Stellead
Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful
Nayan Gough
A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
Juana
what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
Antonius Block
Male fantasy is turned up to 11 in this one. It's a sex farce that I confess to enjoying, despite the silliness and objectification, because dear god it's 1957, Brigitte Bardot is 23, and the film has such a fun French playfulness to it. As you might guess, the film revolves around Bardot, and she is in so many scenes designed to titillate that it's comical. Let's see, there's the buxom, lusty secretary wearing a tight sweater, the girl sneaking up to a hotel to start an affair with no strings attached, the bride taking off her gown and walking around in lingerie, and the disinterested woman who can be aroused to passion with kisses on the back of the neck. She's also in a low cut red evening dress, trying to seduce another man into an affair by getting down on her hands and knees, later takes a bath, lifting her legs skyward out of the tub, runs around in a towel, and presents breakfast in bed in a shirt and apron. The object of her affections is played by Henri Vidal, and the man she pursues to make him jealous is 58-year-old Charles Boyer. He jets her off to Nice for a swim, so we see her emerging from the sea in a bikini, then dancing seductively with him in a small café. Bardot is gorgeous and immortalized in this movie, even if it is over-the-top. I might have liked it even more for going all the way in its over-the-top-ness, if that makes any sense. There are countless shots which are just fantastic, including one in front of a set of mirrors, reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe in 'How to Marry a Millionaire". I did like the open acknowledgment of affairs, which is so very French, but how the film points out they have to be conducted in the right way, with sensitivity and decorum, and the jealousy that even then may arise. It's not high art, and it's definitely not politically correct, but ooh la la, this one is a guilty pleasure.
MartinHafer
Rule #1 for any romantic comedy is that you have to like the characters. And, in this way, "La Parisienne" is certainly no great rom-com. It's characters are, to put it bluntly, annoying. Michel (Henri Vadal) is a pig who has just married the most beautiful woman on the planet--yet keeps mistresses. Brigitte (Brigitte Bardot) is a stalker who KNOWS Michel is a pig but tricks him into marrying her--and then spends the rest of the film after marrying him treating him like dirt. This is supposed to be funny and romantic? So what do you have apart from two annoying characters? Well, a nice cameo by Charles Boyer, Bardot is GORGEOUS and there are lots of nice bits of scenery in the south of France. But together, these still aren't enough of a reason to watch this film.
Nazi_Fighter_David
Vadim changed Brigitte's image and way of life from that of the young society beauty he had married to that of a rebellious and challenging teenager of the 1950s… "Une Parisienne" succeeded in launching her ravishing figure as the teenage goddess, the casual sexuality, the provocative gaiety in confrontation with men… Charles Boyer — as Prince Charles — was the perfect, ideal choice of those magically romantic moments… His deep and vibrant voice spoke a promise of new adventures in love… His deep, wondering eyes bespoke a worldly knowledge untarnished by cynicism… He had the boudoir grace of Valentino without the hysteria or the sometime effeminacy of the great lover… Under Michel Boisrond's direction, Boyer was an old-style romantic without the grand manner
Wout Visser (wrvisser-leusden-nl)
In her memoirs Brigitte Bardot mentions she is proud of this movie. I can imagine so, because here she fully utilizes her talent for light comedy. 'Une Parisienne' certainly ranks among Bardot's best.What makes this movie, is its slapstick - from beginning to end. 'Parisienne's' story only serves to get these effects right. Your special attention for its ending, when Brigitte irresistably invites her viewers to keep her secret a secret.When you settle on your sofa in the weekend, weary and tired after a week's hard work, 'Une Parisienne' is the right movie to make you feel better.
