Les Valseuses

Star Review

This was the breakthrough hit for unapologetic vulgarian Bertrand Blier, a director whose work would often be criticised for its perceived misogyny and its coarse humour. Les Valseuses is a case in point - its story of two thugs who wander around insulting and harassing women and exhibiting unabashed machismo outraged feminists, and Blier soon became the enfant terrible of French cinema.
It remains shocking even today, yet it is still very funny, and the charges of misogyny are simplistic. Many of the women the two men (Gerard Depardieu and Patrick Dewaere) encounter are far stronger or shrewder than the men who seek to dominate them. When the men meet an older woman (Jeanne Moreau, incredible in her vignette), her cool maturity leaves the men looking foolish, whilst Miou-Miou's apparently submissive role in fact humiliates the men through her infinite impassivity and sexual ennui. The laddish humour and cruel jokes will offend as many as it will delight, but a film that so brazenly cocks a snook at accepted humour boundaries deserves admiration for its sheer chutzpah.

Alex Davidson on 15th August 2006

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Film Description

Two youths go on a spree through France thieving, seducing and cocking a snook at society. Saturated in the sights and smells of cheap sex, this proved to be one of the most successful French films of the 70s. AKA Going Places/Making It.

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The best French film ever. A masterpiece by all accounts. The story is non existent but the characters are so compeling that you will never want the film to end. Look ... more >

The best French film ever. A masterpiece by all accounts. The story is non existent but the characters are so compeling that you will never want the film to end. Look out for Jaqueline. < less

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Film Details

Cast

Gerard Depardieu

Technical Details