Cerebral French comedy about a jilted lover who plots a seduction as a revenge against womankind -- but only as a literary stunt. (The nasty old publisher who proposes the idea is named Costal, evocative of Montherlant's famous misogynist, Costals.) The randomly selected target of seduction is viewed by her seducer as "revolting" and "repulsive." But in truth she's no worse than a little ostrichy, and her personality is nicely individualized, and overall she's much more attractive than the peacocky hero. The yellow-toned photography flatters neither of them. And not enough time has passed since Get Out Your Handkerchiefs to permit such extensive use of Schubert's "Hungarian Melody." Fabrice Luchini, Judith Henry, Maurice Garrel; directed by Christian Vincent. (1991) — Duncan Shepherd
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