English titles: Pleasure Party; A Piece of Pleasure
Philippe lives with his wife Esther and their little daughter in a country estate. Philippe confesses his past infidelities to Esther and tells her that it would be OK if she had extramarital affairs too. During one of their house parties, Esther goes to bed with Habib, whom Philippe dislikes. Philippe is OK with that, but when Esther starts leading a double life, Philippe gets annoyed.
An investigation of the new conjugal mores and their psychological effects on modern men and women. I couldn't decide whether it is reactionary -- Philippe's dream of civilized liberalism is shattered -- or progressivist -- masculine power is incompatible with progress, and thus would have to be suppressed. However one looks at it, it's a strong movie, with smart dialogue and a fairly tense story progression. The two main parts are played by the screenwriter and his ex-wife, an arrangement which gives the movie an extraordinary sense of verisimilitude. This is a work of imagination which drew on autobiographical events. The physically violent parts are inventions, I suppose. Although it's fairly grim, I highly recommend this film.
Rating: 79
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