Customer Reviews

Place Vendome [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Finally!! PLACE VENDOME is available on DVD: don't waste a moment thinking if you should own it, especially if you're a Catherine Deneuve devotee like me. She is without a doubt one of our greatest actresses, regardless of her nationality. This is one of Deneuve's strongest roles: after you've seen the film, you'll know of what I'm speaking.

Deneuve plays the alcoholic wife of a prestigious but financially-troubled Parisian jeweler who spends much of her day in a drunken daze. Circumstances change her life drastically very early in the story, and alcoholism is just one of many problems she's soon facing in her life.

I'm not going to give away any more plot details, because this is a very-richly drawn story of international intrigue set against the backdrop of the world diamond trade, and the players who can pay millions of dollars for the finest jewels.

Many scenes were filmed on site in the Chaumet salons in Paris, giving the story a very authentic look. Though they changed the name of the jeweler's "house" for the film, Chaumet is given full credit in the end titles. I don't know if the director was allowed to use real diamonds on screen, but every detail looked quite glamourous and realistic. Of course, Deneuve herself looks extraordinarily sophisticated and oh so Parisian, even when she's fighting a hangover.

The film's pacing is perfect like a flawless diamond: it starts with a somber tone, but before you know it, you're drawn into the maelstrom as Deneuve's character is literally running to save herself, and not just from those demons at the bottom of a vodka bottle.

Superb acting, directing and writing make this an international thriller that will appeal to fans new and old of La Grande Deneuve!

Sans doute, c'est magnifique!!!
(10 stars out of 5)

This is one of those French film that is really about the complexities of interaction between characters and their interactions with the story and milieu that surrounds them. The milieu here is the fine jewelry trade, about as elite and luxurious as you can get and, as a result, prone to intrigue and corruption. Caught in the vortex is Catherine Deneuve as the alcoholic wife of the head of the prestigious house of Malivert. Her husband and brother-in-law have gotten themselves involved in trading stolen jewels which could send them to jail and destroy their house. When Deneuve's husband commits suicide by driving himself into a logging truck, Deneuve has to sobber up a bit and contemplate a few precious diamonds that he spoke to her about the day before. Turns out that Deneuve's character has a past and it involves the original distributor of the stolen gems, a man who left her high and dry years before. The characters and setting make for a sumptuous tale punctuated with real romantic, nostalgic and regretful, longing, the obligatory chills of a thriller and fine acting. This is the perfect example of the kind of emotionally centered yet still genre formulaic film the French do so well. It's fun.

Catherine Deneuve gives one of her finest performances in this elegantly crafted film from director Nicole Garcia. It is beautifully shot in the diamond district of France, even the rain glistening on the sidewalks like fine jewels. This is a complex film of intrigue and personal demons in a world where people love each other a little and use each other a lot, cutting the heart like a diamond, in a swift, irreversible stroke.

Marianne (Catherine Deneuve) is the alcoholic wife of a respected jeweler who is only brought out on special occasions, spending most of her life in a rehab for the wealthy which is her primary home. She is forced to pull herself together when her husband Vincent Malivert kills himself, leaving behind a fortune in diamonds that have a questionable history. When she attempts to find a buyer for them she discovers the cache was stolen in its uncut form from the Russian Mafia. As the intrigue escalates, Marianne's own past in the world of diamond dealers is revealed, including the betrayel which blacklisted her as a jewel dealer and drove her to the bottle.

She will be forced to confront the demons in her past when her betrayer and his new protege come into the picture. Stunning beauty Emmanuelle Seigner has a pivotal role as the mirror image of Marianne 20 years before, unaware that history may be repeating itself. Marianne will have to choose between revenge and redemption to discover if love really does mean getting lied to and betrayed.

Deneuve, one of the world's finest actersses and greatest beauties, lets her hair down and imbues her character with a subtle vulnerability that won her Best Actress honors at the Venice Film Festival. Had the film been a little less foreign and a bit more flashy, she could easily have garnered an Oscar as well.

If you like foreign films, or Catherine Deneuve, or both, this is definitely one you'll want to add to your collection.

Much like the films of Andre Techine, Nicole Garcia has crafted a character driven film surrounded by plot, sub-plot, and counter plot. On the surface, it is a story about the intrigue of stolen diamonds. But this is no fast paced whodunit. It is a languid and moody study of betrayal, obsession, dissolution, and finally of redemption. It is also a mirror set between the two women in the film blending one's past with the other's future. Unlike what is ususal, this scenario provides a means to learn from another's mistakes, no matter how unwillingly.
Mlle. Deneuve us splendidly cast and a joy to watch as she struggles to recover from decades of self-loathing and self-pity and the descent into alcoholism and despair. If our American film industry would stop discarding actresses at forty as though they were athletes not longer able to compete, we might have some few with the range and depth of a Catherine Deneuve to benefit from. These things take time and experience but Hollywood rushes ever onward to the next flavor of the month.
This film illustrates nicely that the demons from our past are often only paper tigers at their worst, it's ourselves we need to conquer.
If you're a fan of chase scenes, special effects, and vulgarity, you will want to stay well clear of this. If you prefer to appreciate nuance, subtlety, and to look beneath the surface, this film can approach the near perfection of it's jewels.

