The Libertine (1968 film)

The Libertine (Italian: La matriarca, lit.'The Matriarch') is a 1968 Italian sex comedy film directed by Pasquale Festa Campanile and starring Catherine Spaak and Jean-Louis Trintignant.

The Libertine
Theatrical release poster
ItalianLa matriarca
Directed byPasquale Festa Campanile
Screenplay by
Story byNicolò Ferrari
Produced bySilvio Clementelli
Starring
CinematographyAlfio Contini
Edited bySergio Montanari
Music byArmando Trovajoli
Production
companies
  • Clesi Cinemtografica
  • San Marco
Distributed byEuro International Films
Release date
  • 28 December 1968 (1968-12-28) (Italy)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryItaly
LanguageItalian
Box office128,378 admissions (France)
$359,883 (Spain)[1]

Plot

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Mimi, a young widow, discovers that her recently deceased husband kept a secret apartment for his kinky desires. Frustrated that he did not explore his sexual fantasies with her, she embarks on a quest to understand perversion and sexuality. She uses her late husband's apartment to seduce various men, each time learning more about the depths of human depravation, as well as the extent of the sexual double standard for women (late in the film, she states, "I notice men only call me a whore when I say no. Or stop saying yes.")

Finally, she meets the man who shares himself fully with her, appreciates her sexual daring and accepts her for whoever she is.

Cast

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Reception

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Howard Thompson of The New York Times said the film was "not nearly as clever, sophisticated and amusing as it archly pretends."[2] The Guardian called it "pseudo-sophisticated, so fake as to be positively sick making and, what is more, thoroughly unerotic."[3] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post complained "the film's own attitudes are far too conventional".[4] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times thought the film was "at times... pretty hot stuff... has a little more style and wit than most Radley Metzger releases."[5] Terry Clifford of the Chicago Tribune thought the film was "more clumsy than clever... just as unimaginative as the film it attempts to parody."[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Soyer, Renaud (25 February 2006). "L'Amour à cheval – Box Office Jean Louis Trintignant 1970". Box Office Story (in French).
  2. ^ Thompson, Howard (16 May 1969). "Screen: Restless Widow: The Libertine' Stars Catherine Spaak". The New York Times. p. 41.
  3. ^ Malcolm, Derek (15 August 1969). "The slow, the bad, and Buster". The Guardian. p. 6.
  4. ^ Arnold, Gary (16 August 1969). "A Comic 'Libertine'". The Washington Post. p. C6.
  5. ^ Thomas, Kevin (20 August 1969). "MOVIE REVIEW: 'Libertine' Westwood Run". Los Angeles Times. p. e19.
  6. ^ Clifford, Terry (25 August 1969). "The Movies: 'The Libertine'". Chicago Tribune. p. a9.
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