Elles (English Subtitled)

Elles is a serious look at a specific aspect of modern day romantic life in the age of the internet and cellphones. Juliette Binoche stars as a writer for Elle magazine researching (she thinks) an article on young college-age women who offer their services to men in order to obtain the money they need to live as something better than a starving student. Binoches character starts out aloof and almost sneering, with the stereotypical attitude the general public has towards these women, but as she gets to know them better she gets drawn to them and into their world, letting down her journalists guard. What elevates Elles far above a mere fictionalized documentary movie is when Binoches character realizes that she is already part of this world. Aside from one scene in which a character gets assaulted (which is most likely a fantasy, although it is not entirely clear), there are no real victims or perpetrators in Elles. It is just what consenting adults do to satisfy their needs and survive the stresses of modern day life. The centerpiece of Elles by far is Juliette Binoches character, and she gives a star performance. Her character is not terribly attractive, and her face often shows the stresses of the life she leads as a busy working mom, but that is as it should be. She is most appealing when she lets her hair down by getting tipsy with one of her interview subjects, and that scene is a pure joy. The two college students, played by Anais Demoustier and Joanna Kulig, are near opposites in personality, body type and hair color, but each actress gives an intimately revealing portrayal. The men and boys in Elles have much more minor roles, but are well played. The casting and acting are spot-on, and speak to the care with which Elles was obviously made. If this film ever gets remade as an American film with American actors, I doubt it will be anywhere near as good. The only thing that prevents me from giving Elles five stars is that it tries to do a bit much in a short amount of time. There are many scenes and many significant events which rush forward to an ultimately satisfying conclusion. I feel the film could have benefited from a slightly more languorous pace, which would have allowed time to more fully explore everything that happens. Elles is highly recommended for adults who arent afraid to look behind the facade.

Zero imagination. Sure I had read other opinions and lots of words without real meaning praise this mainstream propaganda. Yeah, for a start producer could not figure out how to show sex, I guess Tinto Brass or DAmato movies are not available in France. Camera and lights works were especially primitive and I was not happy with Jess Franco, boy, I was mistaken. Of course, nobody in this flick works, money no problem, sure, after all unemployment in France only steady 10%. Music--who needs music, propaganda is good without music. Resume--as Italian dictator said--the purpose of movement is to move. Avoid.

Could not get past the first 20 minutes. Not only was it uninteresting, but i was also not expecting subtitles. I watch foreign films quite often, but i have to be in the right mind set to read my movie and something has to keep my interest. Neither of these 2 factors were aligned on that day.

Whatever the implications and motivations are, Elles—the female form of they in French—doesnt spell them out, preferring to let us draw our own conclusions. The reductive suggestion that all women are whores and all men essentially johns certainly plays in here, but the film is more complicated than that, recognizing that sex itself is complicated, a once-simple evolutionary imperative thats now tangled up in the web of human consciousness. In its non-procreative form, its ideally a mutual expression of love, but the film portrays its darker side as a commodity to be bought and sold. A power to wield. A source of frustration and a vessel for misplaced desire. This might be nothing new, but Małgorzata Szumowskas provocative treatment of the topic makes Elles worthwhile, and something more than just a showpiece—which it also is—for Juliet Binoches significant acting abilities.

Gut wrenching performances for any women who has ever felt caged in by a marriage. The expectation of devotion to a husbands career and child rearing can be totally stifling to personal development and lead to painful resentment so magnificently portrayed by Anais Demouslier. A five star performance!

