FRIDAY MOVIE SUGGESTION NIGHT PRESENTS: "BELLE DE JOUR!"

Upon occasion, I have been asked by many of you to feature a "Foreign Film". and so I programmed "Belle De Jour"--it's as simple as that. Actually, I first heard of this Luis Bunuel "masterpiece" from a guy who took over my Afternoon to Midnight shift at the very first radio station that I worked at. He was a film genius, if not a proverbial "walking Encyclopedia". I can still hear him after all these years in the front lobby area of our studio raving about this movie as if it were a valuable stock to purchase. And in defense of those who will no doubt frown on my choice, a little perspective might be helpful. I do not take myself seriously, but I take the work I do--whatever I am laboring on--very seriously. The purpose of "Friday Movie Suggestion Night" is to share my love of movies with you. It is simply as the title implies, a 'suggested' movie night, albeit, many follow what I write weekly at least to consider whether or not to view a particular film. With two exceptions I don't repeat films outside of "The Steve McQueen Film Festival". And only twice, did I opt out and include current run films ("Capote" and "August Rush"). What I attempt to do is look for originality, a great range and I attempt to balance all of the featured films of excellence without pitting a comedy behind another comedy, for example. From Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau, to Jack Lemmon as a millionaire businessman and grieving widower who decides to have his apparel factory torched and just get out of the "rat race" of life, to a fatherless little boy who falls in love with Cinema during World War II in Italy. The Pink Panther, Save the Tiger and Cinema Paradiso (the films I've just referenced) couldn't be more different! My dream for FMSN is to make it appealing by offering something for everyone, and this week is an edgy film that relies on the subject matter (filmed in 1967) being handled without any nudity. Rather it implores the viewer to use their imagination without explicitness. The Plot: Catherine Deneuve who has forever been labeled "the most beautiful woman in the world", is married to a surgeon with whom she experiences little or no intimacy. A brief look back at an attack is inferred to explain why she begins to leads a double life by venturing into a devious if not surreal existence as a call girl by afternoon, known by the name "Belle De Jour". For decades now, critics have argued over the meaning behind a blurring of the line between reality and fantasy--the latter signalled by the sound of bells. This is the only film I've ever featured where the director admits to not knowing the boundaries himself after filming had wrapped!

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Alfred Hitchcock admired this film (to no one's surprise) for the way it draws the viewer into the story. The film was actually unreleased for years due to copyright problems until director Martin Scorsese became involved and had it released on DVD in 2003."Belle de Jour" was awarded The Golden Lion at the 1967 Venice Film Festival, as well as the award for Best Foreign Film in 1968 from the New York Film Critics Circle. The Cast: Catherine Deneuve as Severine Serizy (aka "Bell De Jour"); Jean Sorel is husband Pierre Serizy; Michel Piccoli is Henri Husson; Genevieve Page is Madame Anais and Pierre Clementi is Marcel. Again, I try to "mix it up a bit" each week and this offering is surely quite different fare. I'll be passing out the popcorn very quietly in the theater aisle! Interestingly, Deneuve deliberately avoided the Hollywood environment with the exception of the 1975 film, "Hustle" (with Burt Reynolds) and her royalties from film are donated to Amnesty International. She has never stopped working in films and her latest film (now in post-production) is entitled "I Want To See". She is also an active philanthropist in the removal of land mines, reminiscent of the non-profit work of the late Princess Diana.

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ENJOY!