321) Bluebeard (2009)

321) Bluebeard (2009) Dir: Catherine Breillat Not Yet Released Date Seen: October 2, 2009 Rating: 3.25/5

Bluebeard, Catherine Breillat's dramatization of the French fairy tale based on the infamous murders of Gilles De Rais, is a predictable, though unfortunately toothless, provocation. The bulk of the film's suggestion is loaded into its final 20 minutes and even then, Breillat's not telling us anything that she hasn't already before (women use fairy tale archetypes to enact their latent masochistic sexual fantasies, even at an early age, when they can dissolve the part of their psyche that objects to their ingrained moral objections). The twin girl storytellers are cute but they're just an intellectually justified version of the usual "Have children say nasty things for a yuk" routine. Cheap but satisfying.

Note: After the first time we see Bluebeard on screen, I was constantly wondering rhetorically: what metal band is that guy the lead singer for and what kind of metal is it? He kinda reminds me of the Euro-version of Andrew W.K. Quand il est le temps pour feter, nous toujour fetons lourd (shit, that sucked; apologies to French speakers)!