La lectrice (1988)

A multi-faceted film based on Raymond Jean's novel "La Lectrice". Constance (Miou-Miou) reads the novel aloud in bed to her lover. Inspired by the story of Marie, a woman who advertises her... See full summary »

Director:

Michel Deville

Writers:

Raymond Jean (novel), Rosalinde Deville (adaptation)

Stars:

Miou-Miou, Christian Ruché, Sylvie Laporte

4 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Miou-Miou	...	Constance / Marie
Christian Ruché	...	Jean / Philippe
Sylvie Laporte	...	Françoise
Michel Raskine	...	L'homme de l'agence
Brigitte Catillon	...	La mère d'Éric
Régis Royer	...	Éric
Simon Eine	...	Le professeur d'hôpital
Christian Blanc	...	Le vieux maître de Marie
Marianne Denicourt	...	Bella
María Casares	...	La veuve du général (as Maria Casarès)
André Wilms	...	L'homme de la rue Saint-Landry
Patrick Chesnais	...	Le PDG
Clotilde de Bayser	...	La mère de Coralie
Jean-Luc Boutté	...	Le commissaire de police
Bérangère Bonvoisin	...	La mère de Joël

Storyline

A multi-faceted film based on Raymond Jean's novel "La Lectrice". Constance (Miou-Miou) reads the novel aloud in bed to her lover. Inspired by the story of Marie, a woman who advertises her services as a reader of literature, Constance decides to do the same. Here the film takes on a kaleidoscopic effect as the lives of Constance and Marie become merged, making it hard to distinguish what is real and what is fantasy. This structure is further complicated when the lives of Constance's clients become tangled with the stories she reads. The film is interspersed with readings from well known literary sources as diverse as, amongst others, Baudelaire, Duras, Tolstoy, Lewis Carroll and de Sade's "120 days..."

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Plot Keywords:

woman | reading | reader | white panties | panties | 

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Taglines:

She does more than read books.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

October 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Reader

Filming Locations:

Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Box Office

Gross USA:

$699,397

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eléfilm, AAA Productions, TSF Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Lost Angels/The Return of Swamp Thing/Getting It Right/Listen to Me/La Letrice (1989)

User Reviews

Dreary sex comedy

The Gallic pseudo-sophistication runs pretty thick through this wafer-thin comedy, featuring Miou-Miou as a woman who decides to make a profession out of reading aloud to people. What transpires, of course, is that her sensuality and life-affirming giddiness enter into and transform the texts for her clients. It all has a certain well-measured charm, even if the whimsical wordplay gets overbearing quite often, and ultimately it loses this charm when it is decided that the character Marie is maintaining her dignity when refusing to read aloud pornographic material by de Sade for a geriatric judge and his friends, while finding no moral objection in allowing herself to be seduced by another client. At this point, the movie, which had been discreet in its treatment of sexuality, suddenly whacks the viewer in the face with closeups of the actress's naked crotch, and the whole exercise starts appearing more conspicuously misogynist: ultimately one gets the sense that neither the character nor the actress is in on the joke. This is not aided by the gratingly winsome yet flaccid performance by Miou-Miou, who does not thrive in this kind of role - there is really nothing to play here. There is really nothing to watch, either.