages to lock her up. Later she is free to move around on the ship. Although she is sometimes treated rudely, she likes the adventure. The police suspect her of being involved. She helps by hiding the painting and herself, when the ship is searched.
Julien and Rosalie have sex. Louis is jealous and pretends to have hung himself by hanging up a life-size doll dressed in his clothes. Julien plans to kill Rosalie, because she knows they stole the painting, Louis tries to protect her by advising her to escape. She returns the painting to her father, who arranges its restoration. The gang that wanted to buy it beats up Julien, out of revenge. Rosalie reunites with the brothers on the ship. In the meantime, the brothers' father died. Louis gets the ship, apparently because only he is his real son.
and the Seine
, and by spring 2009 was completed.
. The film had its world premiere in June 2010 in the Netherlands under the French title.
wrote "Nederland heeft de wereldpremière. Een dubieuze eer, want de film is niet erg sterk." (The Netherlands has the world premiere. A dubious honor, as the film is not very strong). He expanded on his review by writing "Net zoals het schilderij heeft de film weinig inhoud. Het probeert van de hoofdpersonages sympathieke schelmen te maken die lak hebben aan het establishment. Dat lukt maar half." (Like the painting, the film has little content. It attempts to make the main characters likeable rogues who have disdain for the establishment. That only half succeeds). However he did approve of the locations, writing, "De locaties maken een beetje goed: het bezoek aan het schilderachtige plaatsje dat nog de sfeer van de Impressionisten ademt, levert een paar aardige scènes op." (The locations make up for that somewhat: the visit to the picturesque
village that still breathes the atmosphere of the impressionists delivers a few nice scenes).
Jordan Mintzer of Variety
wrote, "Despite what some may consider a promising title, there's unfortunately little to show for it in The Blonde With Bare Breasts", calling Manuel Pradal's film an "aimless intrigue". Referring to Pradal's earlier films, he wrote the film was "clearly a case of style over substance", and offered that the substance of the film was "so ephemeral and misconstrued" that it detracted from Yorgos Arvanitis' otherwise superb location cinematography
.
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
film written and directed by Manuel Pradal.
Plot
Julien (Nicolas DuvauchelleNicolas Duvauchelle
Nicolas Duvauchelle is a French actor.-Biography:Duvauchelle starred in numerous movies including Lightweight, À tout de suite and Le Grand Meaulnes...
), 25 years old, and Louis (Steve le Roi), 14 years old, are brothers. Their father often beat Julien, who defended Louis from also being beaten by him. He is terminally ill now. The brothers do not care much, but try to obtain ownership of his river transport ship, which they already use.
A gang offers money for stealing the Edouard Manet
Édouard Manet
Édouard Manet was a French painter. One of the first 19th-century artists to approach modern-life subjects, he was a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism....
painting La blonde aux seins nus (The Blonde with Bare Breasts) from the museum. They agree, and Louis actually does it, while the young guard Rosalie (Vahina Giocante
Vahina Giocante
-Movie roles:As Marie in Marie Baie des Anges , she is among a group of young wanderers who become enmeshed in love, hate, and violence on the French Riviera....
) is distracted. Rosalie comes after him, onto the ship, but Louis manages to lock her up. Later she is free to move around on the ship. Although she is sometimes treated rudely, she likes the adventure. The police suspect her of being involved. She helps by hiding the painting and herself, when the ship is searched.
Julien and Rosalie have sex. Louis is jealous and pretends to have hung himself by hanging up a life-size doll dressed in his clothes. Julien plans to kill Rosalie, because she knows they stole the painting, Louis tries to protect her by advising her to escape. She returns the painting to her father, who arranges its restoration. The gang that wanted to buy it beats up Julien, out of revenge. Rosalie reunites with the brothers on the ship. In the meantime, the brothers' father died. Louis gets the ship, apparently because only he is his real son.
Cast
- Nicolas DuvauchelleNicolas DuvauchelleNicolas Duvauchelle is a French actor.-Biography:Duvauchelle starred in numerous movies including Lightweight, À tout de suite and Le Grand Meaulnes...
as Julien - Vahina GiocanteVahina Giocante-Movie roles:As Marie in Marie Baie des Anges , she is among a group of young wanderers who become enmeshed in love, hate, and violence on the French Riviera....
as Rosalie - Tomasz Kowalski as Polonais
- Steve Le Roi as Louis
Production
Filming began on July 29, 2008, for a 9 week period near ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and the Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
, and by spring 2009 was completed.
Release
The film was first released in France on January 16, 2010, and was screened at film festivals, including Le Festival du Film de Cabourg and CannesCannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
. The film had its world premiere in June 2010 in the Netherlands under the French title.
Reception
Of the film's world premiere in the Netherlands, André Waardenburg of NRC HandelsbladNRC Handelsblad
NRC Handelsblad, often abbreviated to NRC, is a daily evening newspaper published in the Netherlands by NRC Media. The newspaper was created on October 1, 1970, from merger of the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant and Algemeen Handelsblad . In 2006 a morning newspaper, nrc•next, was launched...
wrote "Nederland heeft de wereldpremière. Een dubieuze eer, want de film is niet erg sterk." (The Netherlands has the world premiere. A dubious honor, as the film is not very strong). He expanded on his review by writing "Net zoals het schilderij heeft de film weinig inhoud. Het probeert van de hoofdpersonages sympathieke schelmen te maken die lak hebben aan het establishment. Dat lukt maar half." (Like the painting, the film has little content. It attempts to make the main characters likeable rogues who have disdain for the establishment. That only half succeeds). However he did approve of the locations, writing, "De locaties maken een beetje goed: het bezoek aan het schilderachtige plaatsje dat nog de sfeer van de Impressionisten ademt, levert een paar aardige scènes op." (The locations make up for that somewhat: the visit to the picturesque
Picturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year 1770, a practical book which instructed England's...
village that still breathes the atmosphere of the impressionists delivers a few nice scenes).
Jordan Mintzer of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
wrote, "Despite what some may consider a promising title, there's unfortunately little to show for it in The Blonde With Bare Breasts", calling Manuel Pradal's film an "aimless intrigue". Referring to Pradal's earlier films, he wrote the film was "clearly a case of style over substance", and offered that the substance of the film was "so ephemeral and misconstrued" that it detracted from Yorgos Arvanitis' otherwise superb location cinematography
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
.