Venus
Beauty Institute (2000)
This French romantic comedy is a bit out of the ordinary
in that the female protagonist is a little disagreeable
at first. Angele, as played by Nathalie Baye, is a aging
yet still beautiful former ingenue who finds little
use for love and romance. This doesn't stop her, of
course, from enjoying a frequent roll in the hay with
whatever man she happens to fancy at the moment. She
picks up men in restaurants and immediately hops into
bed with them.
Enter a young student who sees Angele on the street
arguing with a lover. Immediately he is smitten with
the older woman and begins to pursue her ever so carefully.
Angele has a history however, and she is not taken so
quickly. What ensues is a romantic comedy where the
younger man must come to terms with his love and, somehow,
break down all the barriers that Angele sets up towards
love.
The title of the film in French is translated correctly
in the title given here and in the marketing for this
film by Lot 47 distributors. The only difference is
that on the film, the Institute is in parentheses. And
on the film, it is actually translated as "Venus Beauty
(Salon)." This is the setting for much of the action,
a French, presumably Parisian, beauty spa where Angele
works. The film also concerns itself with some secondary
characters, Angele's coworkers, and their trial and
tribulation in love. Also, customers are used for exposition
and comic relief at times. But make no mistake about
it, this film is all Baye's and her Angele's stubborn
lovelessness permeates much of the film in tone and
theme.
Baye is a powerhouse. She dominates the film by portraying
a character that dominates the story. Baye's ability
to make Angele's hardness and aging angst open up to
us, so that we understand her and see her scars, allows
what could be a disagreeable character to become a beautiful
flower. Angele is a deep and complex character, who
undergoes many struggles and much trouble mainly due
to her own inability to accept the past and move on
with life. The young student in the film is the impetus
for change and their chemistry together is quite nice.
We want to see them end up happy here.
The film makes use of an interesting device in that
the door to the salon, which is opened frequently in
the film, has an unusual yet magical sound effect accompanying
it. At first, this is cute, then it gets annoying, then
we come to expect it. It's as if we work at the Institute
as well and must get used to this annoying doorbell
chime much like a worker would. It also serves to remind
us of the supposed magical and ethereal nature of love
and how falling into love is supposed to be ecclesiastic.
That isn't going to happen here, or so we think, and
so the continual sfx becomes a consistent reminder of
the irony perceived in Angele, a hardened woman, working
in a shop that specializes in a romantic oeuvre.
While the film is lensed in a rather perfunctory nature,
the story and the characters will easily work their
way into your heart. And the film's final scene, though
hopelessly contrived, is rather sweet and magical as
well.
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