A happily married but sexually unsatisfied wife fulfills her desire by participating in prostitution. Her psychological and sexual confusion and obsession are explicitly described in dream sequences, which include the torture scene at the beginning to open the film with the shock value. Belle de jour, an intensely erotic picture even without nudity, is a twisted presentation of male sexual fantasy under the disguise of examining female sexual exploration. Possibly Catherine Deneuve's best performance; she looks fabulous in a woman-under-the-influence role, as in Polanski's Repulsion. Sound design is phenomenal, especially the sound of a trotting wagon in the opening and ending shots.
Review of Belle de Jour
