Product: 8 Women (2002)
Rating: 4.0
Eight Great Women...And A Real Stiff of A Guy
I've been running my own little French film festival of late. I go on jags like that periodically. As it happened, I loaded up on a number of grim ones (NOIR ET BLANC, EST-OUEST and LA HAINE among the most recent). So I was about ready for some lighter fare and HUIT FEMMES more than filled the bill.My French film festival has also been something of a Deneuve festival as well, and seeing Catherine hold her own against seven other remarkable French actresses (and one French actor, who's a bit of a stiff)was a delight. Huppert, Ardant, Beart--and a very lively Danielle Darrieux as "Mamy" are all merveilleuses. Relative newcomers Virginie Ledoyen and Ludivine Sagnier are equally wonderful.As others have noted, it's sort of "Agatha Christie "en francais." With a touch of UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG thrown in for good measure. (And no, the musical numbers are not a distraction unless you're a mystery purist, and if that's the case this fun flick is not going to be your tasse de the). Not all French escapist fare fares well in tranlation, but 8 FEMMES is a bon-bon that is truly bon.