Bluebeard (Barbe Bleue) Review
By David Kempler
Giant Mediocrity
"Bluebeard" (Barbe Bleue) is a French folktale by Charles Perrault, first published in 1697. It has survived, especially since the 1950's, as a favorite for youngsters. A physically enormous nobleman who is both feared and revered by the surrounding villagers, Bluebeard is literally larger than life. Catherine Breillat displays this by casting a very large man (Dominique Thomas) as Bluebeard and by having his surroundings made smaller than average. The horses, except for his, look like ponies. All of the other actors are either small in stature or have been digitally altered.
What makes this version different is that there are two series of events unfolding at the same time. The first is the tale itself. The second is that two young girls are reading the book. Breillat cuts back and forth between them, with the folktale scenes being shown at about the same time that the children are reading the book.
Rumors abound that Bluebeard has been married many times and that all of his wives have mysteriously disappeared, but the lure of living in luxury is still an enormous attraction to the neighboring young ladies when Bluebeard's assistants roam the countryside telling all to come apply for the position as his new wife. One of the neighbors is a woman who has recently lost her husband and her house is in foreclosure. She has two young girls and one of them, Marie-Catherine (Lola Creton), wins Bluebeard's enormous hand.
Breillat's vision of the folktale is inventive but still feels a little bit stale and unexciting and should have been more provocative. I can't rave about the film's greatness, nor can I tell you that it's a bust. It's decent. Could I be less committed in whether to recommend it to you? No.
