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Film Perfection

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

"Die nackte Bovary" or "The Sins of Madame Bovary" or just "Madame Bovary" is a co-production between West Germany and Italy from 1969, so this one will soon have its 50th anniversary. According to IMDb, this is a German-language film, but all the versions I found were in Italian, so I think this is more likely. Anyway, it runs for 90 minutes approximately and it is another take on the extremely famous novel by Gustave Flaubert. For director Hans Schott-Schöbinger as well as the writers, it may be among the most known works of their careers. The cast does not really offer any famous names in my opinion. Some may have heard of lead actress Edwige Fenech and if we are honest here you cannot really look any better in your early 20s than she does, especially if you are more into brunettes as I am. In terms of the acting, I am not entirely sold I must say though, even if she probably isn't worse than any of the other actors in here and I found most of the acting relatively forgettable. It feels that a lot of this film is really mostly about costumes, sets and beautiful people (not just Fenech), which of course hurts in the story-telling department.I will not go into detail any further about the story in detail because I believe that this film is only a good watch perhaps who really love the story of Mme. Bovary and there are certainly other, newer films out there that you may want to check out first because they are just far more easily accessible such as the recent Mia Wasikowska movie about Bovary. Anyway, as for this one here, it is a bit of style over substance, even if I somehow liked the watch early on and the ways in which we find out how Bovary is unhappy with her life in general and with her husband's ambitions in particular. But it gets weaker in the second half unfortunately and the parts about her affairs and the financial problems did not really attract my attention which is a pity as later on I enjoyed the part again when she feels as if she has to help her husband. Overall, I still give this one a nay. Watch something else instead. Not the best take on Flaubert here.

This version of the second greatest novel ever written (according to a 2007 poll), Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary focuses on the adulterous affairs of the title character and more than any other version to date, on her intoxicating beauty. This is no wonder when you realize Emma Bovary is played by the stunning Edwige Fenech at the start of her long and illustrious career.Cutting right to the chase, this abridged adaptation (the Italian language version clocks in at under 90 minutes) skips past the early life and first wife of Dr. Charles Bovary (Gerhard Riedmann) and also omits his first meeting with and courtship of Emma. As the movie starts Emma is narrating the story and explains how she is already bored by the dull life with her husband and daughter (the child only appears briefly in couple of scenes).For the most part, the film follows each of Emma's affair to the letter: her affection for Viscount d'Andervilliers; her seduction by Rodolphe Boulanger and her domination of the clerk Léon Dupuis. The crafty merchant Lheuruex who eventually becomes her downfall appears to be privy to each of her affairs, giving him an even stronger role as the villain and potential blackmailer of the piece. It is at the end that the film takes a left turn from the source material: instead of turning to suicide, Emma offers her body to Lheureux (which to this Emma is just as degrading).Having primarily appeared in sex romps set in the same time frame as Madame Bovary (circa 1850), Edwige Fenech proves she is capable of carrying a meaty leading role in a costume drama here. Director Hans Schott-Schönbinger aka John Scott also knows how to make the most of this gorgeous woman in front of his camera in nearly every scene and cinematographer Klaus von Rautenfeld photographs the entire film in stunning widescreen format. Of course there is a lot of titillation on show, making this Bovary a strange combination of a chick friendly costume drama with some nudity thrown in for the boyfriends.Exactly how much nudity depends on which version you are watching. The French version for example has more nude scenes with Fenech, most notably in the pivotal scene in Lheureux's clothes shop. A clip found on Dailymotion reveals there are two different version of the scene: one where she is still wearing underwear and one in which she does not. Similarly, production stills found in a German magazine published at the time the film was released show actresses Manja Golec and Patrizia Adiutori also filmed their scenes with and without (whereas in the Italian version reviewed here they remain covered up.)8 out of 10