Elles (1997)

Five women, all near the wrong side of forty, face life's ups and downs together with laughter, tears, and sometimes irony. Their only imperative: live, love and live some more.

Director:

Luís Galvão Teles

Writers:

Don Bohlinger, Luís Galvão Teles

Stars:

Miou-Miou, Carmen Maura, Marthe Keller

5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Miou-Miou	...	Eva
Carmen Maura	...	Linda
Marthe Keller	...	Barbara
Marisa Berenson	...	Chloé
Guesch Patti	...	Branca
Joaquim de Almeida	...	Gigi
Didier Flamand	...	Edgar
Morgan Perez	...	Luis
Florence Loiret Caille	...	Rita (as Florence Loiret)
Mapi Galán	...	Raquel
Bobette Jouret	...	Bela Luna
Amparo Muñoz	...	Maria
Maurice Chevit	...	Alberto
Marie Guillard	...	Inès
Nicolas Djermag	...	Tiago

Storyline

In Lisbon, the middle-aged TV journalist Linda Lapa is preparing a special program named 'Three Wishes' for her show "Maquillages" (make-up) and interviews her best-friends Eva, Barbara, Chloé and Branca. Linda has a love affair with the younger director Gigi but she does not allow him to spend the night with her. When the young actress Raquel flirts with Gigi, Linda feels that she must change her behavior to keep her relationship with her lover. Eva is a widow literature professor with a son. Eva feels desire for Luis but lives a moral dilemma between her lust and their age difference. Barbara is hypochondriac and misses her husband Edgar (Didier Flamand), but they have a good relationship and Barbara, her daughter Inês (Marie Guillard) and Luis frequently meets Edgar. When Barbara faints in a store, she discovers that she has an incurable disease. Chloé is a lesbian make-up professional that was addicted to heroin and secretly loves Branca, who is a successful actress and the ...

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Plot Keywords:

actress | friendship | lesbian | one word title | lesbianism | 

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Taglines:

Uma comédia romântica sobre o sexo feminino

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Comedy

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Details

Country:

Belgium France Luxembourg Portugal Spain Switzerland

Language:

French Portuguese

Release Date:

17 October 1997 (Luxembourg)

Also Known As:

Elas

Filming Locations:

Lisbon, Portugal

Box Office

Budget:

PTE 700,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artémis Productions, Canal+, Esicma S.R.L

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Official submission of Luxembourgfor the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 70th Academy Awards in 1998.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[Linda watches a recording on her portable video camera. On screen there is Eva. Behind the camera, Linda directs a interview]
Linda: You may start now. The genie is here, before you. You may ask him three wishes.

User Reviews

Wishes and a Streetcar Named Love

In Lisbon, the middle-aged TV journalist Linda Lapa (Carmen Maura) is preparing a special program named Three Wishes for her show "Maquillages" (make-up) and interviews her best-friends Eva (Miou-Miou), Barbara (Marthe Keller), Chloé (Marisa Berenson) and Branca (Guesch Patti). Linda has a love affair with the younger director Gigi (Joaquim de Almeida) but she does not allow him to spend the night with her and he has to leave her studio apartment at 3:00 AM maximum. When the young actress Raquel (Mapi Galán) flings over Gigi, Linda feels that she must change her behavior to keep her relationship with her lover. Eva is a widow literature professor with a boy and the passion of her student Luis (Morgan Perez) that is twenty-five years younger than she and son of Barbara. Eva feels desire for Luis but lives a moral dilemma between her lust and their difference of ages. Barbara is hypochondriac and misses her husband Edgar (Didier Flamand), but they have a good relationship and Barbara, her daughter Inês (Marie Guillard) and Luis frequently meets Edgar. When Barbara faints in a store, she discovers that she has an incurable disease. Chloé is a lesbian make-up professional that was addicted in heroin and secretly loves Branca, who is a successful actress and the dysfunctional mother of Rita (Florence Loiret). Along a few days, the female friends discover the importance of unconditional love, friendship and how life must be intensely lived and without fear.

"Elles" is a delightful and intense dramatic romance with the entwined sentimental life of five friends of forty or fifty and something years old. The complex plot successfully develops the characters in 97 minutes running time in the Brazilian version released on VHS by Cult Films distributor. Therefore, the sensitive director and writer Luís Galvão Teles shows a great capability of conciseness. The cast composed of a constellation of stars is wonderful and it would be unfair to highlight one individual performance. The conclusion is marvelous with Linda's wish coming true. This unknown movie is from 1997 and seems to be the source of inspiration to Darren Star to create the famous "Sex and the City" in 1998. The story lines are basically the same in different locations – Lisbon and New York. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Elas" ("They" (in the feminine sense))