Alyse et Chloé (1970)
Directed by René Gainville

Film Review

Alyse et Chloé is the fourth - and most controversial - film that was directed by René Gainville, the Hungarian-born film director who is best known for his political thriller Le Complot (1973).  From its psychedelic, Austin Powers-style opening credits sequence and surfeit of mini-skirts, knee-length leather boots and frilly shirts, you could hardly mistake the era in which the film was made, but the nude lesbian love scenes were pretty daring even for a late 1960s French audience (hence the over-18 certification).  For the most part, Alyse et Chloé feels like kitsch exploitative trash, with thinly developed characters drifting aimlessly through an almost non-existent narrative, but the arresting presence of the leads - Catherine Jacobsen and Michèle Girardon - gives it a whisper of auteur legitimacy.  This is the first film for the cinema in which Pierre Arditi is credited, as a navel-adoring mystic.  How Arditi was able to live this down and go on to become one of France's most revered actors remains one of the unsolved mysteries of the universe.

Film Synopsis

Alyse and Luc have been happy together for some time but now their professional commitments are starting to drive them apart.  Luc, a successful photographer, is increasingly away from home on assignments, leaving Alyse, an attractive model and cover girl, at a loose end.  It is during one of Luc's protracted absences that Alyse begins a relationship with Chloé, the manager of an advertising agency.  When he becomes aware of this Luc is predictably disgusted...