MADEMOISELLE (1966)
Region Code: A
Rating: TV 14
Duration: 103 Minutes 30 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: B&W 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)
Director: Tony Richardson
Cast: Jeanne Moreau, Ettore Manni, Umberto Orsini, Keith Skinner, Georges Aubert, Jane Berretta, Paul Barge, Pierre Collet, Gerard Darrieu, Georges Douking, Jean Gras, Gabriel Gobin, Rosine Luguet, Antoine Marin, Jacques Monod, Mony Reh
In the Tony Richard (The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner) directed Mademoiselle (1966), based on Jean Genet's story of the same name, a provincial French village is unaware that their quietly repressed schoolteacher (Jeanne Moreau, The Train), only referenced in the film as "Mademoiselle", is the secret sociopath who has been inflicting cruel acts of destruction in their midst.
In the Tony Richard (The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner) directed Mademoiselle (1966), based on Jean Genet's story of the same name, a provincial French village is unaware that their quietly repressed schoolteacher (Jeanne Moreau, The Train), only referenced in the film as "Mademoiselle", is the secret sociopath who has been inflicting cruel acts of destruction in their midst.
As the film opens the sociopathic educator can be seen opening the floodgates to a river flooding the village; her actions are seeming without cause, she is simply an evil-doer who craves destruction, which is made quite clear when for no reason whatsoever she destroys a nest full of bird eggs, just to do it. We learn there have been a series of arson attacks prior to the start of the film, and they continue throughout the film, she sets barn structures on fire, and then watches as the village respond, taking secret delight in their loss and torment, even poisoning the livestock's water supply.
She develops an obsession with a widowed Italian woodcutter named Manou (Ettore Manni, Lucio Fulci's Silver Saddle), who has arrived in the area for the seasonal woodcutting, a man who has a not undeserved reputation for bedding married women in the village. This new obsession does very little to curb her sociopathic tendencies though, in fact her burning desire for him manifests in the cruel treatment of his son Bruno (Keith Skinner, Romeo & Juliet) who sporadically attends her classes. She regularly shames him in front of the class because of her distaste for the short-pants he wears, picking apart his hygiene and insulting his intelligence. In one scene she encounters Bruno on a road in the forest and notes that he has been absent, and that he needs to attend, only to humiliate him further his first day back, she's just so cruel.
As she secretly continues to terrorize the community her actions draw out the villagers xenophobic prejudices, believing the Italian woodcutter to be the one committing the acts, which is not only secretly fueled by Mademoiselle, but even more directly when after engaging in a lustful outdoor romp with Manou she returns to the village sexually satisfied, but still not content, at least not until she fully condemns the woodcutter with just a few words to the villagers, igniting a fatal spark that ends in violence.
Gorgeously shot by cinematographer David Watkin's (The Devils) with static monochromatic lensing that is quite artful, the locked down camera capture each scene like it's a painting, having a bit of an ironic fairytale quality. It's a truly beautifully shot film with scenes of the pastoral beauty, lustful acts in the rain, and buildings set ablaze. Interestingly, and quite affecting is the minimalist use of sound, there's no traditional music accompaniment other than music inside of churches, the quietness which gives it a very unsettling quality. A thoroughly engaging and hypnotic look at a quietly malicious femme and the banality of evil-doing, definitely seek it out.
Audio/Video: Mademoiselle (1966) arrives on Blu-ray from MGM in 1080p HD 2.35:1 widescreen. The source is in generally fine shape, a few instances of speckling, dirt and debris, faint vertical lines, and some minor instability but otherwise offering excellent contrast, solid contrast and strong black levels, compression was never an issue.
Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. The track is clean end exports dialogue, the sounds of birds, and the score clean, but seems mastered quite low, I really had to crank it up, three times the volume I typically watch films at.
Sadly, no extras whatsoever, just a static menu with the option to watch with or without subtitles. The single-disc pressed Blu-ray arrives in a standard keep case with a single-sided sleeve of artwork.
Special Features:
- None
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