The Libertine (1968) User Reviews

TRUE LOVE conquers all

[bazarov24 · 5/10 · 23 August 2006]

TRUE LOVE conquers all. At least it did in "The Libertine". Meanwhile, a restless young widow skips in and out of various sexual encounters, real and imagined, before meeting her match in a steady, plain-spoken radiologist.

The singularly sex-minded Italian film is not nearly as clever, sophisticated and amusing as it archly pretends. For all the worldly trimmings—slick color photography, careful interspersions of nudity and a general tone of coy blandness — the picture is no wiser than the Farmer's Almanac. And not nearly so honest.

The idea of a neglected wife suddenly flitting around strenuously until she sees the light is certainly an old one. And it takes a little while to see through the slickly ornate facade of this exercise, very friskily directed by Pasquale Festa-Campanile and with the pert Catherine Spaak as the experimental heroine.

Rummaging through various sexual data in a luxurious, hideaway apartment kept by her late husband, she airily proceeds to make up for neglect and lost time with an assortment of partners. One is her husband's best friend. Another is a dentist. Add a tennis player. Add a grinning plumber, and a nameless sadist who cuffs her around.

The final chapter, Miss Spaak's lengthy stalking of the somber radiologist, played by Jean-Louis Trintignant, has a flip geniality and some genuine brightness. The two performers carry it off with easy charm. If the rest of the picture had this, the sexual preoccupation might have been less monotonous and obvious. There might even have been a real point.

An interesting 60s curio

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 27 February 2007]

This was apparently pretty hot stuff back in 1968, though by the standards of modern films, it's a very tame exploration into the erotic world by a sexually constricted widow. My review is based on the DVD and I read one review that says that the videotape actually is more explicit and has a better print! Technically, it's a well made and acted film, though I am sure it's not a film for everyone's taste since the content is very sexual. While this might be excellent viewing for couples, it's not a film you'd want to show the kiddies!! A young and attractive widow is seen at her husband's funeral. Despite his sudden and unexpected death, the woman finds herself feeling nothing. She knows she SHOULD feel sad, but comes to realize that their three-year marriage was a tad dull. Shortly after this realization, she learns that her husband had another apartment that he never mentioned to her! It turns out this is a place where he had a lot of affairs--with himself and his partners being filmed having sex and involving themselves in sado-masochism!! Instead of feeling outraged, this widow found herself fascinated and through the course of the film she decided to experiment sexually. She has a large number of sexual encounters (some of which MUST have been a lot wilder than the stuff on the DVD because late in the movie, she shows a man film of herself at an orgy--something not mentioned before). All this is pretty meaningless and hollow to the lady--as she doesn't seem all that satisfied by this wild life. And, surprisingly, in the end she discovers a funny way to make her new marriage both wild yet amazingly conventional--blending the best of both her old life and the new.

As for me, I liked the film generally, but there was something that I found pretty wacky and a tad disturbing. While a dull sex life is something the film preaches against, the viewer might think that the only things a couple might do to "spice things up" is engage in sado-masochism or "pony rides" (you'd really have to see the film to understand this bizarre fetish). It's a real shame, as there are so many options for spicing up your relationship other than slapping the crap out of your partner!! I truly hope people didn't take this message too seriously! Finally, once again, I should point out that this is NOT a film for the kids! But, considering it isn't really a porn film but actually has an interesting plot and some humor about it, it may be a film for you. It certainly isn't for all tastes.

OK italian sex comedy

[jjparish · 6/10 · 12 July 2021]

I only really watched this for catherine spaak and im glad i did. It was sexy and catherine was so gorgeous but the plotline was a bit to daft for me. A widower finds out her husband was a sex pervert and sets out to engage in multipe acts of outrageous sexual adventures herself. I couldnt shake off the feeling that i was just watching a female Confessions of a Window Cleaner film. And thats not good. I would have given this a 7 despite that but then i watched the ending and it was rubbish. Absoulte tosh. So its a 6/10.

PS Do all italian films have such dubbing problems? Its an italian film, everyone is speaking italian, but i swear every character looked like they were dubbed and out of synch. Its weird.

