Christine Boisson & co in "La Mécanique des Femmes" [2000, France]

Jérôme de Missolz apparently based his film "La Mécanique des Femmes" [Eng. Title: The Mechanics of Women] on a controversial novel by Louis Calaferte. While I've not read her work and therefore not in a position to judge its interpretation, I can say for certain that this is one of the most annoying and least enjoyable films I've seen recently. And what is even more annoying is that it is precisely because of this reason that they linger in your mind for longer than they should..!

I honestly can't see what the film is getting at - is this supposed to be a man exploring post-feminism, Catherine Breillat style? In which case it has failed miserably. The director was probably trying to 'build' the male protagonist's character in the film by the manner in which women interact with him. May be the protagonist is merely used as a 'soap-box' from where these women tell us what they feel. But what we see is just pretentious rubbish - I for one didn't care for any of them, not least the protagonist. The film uses vulgarity to shock the audience (a la "Ma Mère"), but there's nothing to provoke your thought - and the film is not even erotic. Apart from its cinematography, especially the night scenes of Paris and a decent soundtrack, I cannot find anything positive to say about this film. Yes there is plenty of nudity shown from almost every conceivable angle but if that's all one's looking for, there are plenty of other options than spending money to watch this.

The Storyline:
(or more accurately, what happens in the film - there's no story)
A man who recently ended a relationship goes through a string of women of all shapes and sizes and is still not sure what he wants at the end of it. I'm trying to rush through this write-up as the more I think about the film, the more it pisses me off..!


By the way, while I've quoted Ms. Breillat more than once in this blog, and also have some of her films on DVD, I'm not sure I want to start her filmography here yet. In fact I've been revisiting my excellent brand new Eric Rohmer box-set of late - so my next French film will likely be from one of his classics.
The compilations are longer than usual, and perhaps more than what they should ideally be - but I don't often have the time to make several compilations, as each one needs to be accompanied by its own graphic.




 

Compilation 1: Fabienne Babe and Christine Boisson
It's a shame I had to introduce Christine Boisson into the blog with this one - she's actually a pretty good actress who has also worked in some fine films.



Scene Guide:

• A crazy girl 'pulling out all stops' to turn the guy on - played by Fabienne Babe - she's a babe alright - and proves she could be shameless too..!
• The protagonist gets fixated with the character played by Christine Boisson from the moment he set eyes on her at a club - a nymphomaniac who hunts down different men each day. She tells him how ready she always is for sex.
• Sunbathing topless by the river.
• This is meant to be erotic - we also see Ms. Boisson handling penis on at least two occasions, and at least two instances of actual or implied cunnilingus.
• More, almost repetitive sex scenes only make them tedious to watch.
• We see a brief scene of a new character telling him off for being so obsessive - one of her breasts gets briefly exposed, but I couldn't identify the actress. Perhaps someone who recognises her can fill us in.
• The protagonist lets a stranger have fun with Ms. Boisson's character first.
• From the film's end scenes.

 

Compilation 2: Florence Loiret-Caille, Katerina Savrani, Florence Denou, and others
These women form the rest of the protagonist's exploits.



Scene Guide:

• At over eight minutes, these almost continuous set of scenes are also the most entertaining of the lot, as "douce petite salope" played by belle petite Florence Loiret-Caille impresses upon her lover - the protagonist.
• A freaky goth chick discards her clothing and runs naked through the park after taunting an elderly man. This actress has been identified as Séverine Paquier in an old Collecta clip - I couldn't verify it for myself even though I'm aware the actress appears in the film's credits, but I trust his knowledge in these matters.
• Almost a monologue from voluptuous Mediterranean beauty Katerina Savrani.
• More pussy-obsession from the protagonist with another unidentified actress.
• Florence Denou only offers a brief tit-slip in this film, but she's done a whole lot more in a segment from this same director's much more interesting film about photographers exploring their own body through self-portraits, "Le Corps Sublime".
• No nudity, but more of Florence Denou - this time at the beach.

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