Unquenchable desires, unbridled gaps

Greyson 2022-03-25 09:01:14

In China, "Beauty in the Day" can easily be interpreted as a Pan Jinlian story - a lascivious mistress seduces a wild man outside, only to lead a wolf into the house and kill her innocent husband.

The outline of the story is indeed too similar, but for me, "Beauty in the Day" is a relatively pure film, telling the heroine's desire from the self. The so-called middle-class setting is just to avoid misunderstandings. From today's point of view, the life of the heroine's family is not luxurious, and playing tennis is not an aristocratic sport. If the heroine's family is portrayed as embarrassing, the audience has reason. It is suspected that prostitution is due to economic problems. If the heroine's family is too prominent, it will be difficult to conceal the matter, so the background setting is only to provide conditions for characterizing the heroine's identity as an ordinary person.

The problems encountered by the heroine can be encountered by everyone, unknown desires, and unspeakable situations. The heroine loves her husband, but in the face of a husband who cannot satisfy her desires, the heroine actually loves her husband as if she were paralyzed. For a body like the heroine who is so eager to be raped, her husband is like this. A gentleman who is sexually mediocre is in fact paralyzed. But what the heroine really faces every day is a big living person who is not paralyzed, which makes her long for violence, but she is ashamed to admit to her husband, which is why in the end, when her husband is really paralyzed, Instead, the gap between the heroine's imagination and reality is filled, and the wife can live a peaceful life.

Although it was the 1960s, Buñuel's work was still criticized by vindicators after its release. There is no lack of taboos at all times for people who are truly desires, as if they can liberate themselves by suppressing others. There is far more than just the heroine who is suppressed in the film. The violent factory owner, the masochistic professor, the eldest man who doesn't know if he loves corpses or a pedophile, and Asians with unknown perverted hobbies... These clients constitute the oppressed. The group portraits express the reality of the whole society. The heroine is beautiful, so she can satisfy her desires by being a "beauty in the daytime". These people can only rely on money. Luckily they still have money, and when they don't, perverted rapists and murderers appear.

The monogamous society tries to maintain social stability by using the law to stifle the desires of the id. This move has been frequently slapped in the face by an endless stream of derailment incidents. From officials and celebrities to ordinary people, they risk their reputation and ruin. Feeding batch after batch of entertainment news and social journalists. This is the price of making an anti-human system, and this is our civilized society.

View more about Belle de Jour reviews

Extended Reading

Belle de Jour quotes

  • Madame Anais: You look a bit nervous. Relax. You'll be out at 5:00. Don't worry. You have someone waiting for you? A boyfriend? A husband? Oh, don't think I'm prying. Kiss me.

  • Monsieur Adolphe: The other day in Brussels I had a black girl. What a time we had!