Nostalgic 60's "Eurotica"

[lazarillo · 14 May 2005]

A pampered young widow (Catherine Spaak) discovers that her deceased husband was a pervert after finding his secret penthouse and stash of stag films (which strangely seem to be professionally shot and edited). She decides to get post-humous revenge on him by embarking on a series of perverse sexual escapades of her own. She buys a copy of Freud's "Psychpathis Sexualis" (I don't know why she doesn't start with "The Joy of Sex" or something and work her way up) and experiments with an number of strange, but relatively harmless, perversions before finding true love with her chiropractor (Jean Sorel).

Some may find this movie pretty slow and lacking in both sex and nudity. It has some really ridiculous dialogue (or rather monologue--as the lead seems to constantly talk to herself in voice-over or out loud). It seems pretty innocent by today's standards, but it also has startlingly cavalier attitude toward sexual promiscuity. And some of the passages the heroine reads in voice-over from her book (such as the account of a sexual sadist who bites off his partner's nose during sex) are quite jarring compared to the silly and much more wholesome things she actually does. Still I liked this film for it's odd combination of sex and the 60's-era nostalgia you feel watching it today. Catherine Spaak is unbelievably cute and naturally sexy in a way that woman just aren't anymore in the modern world of breast implants and 24-hour-a-day fitness centers. The final image of her nearly naked and in sexual ecstasy as she (literally) rides her boyfriend around the penthouse apartment is very memorable.

Pasquale Campanile was also a pretty damn good director who years later would helm the memorable giallo "Hitchhike". He and his fellow countryman Massimo "Venus in Furs" Dallamano actually might have done "Eurotica" better than more famous European directors like Jesus Franco, Jean Rollins, and Jose Larraz, but they are much less internationally renowned today, probably because their work never crossed into the horror and fantasy genres. It's very worthy stuff, nevertheless--seek it out.

stupid and offensive

[bblorf · 1/10 · 24 November 2005]

Lord, this sucked. There's a particular sort of sexual revolution flick from the 60s that manages to confuse sexual assault with sexual liberation. This film is an example. I lost track of how many times women are slapped, hit, whipped, or spanked in the film. And then there are all the times that women in the film fantasize about being slapped, hit, whipped or spanked (you know they want it, right?). Sometimes it is ostensibly part of safe fetish play-acting. Other times it plainly isn't, but you will wait in vain to see the heroine report to authorities that she has just been raped. Instead we get to hear her being lectured by her rapist about her inability to "let go".

Every scene of this film reeks of misogyny (speaking as a straight, white, married man in his late 30's, not a teenage lesbian women's studies major with a chip on her shoulder, lest you get the wrong idea).

Perhaps the one good thing about this film is that it provides a stark reminder of just how bad things really were for women only a few short decades ago.

excellent quality available on bluray, soundtrack, too

[jt-pdx · 7/10 · 19 February 2023]

If you can suspend your judgement a bit, and not hold this film/story to current-day "morality", this film can be a very enjoyable experience. Watching Catherine Spaak explore and develop her personality and desires is fascinating, and Jean Louis Tritignan's love for her is evident. Interesting that the director cast two french lead actors for an italian film - I wonder why that is. The sets are gorgeous and interesting, the cinematography by Alfio Contini is splendid.

There is a region B (Europe) bluray version available, and it is such high quality that this could have been filmed in the past few years.

Also available is a remastered 2022 version of the soundtrack by Armando Trovajoli at bandcamp - search for "bandcamp La Matriarca soundtrack".

It's many versions of the same theme tune "l'amore dice ciao", and is a lovely atmosphere album. I wonder if any other films have used the same single song to provide the soundtrack for the whole film.

Much ado about M-U-C-H

[acerf · 9/10 · 3 August 2004]

This is a charming, saucy and insanely amusing little film, featuring Catherine Spaak and assorted body doubles in such generous amounts of body, only a hater of physical beauty won't be charmed. Possibly to death.

Note; whatever you do, buy the VHS. Not only is the DVD a bust – no pun, please, but many of Ms. Spaak's more revealing and best, (and I MEAN revealing) moments, have been edited out. (Le recul, le chéri de Catherine ?) These included a nice shot for posterity, of Cat's um, posterior as well as a – well full-frontal surprise this delectable Belgian hottie plays on a school teacher. Not to mention that color separation and poor film stock issues are actually exacerbated on the DVD. There is really nothing to recommend it- except that most won't watch VHS any more. (The DVD does have a few cute outtakes, but my God, we're talking a gorgeous woman, like no other, who plays horsie at great length in the film; surely THAT footage should have been the source of any outtakes.)

