VENUS BEAUTE INSTITUE

2000

Why is it that the French, the Italians, and the Spanish can do films like this so well, and we can't? Films about real people, in real-life situations, saying real things to one another. When this film is remade by Hollywood, as it most assuredly will be(because Americans are seen to be too stupid to be able to read sub-titles) the female lead will probably be played by Julia Roberts as a 30-year-old enchanting salesgirl, instead of as a mature shopworn woman of 40. The story unfolds in a Parisian beauty salon in Montparnasse, where women (and men) "of a certain age" go to buy YOUTH. It tells the stories of those people who work there, as well as those who shop there. The focus is on Angele, who in the past, disfigured the face of her lover, and is now paying off her guilt by engaging in reckless one-night stands. The film was the winner of last year's Cesar awards (France's Oscar,) for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay. If a big American studio picks it up here, it could be this year's "All About My Mother."

5 Stars

NJB