Belle de Jour

Drama - general DVD - The world's oldest profession turns out to be a cure for the newlywed blues in Belle de Jour, a razor-sharp French-language satire from Spanish-born director Luis Buñuel. Catherine Deneuve plays the young married woman drawn irresistibly toward a secret life of prostitution, and both the actress and her character slip easily into the role, evoking the bored distraction of an unfulfilled young woman as she comes to grips with her more primal cravings. Buñuel plays to his own strong suit here: He exhibits undeniable mastery in portraying the tension between prim and proper surfaces and the powerful, irrational -- even perverse -- appetites that lurk beneath. But despite the sexy subject matter, Belle de Jour is far from steamy; rather, Buñuel's sensibility remains typically dry and detached. Moments of the director's signature surreal fantasy are worked into the story nicely, but when compared to a film like The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, the satire of Belle de Jour is far more