The film and its incessantly catchy theme commenced … and we find our girl Spaak at her husband's funeral. Far from remorseful, Spaak's 'Mimi' says of his death, she feels 'nothing.' But soon, SOON, dear viewer, she'll feel SOMETHING and in a big way and often!

While as fluffy as a Roman Cloud in May, this movie is cited for having a few underlying themes of the 'eat drink and be merry for tomorrow…,' as well as 'know thy woman or else' type. Perhaps, perhaps not. Doesn't matter. The film is hysterical and very much like the music of the Smiths – if anyone else tried this stuff, it would be a disaster; in their capable hands, a delight. … Even if Rome has few clouds of any kind in May …

Freed from a husband for whom sexually, Mimi never responded, she proceeds to go on a tear, of – if memory serves, 8 count em' eight, men in a row, not to mention an apparent orgy where God knows what the score may have been.

It happens that Spaak's deceased had a play pen in Rome, a hideaway where the latter took his gals, including Spaak's best friend. Spaak learns of this piede e terre through her attorney whom she then beds. She then goes through the roll call: dentist, tennis pro, john, (a guy who thinks she's a prostitute) sadist, (truly regrettable, but very much of the times and a reminder one hopes, of what's NOT acceptable any longer), plumber, (not just 'any plumber' but in fact, her maid's husband) and finally, doctor. Not to mention whatever is going on in the orgy scene, which is actually another film; the orgy occurs in a movie that Catherine plays to the doctor to try and dissuade him from proposing marriage.

Nothing doing. This doctor is no fool. He hangs in there and is not put off by her scandalous behavior. Even excites him within the context of, 'family life.'

Amusingly, from the earliest scenes, Mimi is shown boning up on various abnormal sexuality tomes. … One of which suggests that Aristotle became aroused through the act of playing horse, or as translated from Italian, 'Ride a cock horse.' Therein lies the films resolution. Owing to a sprained ankle recently suffered, Mimi asks the doctor to carry her. A few unforgettable scenes later and the two are saying how boring their wedding was and Spaak proceeds to ride her new beau into a boundless matrimonial bliss. Obviously, this cat catered to her thing, which of course resolved all her long-held inhibitions, etc. You get it.

With this flick, Ridley Scott directed a wonderful, charming witty and above all, genuinely hilarious film, if very much, of its time. Me thinks Catherine Spaak's role could not have been performed by any other, as it is her ability as a comedienne and of course her incredible (and highly unusual) beauty - and other bits - that make this so special. Why, that gal Spaak has more 'it' than the top leading ladies of today, rolled together! As to WHY Ridley Scott used such terrible film stock, you'd have to ask him.

A MUST SEE for laughs and when you just need a shot of pure unadulterated sexuality, the real deal, not some creature from a West Hollywood surgeon who left some poor girl's best parts on the cutting room floor.

Summer 2004 *Also know as La Matriarca.

WHAT were they looking at?

[daneldorado · 9/10 · 23 June 2009]

Having read all the user comments regarding "La Matriarca" (1968), I am dumbfounded that none of the readers -- NOT ONE -- cared to mention what I consider its KEY SCENE. There have been six (6) user comments for this film before mine, and all of them discuss the sexual kinks in it; certainly there are plenty of those. But nobody seems to want to talk about the cathartic scene, where Jean Louis Trintignant puts Mimi (Catherine Spaak) over his knee and spanks her as if she were a naughty little girl.

That spanking is purgative for Mimi. It releases her from her sexual inhibitions and her desire to dominate men as she feels she was dominated by her late husband. She and Dr. DeMarchi (Trintignant) realize their love for each other, and they marry. Her sexual adventurism is a thing of the past, as they settle down together.

But all of the user comments were written in the 21st century, and were no doubt influenced by the prevailing feminist moral code. It is now considered ungentlemanly to spank a grown woman, in spite of the fact that for hundreds of years before the current era, spankings were common and generally accepted by the public. A large number of mainstream films attest to that sensibility.

At any rate, "La Matriarca" (known in the U.S. as "The Libertine") gives us a delicious show of what happens when a young and beautiful woman becomes a widow and then discovers that her late husband had kept a love nest where he spent time with other women and unleashed his sadistic instincts.

