Rue des plaisirs (2002)

Director:

Patrice Leconte

Writers:

Serge Frydman (writer)
Patrice Leconte (writer)

Release Date:

13 February 2002 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Watashi, koishiteru no [Japan]

Plot:

A handyman in a 1940s Paris brothel tries to help the prostitute he loves with her singing career and romantic life. |

Plot Keywords:

Male Female Relationship | Singing Contest | Prostitute | 1940s | Period Piece

Cast

Patrick Timsit	...	Petit Louis
Laetitia Casta	...	Marion
Vincent Elbaz	...	Dimitri Josco
Catherine Mouchet	...	Lena
Isabelle Spade	...	Camille
Bérangère Allaux	...	Violette
Patrick Floersheim	...	Le Roumain
Manuel Bonnet	...	Homme roumain 1
Pascal Parmentier	...	Homme roumain 2
Dolores Chaplin	...	Dolores
Carole Esther	...	Carol
Florence Geanty	...	Florence
Isabelle Le Nouvel	...	Isabelle
Sophie Le Tellier	...	Sophie
Céline Samie	...	Céline

Also Known As:

Straße der heimlichen Freuden (Germany) (TV title)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

France | Germany

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:18+ (Ontario) | France:U | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Ciné B

Movie Connections:

Features Panique (1947)

Soundtrack:

Mon amant de Saint-Jean

Well, even Leconte can't get it right every time....

Rue des Plaisirs is one of Patrice Leconte's occasional misfires. Framed as 'Pigalle Dany Rose,' with a trio of streetwalkers on a rainy street relaying the story of the son of a whore who determines to find the right man to make the new girl at the brothel where he was raised happy, there's more than a touch of The Hairdresser's Husband to it, not least in the intercutting of Patrick Timsit's character as man and child, but there's none of the sensuality despite some potentially promising setups. Among the chief problems is Laetitia Casta, who simply lacks the presence or allure to make the role work: her manner is generally sullen, her acting poor and her singing voice weak, so it's hard to see what the attraction is for such a one-note personality and little surprise that there's not a hint of chemistry with either of her leading men. Still, as Leconte has said in the past, the advantage of making relatively short feature films is that if you bore the audience, at least you don't bore them for that long.