Sale comme un ange Dirty like an Angel 
(Catherine Breillat / France / 1989)


Like the other films by Breillat I've seen (36 fillette (1988 ) , ma soeur! (2001)), the films theme finally centers on a womans sexuality and her "process of emancipation" (if I may call it so). But besides the expected, the remarkable in this film is also Breillat's attempt at showing the everyday reality of a policeman through a rather careful depiction of his work in the first half of the film, and though I think she doesn't quite succeed in everything she wants to express with it (that means, there are films that do it better), the attempt at "realism" itself, regarding my expectations of her filmmaking, is worth some praise. The "second half" of the film is the territory we're used from her. 

The plot isn't the important thing here, but let's mention that the policeman in question is played by an aged Claude Brasseur who falls for the young wife of his young colleague. During an investigation of the murder of a friend, Brasseur is able to get his colleague occupied for some days and starts a love affair with his wife. The ending is both cliched and honest, and the viewers reaction to it probably depends on the interpretation of the central relationship, which is presented in a richly textured discourse about - amongst others - gender, power, appearance, lust, dependence, truth, and the difference of individual experience(s). Above the whole lingers the questioning of an honest expression of love and our perception of it. The last shot is the obligatory freeze frame - very beautiful.
Great acting by Claude Brasseur and Lio (as the wife) in an interesting and rewarding film. Probably one of the films that get better with a second viewing.

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I saw the film on TV and am not aware of any DVD release.
Personal rating after the film: 65 out of 100