The home movies she finds in that apartment -- where all the walls and ceilings are made of mirrors -- show women being whipped, punched, beaten, and subjected to numerous unimaginable humiliations. NONE of those humiliations, however, include spanking. That would be too tame.

But not too tame for Dr. DeMarchi, as he realizes that Mimi -- whom he has grown to love -- needs to be purged of the bitterness that is poisoning her life. He proposes marriage to Mimi, but she doesn't say yes and she doesn't say no; to help her make up her mind, he puts her over his knee and spanks her. As I said at the outset, that is the key scene of this film. It should not be ignored in future reviews.

By the way: To disabuse you of any thoughts that I might be wrong about considering the spanking as "the key scene," consider buying the DVD. And notice the still that appears repeatedly, every time you try to change the disc features. Yep, it shows Mimi getting spanked. Apparently the disc producers consider that the "key scene" too.

Dan Navarro ([e-mail])

Silly, Goofy, Beautiful And Fantastic

[screamingbuddha · 10/10 · 26 July 2020]

Armando Trovajoli's theme music to this is freaking amazing. There's a vocal and instrumental version and I love them both. Seek them out on youtube. Catherine Spaak is equally amazing. The perfect blend of high art mixed with air-headed goofiness here. America was never able to reach this goal. Not even with Joe Sarno. There's gonna be scathing critics who claim early 70s sex comedies were misogynistic and making light of rape culture. But of course had we not gone through the process of confronting our own sexuality on screen, both good and bad. we'd never have the perspective we do now on human psychology as a whole. It's easy for people to stand on top of the tower and look down in judgement on the people at the bottom. When they were the same ones who protested its creation in the first place. Never once does this film condone angry violence towards woman as a good thing. And Spaak is so successful in showcasing her talent and beauty, as she goes from one great outfit to the other, we let go of the nearly non existent plot and simply go along for the ride. And a very fun ride it is. Even with past tragedy lurking underneath. It's answers to life's problems are crude and simple, that only work for some people, (let go, be kinky and have fun) but it does acknowledge them. And it doesn't try to hide its head in the sand the way some screwball comedies (or superheroes and fantasies for that matter) would tend to take you.

If you mixed Barbarella & 9 1/2 weeks...

[ishop247 · 20 September 2002]

Very cute and erotic movie made in 1969! ;-) I found it on Netflix and was intrigued. The movie has all the stylish glamour of the 60s with lots of sex!

Young widow uses dead husband's bachelor apt for sexual exploration. She sleeps around and ends up falling in love.

Lots of a nakedness and laughs! I'd recommend it!

Catherine Spaak stars to devastating affect, looking ravishing throughout.

[christopher-underwood · 8/10 · 23 September 2020]

A difficult film to write about because it is so much one of a kind and that it is so much of a certain time and because it has become more problematic recently to be free to separate the notions of sexual fantasy and desire from abuse. Director Pasquale Festa Campanile had a modest film career tending to specialise in Italian sex comedies and is more renowned for his screenwriting, particularly for his work in the early 60s. He did direct the notorious Hitch-Hike (1977) ,however, with Franco Nero and Corinne Cleary and the little seen Check to the Queen (1969) one of my personal faves that has something of the look and certainly shares the BDSM element with the film under discussion. Here a young (although already veteran of some dozen films) Catherine Spaak stars to devastating affect, looking ravishing throughout. But then everything looks pretty good, the set and costume designs are fantastic and there is barely a shot that does not make you gasp and the beauty or audacity. The music of Armando Trovajoli also helps enormously with its constant twinkling delights and sexy sounds. Our young widow peers into the secret past of her late husband and the more strange and awful and bad and taboo his apparent exploits appear the more she is intrigued to have a go herself. The extent to which she indulges and is seen to enjoy those elements of sex and violence is viewed as problematic today but in the late sixties was seen by many as all part of life's rich experience just waiting to be explored. Leaving the sexual politics aside this can be seen as a wondrous garden of delights, clearly influenced by the previous year's masterpiece from Luis Bunuel, and somehow managing to treat the subject more seriously, in that it is proffered as a solution for our heroine but at the same time more frivolously in the way there is all the time a more candy floss look and feel to the proceedings. Good fun for the broadminded though.