Excellent

From Polish filmmaker/screenwriter Malgorzata Szumowska (Stranger, Happy Man) and co-writer Tine Byrckel comes a film about self-reflection in Elles. Starring actress Juliette Binoche (The English Patient, Three Colors: Blue, Cache) and young talents Anais Demoustier (Therese Desqueyroux, Last Winter) and Joanna Kulig (The Woman in the Fifth), Elles was released on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of Kino Lorber. VIDEO: Elles is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:35:1 anamorphic widescreen). While watching this film, there was something beautiful about the Michael Englerts cinematography. From scenes showcasing the women outside of their patio and you can see the buildings and scenery around them, for me it was the juxtaposition of beautiful images through Annes home. From her cooking food to wearing her silk pajamas, there was this look of beauty that was captured on camera. Almost heavenly to describe the living conditions of Anne, vs. the more grimy nature of her going to some location where graffiti is spraypainted on walls and she cant bare the thought of using the bathroom in that facility. But as beauty is captured in Annes home, theres also a beautiful capturing of sex scenes that involve Charlotte. They are subtle sex scenes but the way they were filmed was beautiful. Composition was fantastic! I didnt detect any problems during my viewing of this film on Blu-ray but overall, a solid presentation. AUDIO & SUBTITLES: Elles is presented in French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 with English subtitles. The film is primarily front channel driven, dialogue was crystal clear and the music from the classical music channel also sounds great coming from the front channel. There is good utilization of music from classical music to Swedish electro-pop. Subtitles are in English. SPECIAL FEATURES elles comes with the following special feature: Edited and Unedited Trailers - Featuring the original theatrical trailer (1:52) and the red band trailer (1:55) Stills Gallery - Featuring seven stills from the film. JUDGMENT CALL: Elles is a fascinating film as it tries to show us another approach to why people take part in prostitution. It is known that there are women putting themselves through college through erotic dancing and sex, but what makes Elles so different is that these women are not complaining about the work that they do or the men they have sex with. They are mostly negative about the living conditions that they once came from. While Anne tries to probe into why the young women do what they do, there is no remorse for having sex with married men. Its through these men that these young women feel they are in control, it is their freedom to do as they wish and if they want to make money through prostitution, then so be it. Charlotte and Alicja are just happy to have the money to live the way that they want. And while Anne is surprised by this, she finds herself wanting to be with them, interviewing them but also putting herself in their shoes of how life would be to live like them and be independent, sexually free and just enjoying life like the two young women are. Meanwhile, these two women look at Anne and are envious because she is a person with status and living a life that they want. Charlotte tries to explain to Anne that she has no problems having sex with men but her past life of living poor is much worse than what she does to make a living. She will never return to that life of being poor and for Charlotte, her questions for Anne is if she has a window in her bathroom. Taking Anne by surprise, she starts to realize that these young women dream of having things that she never really took notice of. So, its this journey of watching how Anne transforms herself from being a woman and journalist under deadline, always stressed out but seeing that these young women living a life of independent freedom, she admires that. While her husband criticizes her to not talk about feminism during a dinner with his clients. Part of the efficacy of this film lies in the performance of Juliette Binoche. Not only is she able to portray the role of Anne as natural but she is also an actress that can take small nuances and play with it and make us feel comfortable and that her character is natural. One scene features the character of Anne eating with Alicja and Binoche just shows us a woman having fun, trying to chew but always laughing because she is drunk. Its such a natural way of acting this scene out and goes to show how much of a talented, veteran actress she truly is. The other part of the films efficacy is the cinematography by Michal Englert. The film looks absolutely beautiful because of his composition and on Blu-ray, the film looks great. The scenes of Anne working at home and trying to tidy up to the sexual scenes of the film, the way its presented in film looks great! I may need to warn people that this film does include many sexual scenes. I know that there are people who complained about the use of sex in the film. Personally, I thought it was integral to the film, which was showing how these women have no problem doing requests for these married men. These men are not able to have their wives enact their fantasies, but these two women will make their fantasies come true. I will say that I dont think I have ever seen a golden shower scene in a film before, so suffice to say, the film really goes out to show how far these two young women will go in their sexual exploits. But as far as the Blu-ray is concerned, picture quality for the Blu-ray was very good, lossless audio was crystal clear and as for special features, there isnt really much included with the Blu-ray but trailers and a stills gallery. Sensual, natural and entertaining! Overall, Elles is a film about life and self-discovery. Its also a film featuring a magnificent, realistic performance by actress Juliette Binoche. And while it may not be the best film to star Juliette Binoche, its definitely one of her best performances seen in a film!

Brilliant! One magnificent scene after anther. Not for those who fear their own sexuality and sexual sensations. They go to outer-space flics that never threaten because they can never happen. Juliette Binoche gives another stunning performance in yet another powerful drama that is almost visionary.

Too pornografic.

If you enjoy this type of movie, rent it!