Customer Reviews

The Last Mistress (Une vieille maîtresse) (An Old Mistress)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The French title of "The Last Mistress" could be more accurately translated as "A Former Mistress," or even "An Elderly Mistress"--since the courtesan Vellini is a then-considered-ripe 36 when the movie begins. It is based on a novel by Jules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly published in 1851, and its period sensibility is as exquisitely accurate as the movie's costumes and sets. This is a portrait of a peculiar marital system. Well-bred French girls were educated in convent boarding schools, primarily in piety, needlework, and social graces. At the age of 17 or so, they returned to their families, who quickly arranged marriages for them. After marriage they were expected to learn how to run a comfortable home and to adopt their husbands' opinions and tastes--but not much else, unless they possessed enough brains and initiative to give themselves intellectual educations.

Meanwhile, well-bred French men of all ages were permitted to enjoy themselves in the demi-monde, drinking, gambling, and visiting courtesans. "The Last Mistress" shows the likely consequences of one such young man marrying one such young woman.

The rake Ryno de Marigny has gambled away his fortune, a much more serious drawback to marriage than his by-then-ten-year relationship with Vellini. However, Hermingarde, the lovely, supremely innocent, aristocratic, and wealthy bride he chooses, is under the sole guardianship of her grandmother, who rather fancies Ryno. As she tells a meddlesome friend, the girls of their own generation grew up in the time of de Laclos (the author of _Les Liasions Dangereuses_). They married rakes and were quite happy, so why should Hermingarde not be happy with Ryno?

At the beginning of the film, the meddlesome friend sends her husband (who, unbeknownst to his wife, was an occasional client of Vellini's well after his own marriage) to tell Vellini to let go of Ryno. The two stage a last farewell--as it develops, only one of many in their long relationship. Vellini tells Ryno that he will return to her, as he always has. Two days before his church wedding, Ryno confesses the story of the entire relationship to his fiancée's enchanted grandmother (who is comfortably swilling port) in a one-night narrative that occupies most of the film. He swears that it's all over.

The next scene is Ryno's wedding . . . so viewers may wonder, why is Ryno wearing a wedding ring on his right hand (the European custom) during the long, one-night narrative? In the 1830s the French state required a legal marriage at a registry office, but not a church wedding. Social and Catholic/religious convention required a church wedding, but this did not meet the legal requirement. Therefore most couples had a very small legal wedding at a registry office, then a church wedding about three days later. The couple did not cohabit till after the church wedding . . . still, Ryno seems to be already legally married when he tells his story.

Vellini is Spanish--exotic, tempestuous, amorous, and prone to wearing clinging Moorish-inspired boudoir outfits and puffing cigarillos. (The movie opens with a version of "Les Folies d'Espagne," an extremely popular base for instrumental variations in the 18th century. "Folie" translates to madness, wildness, extravagance, folly; and of course "d'Espagne" means Spanish.) Vellini's tantrums and occasional violence seem rather tiresome to modern eyes, but for some, represented an ideal mistress of the period--Carmen is a similar character. For men moving in a polite society full of prudish, docile, quiet, conventional women, wild threats and mild dagger cuts were exciting. Then there was all that hot-blooded passion . . . "The Last Mistress" is highly sexually explicit. (I constantly found myself thinking "yes, that's physically _possible_, but definitely not convenient or comfortable.") Ryno's very full red lips, as well as his immaculate dress, make him an 1830s fashion plate. His following his impulses--whether it's to have a wealthy bride, a passionate mistress, or both--seems excusable, because really, he doesn't have much else to do with his life either.

"The Last Mistress" is not just an exquisite historical costume drama: It contains some real food for thought.

I don't know the details, but it appears that Blockbuster really "locked up" the distribution rights to this brilliant, heart-breaking French film. There are currently no plans to release this to the mass retail U.S. market, so your options are to find a Blockbuster copy, import it from another region 1 country, or buy from someone who has done one of those two things.

Though I'm tempted to prattle on about the movie itself, countless reviews of this Cannes Film Festival Palm d'or nominee can be found online. I will say, it is one of the most stunning, sexually frank, thought-provoking, and melancholy period pieces I've ever seen (I'm a cinemaphile, so I've seen a lot). Filmmaker Catherine Breillat has finally made the film I always felt she was capable of--a true masterpiece. (My opinion of her work at large, is that I always liked what she was attempting, but never found her films that engaging.) I also think Asia Argento was criminally overlooked for her performance here, she has matured from being a joke of an actress (see any of her early films)...to a wonderfully subdued, but still sexually brazen siren who, unlike many of her counterparts, does not "over act." (I think her newfound acting maturity is why she is working with top notch filmmakers, like Breillat and Assayas, despite her relative obscurity in the U.S.)

