Cheap Venus Beauty Institute (DVD) (Nathalie Baye, Bulle Ogier) (Tonie Marshall) Price

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Customer Reviews of Venus Beauty Institute

DVD or VHS's cover will show you three workers (how do you say in English?) at a beauty salon, clad in vivid pink, but the film's main story follows Nathalie Baye's character, Angele, now forty-years-old, whose relationships with a man she loved in the past, it is implied, had not been an easy one. The moment she is ditched by a guy after a 3-days love affair, she encounters a new love without her knowing; in fact, you see behind that guy, an artist Antoine (Samuel Le Bihan, seen in "Brotherhood of Wolf") falls in love at first sight. Suddenly she is told that he loves her, and he keeps on coming in spite of her repeated rejection. Should she accept his love, instead of having an easy relations with forgettable dates, knowing that loving means complicated things, as she experienced before....

In the meanwhile, Angele's co-workers have their own relationships, and they are told (or implied) in a very subdued, subtle way. Samantha (played by Mathilde Seinger, younger sister of Emmanuelle of "The Nineth Gate" and Harrison Ford film "Frantic") seems to keep on having dates every night with different boys. Other worker, youngest Marie (lovely Tautou) is courted by an old, kind gentleman who asks her to come to his house. Among these well-drawn characters, you will meet many strange customers coming to the salon, who make you smile, including a totally naked "Madame Buisse"(!) coming to salon wearing ... a overcoat only.

The greatest virtue of "Beauty Venus" is Nathalie Baye's marvellous acting, which convincingly portrays Angele's fragile side of character, who cannot trust herself to anybody anymore. Her insecurity is sometimes very poignantly expressed, but her pain comes very naturally, because always superb Baye never relies on overacting here. That makes a good contrast to Audrey Tautou's innocent love, which is also an impressive part of the film. For all simple, and in a sense too familiar story of the film, "Venus Beauty" is a memorable film that makes you feel good, thanks to its romantic (but not sugary) atomosphere and insightful study of characters.

Using striking blue and pink colors, the director Tonie Marhall creates a small magical world where pains and regrets of ordinary people are not forgotten, but are presented with a delicate overtone. Everything is told in a understated voice, so you might feel the film is too slow-moving or dull at some times, but good performance and realistic feeling of the salon (they really made it on the street) make up for that. I assure you that next time you go to a beauty salon, you will smile remembering those colorful characters of "Venus Beauty Institute."

The film also gives extra fun to French cinema fans. Look for faces of Frederic Andrei (star of "Diva" -- long time no see), Claire Denis (director of "Nenette and Boni" -- Vince Gallo was there, remember?), Philippe Harel (director of "The Banned Woman") and many, many veteran actors. And Tante Maryse (one of Angele's aunts) is Micheline Presle, the director's mother.

Nathalie Baye's film, not Audrey Tautou's
Like many people, I saw 'Amelie' and figured "I'll watch - in fact, seek out - anything with Audrey Tautou." There have been some pleasant surprises along that road - 'L'Auberge Espagnole' and 'Dirty Pretty Things' come immediately to mind. There are some bad ones out there, too. I did not enjoy sitting through either 'God is Great, I'm Not' or 'Happenstance.'

Now, with Ms. Tautou's rising international profile, we're seeing a "Tautou-ization" in the marketing of her earlier films. In 'Happenstance,' she's just part of the woodwork, yet stands alone on the VHS/DVD coverbox. In 'Venus Beauty Institute,' it's the same trick pulled on us: the marketers have succeeded in finding the *one* shot in the entire film where she happens to be poised in the center.

Which is a shame, because this is Nathalie Baye's film. 51 (and radiantly beautiful) at the time of filming, Ms. Baye doesn't deserve the short shrift she's getting here. This part was written specifically with her in mind - it's a complex role that very few actresses could do justice to.

US audiences will remember Baye as Leonardo DeCaprio's French-born mother in "Catch Me If You Can." She was also a standout with Sergi Lopez in "An Affair of Love."

My videocassette tells me this film is categorized as a "Romantic Comedy. Hardly. There are elements of humor. Mostly this is about Angèle's (Baye's) humor - the absence of it, along with the spirit and hope that seem to have ebbed out of her life. Can she get it back?

The struggle of Angele to get a good love life
Angele is a forty-something woman working at the title place, where women get makeovers, daubed with anti-aging cream, or get suntans under the ultraviolet lamps. Some men come to get massages, though. The women and men who leave are refreshed, hopefully inside as well as out, with the former being suggestively sold some product before leaving. But not Angele, it seems.

The story evolves around Angele's love life and that of the other employees. At the movie's onset, we see Angele chatting with a man who seems to have all the hallmarks of a decent guy, someone who listens, etc. only later, she gets callously dumped. Antoine, a guy who witnessed the whole thing, falls in love with her and sets out trying to win her over, as his relations with his fiancee are strained. Despite her brush-offs and not-too inviting demeanor, he seems to genuinely want her, and not be one of her one-night stands.

Which brings us back to Angele. Most of her lonely life after hours is spent picking up men at restaurants or train stations for one-nighters. She's insecure after an affair with a long-time lover that involved his face being injured. He's still there, but always doing business abroad. As a result, she comes off as being defensive, easily annoyed and angry, which doesn't do well for her potential pickups. She's been so disappointed to the point that she equates love as another form of slavery, her penchant for one-nighters emphasizing her control in her affairs.

Angele doesn't seem age-conscious here, but Nadine, the proprietor of the Venus Beauty Institute, reminds her that Angele should leave and start a salon of her own, the way women her age should. Her presence here indicates she hasn't grown up, still being one of the "young girls." The key is that maybe in finding Mr. Right, she'll be fulfilled enough to progress further in life as expected for women her age.

The youngest VBI employee, the sweet and innocent-looking Marie, has an interesting relationship with an elderly pilot whose scarred face was given a skin replacement from his devoted wife. His wife is dead and Maria's minstrations to it equates to caring for his wife since her demise. Angele wonders though if anything sinister is going on, given the tips and gifts, including a mink coat, her co-worker gets from the pilot.

Samantha doesn't have much luck in her love life, which becomes detrimental in her attitude to work and Nadine later.

Other interesting things I noticed is the courtesy the employees give their clients. Marie in particular thanks the customers for any tips, and even holds open the door for the exiting client. The most interesting customer is the exhibitionistic Ms. Buisse, who has no qualms about emerging from the tanning rooms full frontal for the public to see, the sight of which draws in gawking males towards the window in one scene.

Nathalie Baye shows once again that she is Cesar-worthy material, as she won Best Actress for her role as Angele, joining her other wins for Every Man For Himself and La Balance. However, it's no surprise that Audrey Tautou won the Most Promising Young Actress award as Marie. I don't know that a movie like this would have won best picture here, but it's a worthy vehicle for Baye, and one of Tautou's better ones.