Once upon a time, many years ago, there was more to movies than chases, bloodbaths, rapping, and sadistic violence. The movies I refer to had exitement, not only created by plot, but by the existance of Actors who could act without shouting, overplaying "attitude, wearing rags and generally looking like hell.

This movie could have had Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren or a host of other Actors in the lead role. Ms. Deneuve did a fine job, as did the rest of the cast.

It was a delightful trip back into the finer moments of the entertainments that can only be provided by wellmade films and unadulterated acting, performed by professional Actors.

A beautiful film to watch and well worth it's reputation.

An alcoholic woman with a visible depth of character, is trapped in a loveless marriage. Eventually her husband will commit suicide, and suddenly she will realize there are five stolen diamonds will force her to get as soon as she can, the reentry in order to reinsert herself into the minimum required normality.

Superior drama that shows us the fabulous Caterine Denenuve in ether of her radiant performances. You will fall in love with this engaging script as well the marvelous nocturnal shots around the most famous place in the world in what concerns avant-garde fashion and exuberant visual details.

Until this date the masterwork of Nicole Garcia.

Marianne Malivert (Catherine Deneuve) has been married for 18 loveless years to the owner of a famous, stylish Parisian jewelry store. He saved her from jail when she was betrayed by a lover and was caught with stolen jewels that belonged to Malivert. At one time, Marianne knew diamonds and the diamond trade. Now, she's an alcoholic who spends much time in clinics and occasionally time with her husband at his dinner parties for clients. Then one day her husband shows her five perfectly cut diamonds and tells them they are his, not the store's, and he puts them away. Then later he deliberately drives his car into a truck and kills himself. Marianne. barely sober, discovers the store is close to bankruptcy, that the diamonds may be stolen, that her brother-in-law wants the diamonds and her out, that a beautiful assistant in the shop (who also was her husband's mistress) has an agenda of her own that includes the jewel thief who betrayed Marianne years ago. As Marianne gradually focuses on the diamonds, her interest in life begins to revive. She was good in the trade at one time, and sets out to find a buyer. She learns the word has spread that the diamonds may be stolen, that the Russian mafia may be involved, and that her old lover has re-entered her world.

This movie starts as a strong, character-driven study of Marianne Malivert. It gradually moves toward becoming a thriller, but has the good sense not to move too far in that direction. The pleasure in the movie is the world weary sophistication of the characters, the look into the workings of the diamond business, the intertwined relationships of the main characters, and the struggle of Marianne to reassert herself. This is Catherine Deneuve's film and she is excellent. At the time this movie was made she was 56 and had been a major star for 34 years. She really is a world class actress. The two male leads, Jean-Pierre Bactri, as the boyfriend of the shop assistant who is dropped by her but finds himself drawn to Marianne, and Jacques Dutronc, as the former lover who now is still a thief and con artist but is weary to his bones, are excellent, too.

This movie may not be for everyone. It takes a steady, thoughtful pace. It's all about the characters, especially Marianne. The look of the film often is dark. The conclusion is not exactly happy and not exactly sad. It's a film, in my opinion, which is well worth watching. The DVD picture is just fine and the yellow subtitles are very easy to read.

This is a complex and ambiguous film that definitely does not achieve these effects by shadows, dim lighting, and murky dialog. This film glitters! If there were no story, no moral ambiguity, no Catherine Deneuve at the mature height of her powers, no dialog at all...even without these things it would be a visual joyride simply to watch the film and visit the Ritz Hotel, the showrooms and backrooms of the high-end jewelry trade, fashionable Paris interiors, the baroque elegance of Le Train Bleu restaurant (This restaurant has a gorgeous website.), etc.

But my main purpose for this review is to point out a wonderful bit of obscure Cuban music from the artist Hanny. Two pieces from his album "Voice of Cuba" ("Tu Me Quieres Pa Bien" and "Uncastillo A Tu Magia") are used to great effect. (As of now, there are a few used copies of the CD available from Amazon as well as a downloadable MP3. If you want to try before you buy, I also found these tunes can be heard on one of the major, subscription online music services.) All of the music in this film is excellent, although all the rest of it is rather refined and elegant rather than contemporary.

You will not find a more stylish film than this. And it even has a scene on a train!

Maybe it's just me misled by the movie descrption of some kind of mistery. This movie has nothing to do with mistery even though stolen diamonds play important role in its plot. It's rather a melodrama about love that can survive anything, including betrayal. Catherine Deneuve is very very good but it was just too slow for me. I believe that this movie was intended to have some suspense to it, which is totally absent. It's not so bad though that a real fan of french movies cannot still enjoy it.

This is really boring movie. Does put you to sleep quickly, which could be of benefit to some people. Catherine Deneuve is fantastic actress and beautifull wooman, as well as vistas of France are spectacular. Plot is shallow, long drawn, and lot of scenes are disconnected from each other. Not worth the time.