Henry & June

Phillip Kaufman's loving examination of Anais Nin's relationship with Henry and June Miller is an enthralling journey. In the film Anais is inspired by Henry and June to descend into a world of debauchery that fuels her erotic writing. We the audience see Henry and June through the eyes of Anais, which may mean it's not exactly as they really were, but rather a romanticised version of them. This is NOT a biopic of Henry Miller, which is the foolish mistake that some reviewers seemed to make on the films release.

The script tends to meander a bit, lacking any real plot. Each scene lives for itself, some more successfully than others. But in the torrid climax when Anais' wild ways have finally caught up with her, it all comes together nicely to leave a feeling of completion.

The cast is first rate. Maria de Medeiros, despite not having top billing, get's the bulk of the screen time as Anais. She has a captivating look, and embodies a sense of innocence throughout, despite displaying the most promiscuous nature. If at times she overdoes the melodrama, she should be commended for managing to purr out some rather flowery dialogue without sounding silly. Many lesser actresses would have faltered.

In what is undoubtably the highlight of his film career, Fred Ward instils Henry with some old styled charisma and gusto. While he gives us a throughly entertaining Henry, I still however have trouble seeing this character as a writer of erotic fiction. He seems too much like a man's man. The original casting choice of Alec Baldwin would make more sense in this case, but I doubt in the end he would have been as entertaining in the role as Ward.

Uma Thurman, as June, gives a memorable performance. It's the most showy character in the film, and Thurman gets the chance for plenty of legitimate scenery chewing. She uses the full scale of emotions and performs a transformation of the character from menacing seductress to pitiful emotional wreck. Despite the surprising comments of one of the other posters here, it really is one of the best performances of her young and promising career.

In support, Richard E. Grant is awkward (probably purposely) as Hugo, Anais' well-hung and faithful husband. Jean-Philippe Écoffey is adequate as Anais' cousin and brief lover. Kevin Spacey is amusing in what now looks like a cameo, but then was quite an important role for him.

Philippe Rousselot's cinematography is beautifully done. He creates an almost surreal feeling of Paris in the 1930's. The music is also well placed and adds to this mood. Kaufman and Rousselot make the numerous sex-scenes things of beauty rather than titillating, they get creative with them. In fact, the film is surprisingly unarousing considering the amount of sex occurring in it. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing I guess you can decide for yourself. Why on earth it got an NC-17 rating I don't know. I doubt it would if released today.

Not everyone will like this film. It is 'arty farty' so to speak. It's maybe even a little pretentious. But I find it to be a fascinating and just plain absorbing trip. I have managed to find the time to watch it quite a few times, and it seems to improve with age. I recommend it to any thinking filmgoers.

9/10

A lot was good here. One of the thing that was "bad" was almost certainly deliberate -- the contrast between the coarse, gross facial features of Fred Ward, in juxtaposition with the extremely delicate visage of Maria de Medeiros. One thing that could have been better: the "baldness" of Fred Ward. I don't know him, and don't know if he's bald, but this looked like a very bad make-up job. Surely they could do better in 1990. Or did Miller shave the top of his head and pretend to be bald? I don't know, but I doubt it. In spite of the title, the movie is really about Anais Nin. This was a fine performance by Miss de Medieros, and is worth watching for that alone. It won't appeal to the car chase-and-explosion crowd, but it's not for them anyway. I don't see what made the difference from an "R" rating.

So some people described this film as: "great cinema", "absorbing movie", "perfectly acted", "amazing story", "stunningly filmed", and so on. I must have been watching a different movie!!!

Maybe we like movies if we see ourselves reflected in them? I couldn't relate to these characters. Were they really like this? I've been curious about Anais Nin for years and if this her actual portrayal, well I'm very disappointed. Henry, June and Anais are all selfish people who actually need to feel pain to feel alive! What a weird lot! And Hugo, what a fool to love someone like Anais.

None of them seem to know the meaning of true love. Anais particularly. June got it right when she criticised her for using people as food for her writing.

There's nothing in this film that makes it endearing or memorable to me. I lost interest early on but watched to the end in the hope that the film would redeem itself. But if you want an experience of erotica, then maybe this is a good example. And June Miller became a social worker (end credits)... give me a break!

A sexy movie with two very interesting faces - Maria de Medeiros and Uma Thurman - and one ugly and obnoxious one (Fred Ward, playing American writer "Henry Miller.")

I wish Thurman had a bigger role in this movie. The photo of her in this picture - the one Ward stares at periodically - is one of the most fascinating portraits I've ever seen. De Medeiros is shown naked quite a bit but it's her face, with those big eyes and the 1930s look, that's interesting. The nudity and lesbian sex scene gave this a NC-17 rating, the first movie ever to get that rating (from what I read.), and deservedly so. In Paris in the 1930s, where this story is set, they were "ahead" of their time (secuarly speaking) regarding decadence. This movie captures that atmosphere, although it's a bit TOO sleazy at times.

The film features some wonderful photography. One of the best cinematographers in the business, Phillipe Rousselot, filmed this. The worst part of the film was simply no likable characters and a bit too many dull spots. But.....the film really offers some visual treats.

"Henry & June" (1990) by Philip Kaufman which is based on the book by Anais Nin is a wonderful film, a rare and admirable example of how an art-house erotic film should be made. It tells an interesting story that concerns the famous and scandalous American writer Henry Miller during the period of work on his first major work, "Tropic of Cancer" in 1931 in Paris and two women without whom the book would not have happened. One of them is his wife, June Miller, who is a constant presence under the different names in all Miller's works. The other - Henry's (and June's) close friend, lover, and confidant, Anais Nin. The film is an adaptation or mediation over the Anais Nin's journal which she wrote for 60 years and described in it the intimate details her inner world, including experiences with sexuality, and the meetings and relationships with prominent bohemian personalities of literature and art, who came from around the world to Paris, always known as the Mecca for creative individuals. Nin said about her life long writing in diary, "This diary is my kief, hashish, and opium pipe. This is my drug and my vice." Anais met in Paris provincial but talented non-conformist Miller and his exotic, sensual, and irresistible wife June (Uma Thurman never looked so attractive, as in this movie) and began affairs with both of them that would change their lives and influence enormously both Miller's and Nin's literary work. Anais is also known and praised as one of the first and the finest female writers of erotica. One of the reasons for film's success was director/writer Philip Kaufman's ability to delicately transfer to the screen the erotic intense atmosphere of Nin's writing as well as the spirit of Bohemian Paris in the beginning of the 1930s.

At the of Anais' request, her journal was published only after the death of all the participants in the events. Anais' relationship with Henry and June, which led to her own realization as writer, served as the basis for the Philip Kaufman's film. Kaufman wrote the script together with his wife Rose, and made a brilliant, disturbing, outrageous film, which had made history by having been the first USA film to receive the NR-17 Rating, so called "kiss of death". Henry and June is an adult film in the literal meaning of this word, it is the movie made for adults which explores in the insightful, exiting and artistic way the motivations, inspirations, and desires of the famous figures of Art. The acting is universally good with terrific Maria de Medeiros as Anais Nin. It is impossible to take one's eyes off her face - so charming, lovely, and desirable she is. She possesses the power of commanding the screen and she is the best thing in the movie which belongs to her Anais Nin.