Les textiles (2004) User Reviews

the bakers stripped bare?

[dbdumonteil · 6/10 · 9 January 2007]

One negative comment for this little comedy of manners, it's a little unfair. I would tend to be more generous towards Franck Landron's effort which has the merit to bring to the light of day a social phenomenon rarely explored in cinema: naturist communities.

I agree with the precedent viewer who deemed the end of the film underwhelming because unexplained. Alacrity seemed to be prevailing in the director's mind when he shot these ambiguous ending sequences. What do Olivier (Alexandre Brasseur) and Sophie (Barbara Schulz) really think about? Are they ready to settle down in the camp or do they want to abscond and go back to their humdrum daily life in Paris? While I'm on the drawbacks, it will also certainly be easy to fault on certain derivative points of the story. We learn that Olivier purchased this house because he didn't want to spend his holidays at Sophie's mother's. Could there be a stormy relationship between him and her? Then, the values of this close-knit naturist community make the film a little outdated and falsely modern because it harks back to the hippie culture which used to laud a return to nature and the basic pleasures of life, notably free sex.

But Landron's effort shouldn't be dismissed all the same. The title of the film designates the people who wear clothes in a nudist camp and so Sophie and her children are them. Her wary demeanor makes sense: in a society so much concerned with fashions in clothing and sense of decency, how many people would be ready to take their clothes off and to follow the rules and manners of a nudist community? It is highly likely that many people including me and you would react like her. "Les Textiles" is a call for tolerance, integration about the right to live naked in an isolated community.

There's nothing crass in Franck Landron's treatment of nudism and he films without complacency and a certain neutrality, Sophie's stay on the island among its naked inhabitants. Comical sequences are efficiently subdued. "Get your clothes off!" says some inhabitants to Sophie. It is also to his credit to have reduced the danger of some traps which seemed inevitable like a latent voyeurism and he plays on evocative colors between bright ones during the day and dark ones in the evening. A special cinematography gives the film an almost documentary style.

Don't be fooled by the low rating and give this social comedy a go.

Interesting for naturists, but probably not for textiles.

[angryzenbuddhist · 5/10 · 29 March 2007]

I saw a promo for Les Textiles on Italian television in 2004. I was intrigued, since I was planning a trip to Cap d'Agde a few weeks later.

I didn't see the film while I was in Europe, but have just now watched it on DVD.

It's really not a bad movie. It is an interesting look at a nudist community. The setting did actually remind me a lot of Cap d'Agde, except that the people at Cap d'Agde are very tolerant of people who choose to remain clothed. I went grocery shopping naked and clothed and didn't have problems either way. There are some weakness in the story, but nothing that ruined the movie for me. The vague ending, though, did hurt the film.

This is a good movie for anyone interested in naturism, especially naturist communities, but probably not for someone who's just looking for a good story.

misleading view of naturism

[BareOaks · 5/10 · 12 March 2011]

While the movie is very well made, it is misleading about the essence of naturism/nudism. In the beginning, it does appear as though this family has purchased a summer place in a naturist resort. Sophie's soul-searching when she discovers the communal nudity of the resort is very well done. Her children's reaction and their discussions are excellent. But by the end, it is obvious that the resort is a place for swingers and sexuality reigns. Certainly, there are swingers who are also naturists. But the two have little in common. For more then a century, naturists have sought to separate mere nudity from sex. By pandering to the exploitive side of nudity, this movie does nothing but reinforce the myth of rampant sexuality in naturism. It's too bad because it was a good story about body shame until they introduced that prurient element. Perhaps the producer felt that adding a salacious aspect would make it more commercially successful.

fake preconceptions about nudism

[atmolt · 4/10 · 2 February 2011]

The film wasn't bad until when they arrived to the island. Actually it was funny when they realized everybody is starting to strip off on the boat. By the way I surprised how the children scared - especially the girl - because the naked people in that scene. What could they parents told them before about the human body - "is it the evil itself"? Later that was annoying how Sophie handled the situation. Right, it's totally understandable if she is surprised at first because they didn't know that previously it's a naturist island. But after that she stayed shocked for the whole story. Why? They are not Americans! (Sorry for the exceptions.) The plot's biggest mistake was to mix up the naturism and voyeurism. And to swingers and "dogging". In the real life all the naturist/nudist organizations fight against these kind of false preconceptions and this film is just try to ruin everything. Yes I heard they could be exist that kind of people too but the majority of nudists just want to enjoy the water, air, sunshine without unnecessary clothes - mostly together with the whole family. In that view that's a very destructive movie.

Awful

[LEONESTEFANO · 3/10 · 2 July 2004]

One of the worst films I've seen this year. It's neither amusing nor dramatic. There is a terrible story, lack of pathos, and holes of script too: why did Sophie want to go away from the isle and then didn't do?

And the ending? It's very anomalous that Olivier has adapted himself so quickly to new situation. And what happen underwater in the final scene? There are many confuses passages. Or perhaps I did not pay attention. In recent years I've seen many interesting French films (comedies, action movies), but this fails. There is only a good thing: Barbara Schulz. She's very pretty!

No plot, no twist, nothing.

[dinogen · 1/10 · 21 August 2019]

I'm sorry to say this movie doesn't have any story in it. No characters, no plot, no twist, no hotness, nothing. Only nudity, without any sense. Avoid this movie.

An Interesting Movie-nice themes different context

[nick_greek11 · 7/10 · 24 July 2009]

I have seen the movie a few years ago and I liked it. The context is naturalism and nudism but the film is not about this and I am surprised the few commentators haven't got it. It is a social movie about conformity and liberation, love and tension, desire and choices, gender, generations, social differentiation etc. Actually, I reflected more on these themes through this movie rather than through other more "serious" movies.

A last note, Muhart Magali, is a very beautiful and sexy lady that as a drama face stands apart. She has the potential for more character movies, unfortunately her career did not pick up so far in Paris or London. I just hope she keeps on even in B-movies for a while till she gets her break. She has the potential...

Overall, I rate the movie as a 7...far better than many 7s of IMDb....but of course I am not a US prude who thinks that the movie is about nudism "oh my god"... so this may be an implicit explanation of the low rankings so far...

funny

[aci-4 · 10/10 · 11 March 2018]

I like this movie, it has all sorts of stuff in it, a nice dose of humor, and pretty good acting ,i would say not like acting acting but more on the realistic side of acting, and thats always nice to see ,makes it look more real. I aint no nudie so i wouldnt know really but was so funny to me when the lady was meeting one of the owners of the appartment, and when she asked if its a good place to raise kids, that dude said its a great place lol yet its a swinger community ,wonder what was the message of that.