Did she or didn't she?

I had seen Belle Du Jour many years ago and remembered the eroticism and the setting of the house, but not much else. When I saw it once again a couple months ago, as part of my effort to immerse myself in French film, I had a renewed appreciation of it.

Luis Bunuel presents this movie in "did she or didn't she" fashion, and you are invited to guess whether or not Catherine Deneuve's foray into daytime prostitution really happened or was all a dream. There is evidence for both. As the madam of the house, Genevieve Page nearly steals the movie as the wise but world weary persona guiding Deneuve through the rituals of the trade. Deneuve is not unhappy with her husband or home life; she just wants a little more excitement which she gets at the stately Paris apartment where she works.

Deneuve is rather formal in most of her movies these days but this movie and Repulsion are proof that she can really act and deserves our appreciation as an artist.