Le voyage en douce (1980)

Lucia and Elena are best friends since childhood. They take a car trip from Paris to the country. Their conversations are overtly intimate, but more revealing is their tacit understanding ... See full summary »

Director:

Michel Deville

Writer:

Michel Deville

Stars:

Dominique Sanda, Geraldine Chaplin, Jacques Zabor

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dominique Sanda	...	Hélène
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Lucie
Jacques Zabor	...	Denis
Jean Crubelier	...	L'homme des maisons
Valerie Masterson	...	La cantatrice
Cécile Le Bailly	...	Marie
Jacqueline Parent	...	Mathilde
Jacques Pieiller	...	Pinson
Françoise Morhange	...	La grande-mère
Frédéric Andréi	...	Le jeune homme de l'hôtel
Christophe Malavoy	...	L'homme du train
André Marcon	...	L'homme du concert
Catherine Le Dall	...	La marraine
Hélène Garcia	...	La pompiste
Robin Camus	...	Lucas

Storyline

Lucia and Elena are best friends since childhood. They take a car trip from Paris to the country. Their conversations are overtly intimate, but more revealing is their tacit understanding of each others' personality and desires.

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Plot Keywords:

paris france | blonde | lesbianism | female masturbation in public | bathtub | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

4 January 1980 (France)

Also Known As:

Doces Fantasias

Company Credits

Production Co:

Maurice Bernard, Gaumont, Eléfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

User Reviews

A movie Hollywood could never make...

The Voyage in question immerses the viewer in the world of these two talkative yet strangely inarticulate friends without offering easy answers or facile insights. The viewer follows where the Voyage leads, as the characters themselves do, and bask in the summer sunlight of the French countryside. There are answers but the questions themselves are ambiguous and contradictory. Chaplin and Sanda, consummate actors, bring a crackling intensity and (at times) affecting vulnerability to their roles. The soundtrack enhances contemplative episodes with tenderly played bagatelles from Beethoven, which offer ironic counterpoint even while evoking a nostalgia for "lost time".

The claustrophobia-inducing tight interior shots bracketing the beginning and end of the film also intensify the exchange of roles between the two main characters that has gradually taken place during the journey. Elena (Sanda) has helped Lucia (Chaplin) rebuild her confidence and self-esteem but has herself become vulnerable and unstable in the process...