Die Männer, die ich liebte

I read beforehand that this was a considerably controversial film, but after watching it, I have significant doubts about that. The film was shot in 1980, and at that time, there already existed a numerous and essentially prevailing group of sufficiently emancipated women in the Euro-American world who had long ceased to be dependent on men. The plot of the film is very simple and strongly resembles an old anecdote when a young author rushes to the theater director and exclaims that he has a sensational subject for a play. He starts explaining that in the first act, he loves her, she loves him, in the second act, he loves her and she loves him, and in the third act, he loves her and she loves him. "So, where is the dramatic conflict?" the director asks. "It lies in the fact that only she remains the same person, he is someone different each time." The protagonist of the film is a beautiful, confident, and demanding woman who longs for passionate love. However, since none of her partners is capable of providing her with it in the long run, she gets bored, seeks satisfaction from lovers, and ends the relationship each time. The success of the film was guaranteed by the beautiful Catherine Deneuve, already a mature and experienced actress at the time, but still a very charming woman with undeniable French charm. Director Berri complicated the simple plot with a fragmented narrative structure, intertwining several temporal planes of the film, as the main character remembers all her love affairs. The director does not provide any resolution and simply describes a certain model of a romantic relationship. Overall impression: 60%. (15.03.2009)