What I'd like to address specifically though, is this version of the dvd. The Blockbuster version appears to be the same "unrated" version that played in theatres. I saw it theatrically and watched the dvd, and while Blockbuster has a reputation for editing/censoring their films, to my knowledge, I didn't notice that being done here.

(Be warned...the sex scenes are fairly graphic, though less so than Briellat's previous films.)

I would also like to say, being that I managed to acquire two copies of the film (an authentic imported Region 1 DVD and the U.S. Blockbuster version) that this one wins hand down for three reasons:

1. This is the 114 minute U.S. and film festival release of the film (most imports of the film are the 104 min. French cut of the film--I prefer the longer version.)
2. Though the bit rate is higher on my import DVD, the encoding is far superior on the Blockbuster DVD, thus the image quality is better. Further, the Blockbuster DVD (unlike the import) is enhanced for widescreen 16:9 televisions.
3. The subtitles are larger, and easier to read--the actual translations were identical to both dvds I watched.

How much you're willing to pay for this film is up to you, I've seen the prices fluctuate, but if you do want to add this to your film library, I would definitely suggest the Blockbuster DVD for its superior picture quality/widescreen TV enhancement, and any DVD version is going to give you a better movie experience than a digital version, though frankly, the digital versions of this film are MUCH more affordable.

At its core, The Last Mistress raises the age old question, What constitutes marriage? The long term earthy sexual bonding of two people or a societally regulated legal arrangement. Hence, Ryno and Vellini, two people orbitting the gravity of their sexual bond, sometimes close and sometimes far but always moving around the same center. Yet their self imposed social norms and economic necessities disturb but never break that bond.

I bought The Last Mistress on DVD after Tivo-ing it on the Independant Films Channel. The DVD happened to be the 104 minute Canadian release by Mongrel Media, also NTSC Region 1 as in the US. The IFC broadcast and DVD are identical in content. However, the DVD version runs slightly faster, hence a ten minute or so time discrepancy. The speed difference raises Ryno's voice pitch slightly so that it is not as deep and full as in the IFC version, but the sensual aura seems to be unaffected. The DVD had a much brighter picture and a thinner font on the English subtitles.

Otherwise I concur with other reviewers in that this film should have gotten alot more attention and play in the mainstream market. While certainly physical and earthy, it is by no means prurient or pornographic. Sadly, many cannot or choose not to discern the difference.

I saw that this was #2 rated in the most popular category for foreign films so i thought i would give it a try to see what all the hype was about and to see why it was so popular. And after seeing it I am still stuck with that question. Yes the actors did a good job and the storlyine was interesting but after seeing the whole thing i don't think it's that good of a film. Plus the ending was a big let-down. Overall i probably would not recommend this movie. They could have got prettier girls for actresses and maybe cleaned up the story more even with a better ending! I get it it's about lovers who can't be separate but to me the movie was somewhat torturous and I am being generous by giving it a rating of 3 stars!
I would recommend watching something that you are in the mood for. If you are in the mood for a twisting love story that urks your heart this movie is for you!

From a plot standpoint, we've seen this one before -- it's reminiscent of Dangerous Liaisons and Dangerous Beauty. The story line is framed by a chorus of mediocrity. What sparks and differentiates this film is Argento's performance. She is purely and unapolegetically carnal. She is comparable to a mix of Frida Khalo's masculinity and Cleopatra's seductress. I'm not sure how much of this character is acted, but it is quintessentially Asia Argento.

The casting was first-rate and the acting and directing supreme. The sex in the film is intense with great chemistry. You probably need to be at least 15 to begin to truly identify with it. This is a jewel of a movie don't miss it!

I was surprised how graphic the video was and feel the acting was good enough that the sex scenes could have been more limited in the nudity. The story is compelling and will draw you in quickly and keep you there until the end. The end isn't a happy one though. I much prefer a happy ending. This story could have gone on and made for a much longer film with a different, more pleasant conclusion. The ending does allow you to create your own though!

I usually love French films, but I could not get into this one. Good thing it was free w/ prime.

I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy this movie as much as I did. I picked it up randomly, and am now finding myself performing IMBD searches on the two leads, trying to find more works with their performance. The love that the lead expresses for the mistress is so believable- the actor's chemistry with one another is divine, raw, and powerful. I would recommend this movie to anyone looking to get away from a rainy afternoon and escape to a simpler time in a beautiful land.

I really enjoyed this movie! It is one not that should not be missed if you are into passionate romance films.