Simone Barbès ou la vertu (1980) Directed by Marie-Claude Treilhou
Drama
aka: Simone Barbes or Virtue
Film Review
This first film from Marie-Claude Treilhou has many good ideas and does reveal a promising
auteur in its aspiring director. However, the lackadaisical “cinema vérité”
style soon becomes tiresome and it is hard to engage with principal character when so
little is revealed other than a tragic sense of ennui. There's a nice
touch of irony in the film's first half, but this fails to last into the second
half, which merely provides an unimaginative and painfully dull portrayal of a night in
a lesbian nightclub.
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Film Synopsis
Simone Barbès works as an usherette at a pornographic cinema in Paris.
Her evenings consist of checking tickets and eyeing a strange assortment
of salivating saddos as they drift in and out of the film theatre like lost
souls. Her shift complete, she takes herself off to a lesbian bar to
unwind in the company of a friend who works there. With dawn not far
off, Simone decides to head back home. Outside in the street, there
is no shortage of offers from men who are eager to give her a lift, and she
ends up accepting one. Taking the driving seat, she allows her talkative
companion to unburden himself with a torrent of lurid confidences.
Depressed by the night's experiences, Simone looks for a place where she
can take a final drink before hitting the sack...
Cast: Ingrid Bourgoin (Simone Barbès),
Martine Simonet (Martine),
Michel Delahaye (Le Dragueur),
Sonia Saviange (La folle),
Max Amyl (Le légionnaire),
Noël Simsolo (Le réalisateur belge de filmes porno),
Raymond Lefevre (Le cinéphile),
Myren Astree,
Hélène Banvile,
Nella Barbier,
Pierre Belot,
Pascal Bonitzer,
Paulette Bouvet,
Pierrot Chevalier,
Philippe de Poix,
Yvonne Décade,
Denise Farchy,
Véronique Fremont,
Thamila Mezbah,
Cécile Pitel
Country: France
Language: French
Support: Color
Runtime: 77 min
Aka:Simone Barbes or Virtue
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