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Charles Boyer,
Charles Boyer,
Danielle Darrieux,
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Max Ophüls,
Max Ophüls,
Max Ophuls
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: Criterion
: 100 min.
: French
: English
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Max Ophüls' masterpiece stars Danielle Darrieux as the titular Madame Louise de..., who in the film's opening scenes is forced to discreetly sell a pair of earrings, a gift from her military officer husband Andre (Charles Boyer), in order to make good on her debts. After she claims the earrings to be lost, the story of their possible theft hits the newspapers, prompting the jeweler who bought them (Jean Debucourt) to secretly sell them back to Andre, who then gives him to his mistress Lola (Lia Di Leo) as she prepares to leave for a holiday in Constantinople. There, the earrings again change hands as Lola pawns them to cover her gambling losses. They are then purchased by Donati, an Italian diplomat (Vittorio de Sica) on his way to France to meet with Andre. Of course, the earrings soon find their way back to Louise. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
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| More Than Meets the Eye
by RJones3
November 21, 2008 - 10:39 AM PST
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3 out of 3 members found this review helpful
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| On the face of it this movie celebrates a bygone patriarchal social order. To miss the basic irony is to misread its essentially subversive message. I was jolted into this realization when the formerly urbane general announces to his wife that the eponymous earrings are no longer hers. If this pettiness over property rights were not enough, the discreet murder that follows settles the matter. The cleverness of the movie is that we are unprepared for this turn of events. True, the general is no angel, but his impulsive generosity to a former mistress inclines us to forgive his faults. The glitter of haut monde and the elegance of its manners conceal a cruel reality. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 8.00)
14 Votes
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