Savage Souls (2001)
At a wake one night in 1945, a group of aged women recall the life of one of their number. Sixty years before, Thérèse was barely 20 years old when she eloped with her boyfriend, Firmin, a blacksmith, to Châtillon, a town in Provence. Here, she makes the acquaintance of the wealthy Madame Numance, who is known for her good deeds. Realising that Thérèse is pregnant and unemployed, Madame Numance insists that she moves into a house on her estate. Whilst Firmin resents the arrangement, Thérèse soon finds that she can exploit the situation, using her benefactor's naivety and generosity for her own gain..
Watch Trailer
Cast
Reviews
I think it may bloody well be. Although it's hard to be sure, since he was a very prolific director and much of his work still remains unavailable or hard to get on DVD or even VHS, it's certainly far worse than anything else I have seen by him so far. It's quite obvious that he was nothing more than a hired hand for this film, and had no real personal involvement in the whole project. He tries a couple of his camera tricks, but he cannot bring the ASTONISHINGLY pointless and empty script to life. The fact that there are no user comments for this movie since 2004 (!) is an indication that it's destined to be buried and forgotten, even by Ruiz devotees. The photography is beautiful and Laetitia Casta looks EXQUISITE and gives a very good performance, but I still felt tempted many times to just shut the movie off and be done with it. I didn't, but only because that's my unbroken rule. 0.5 out of 4 stars.
This story is about an attractive manipulative little tramp who gets involved with a wealthy couple,the man played by John Malcovich.Most of the movie follows this situation and the couple's behaviour is so mysterious that the only resaon i kept watching is to see how this is resolved or explained,which never happens.After that the movie goes on but i was already bored and i never cared for the rest which is even more boring.Too bad for the beautifull photography, especially of the french countryside.
A well acted and respectful adaptation of Giono's masterpiece. Ruiz takes the internal and complex ambiguity of a women's soul and frames and reflects her struggle in the backdrop of the refined beauty of Provence. The truth about Thérèse we may never know but the truth about Ms. Casta's talent on screen is without question.
Is this the Victoria's Secret and L'Oreal supermodel , starring in this very ambitious movie ??? It seems it is. Yet, what a rich personality this girl must have. I found her surprisingly good, deep, right for the role, at the opposite of the image I had of her. The whole movie is very faithful to the original XXth century French classic by Jean Giono. It might seem a little complicated because its characters are fully ambiguous. This is the main theme of the movie and of the novel. Thanks to the screenwriters and the director, it is great to see such movies that do not take the average cinema goer for a silly person. A movie you can interpret your own way, in which everything is not explained. Not another silly psychological drama ! A movie with depth.. I have seen it four times already and can't wait for the DVD. With Laetitia Casta actress, I would say a star is born.