The Libertine (1969 film)

The Libertine
Directed by	Pasquale Festa Campanile
Produced by	Silvio Clementelli
Written by	Nicolò Ferrari; Ottavio Jemma
Starring	Catherine Spaak; Jean-Louis Trintignant; Gigi Proietti
Music by	Armando Trovajoli
Cinematography	Alfio Contini
Edited by	Sergio Montanari
Production; company	Clesi Cinemtografica; Finanziaria San Marco
Distributed by	Audubon Films
Release date	15 May 1969
Running time	90 mins
Language	Italian
Box office	128,378 admissions (France); $359,883 (Spain)[1]

The Libertine (La Matriarca; a.k.a. The Matriarch) is an 1969 Italian film directed by Pasquale Festa Campanile.

Plot

This is a sex comedy film about Mimi (Catherine Spaak), a young widow who discovers that her recently deceased husband kept a secret apartment for his kinky desires. Frustrated that he did not explore his sexual fantasies with his wife, she embarks on a quest to understand perversion and sexuality. She uses her late husband's apartment to seduce various men, each time learning more about the depths of human depravation, as well as the extent of the sexual double standard for women (late in the film, she states, "I notice men only call me a whore when I say no. Or stop saying yes.")

Finally, she meets the man who shares himself fully with her, appreciates her sexual daring and accepts her for whoever she is.

Cast

Catherine Spaak as Margherita, aka Mimmi
Jean-Louis Trintignant as Dr. Carlo De Marchi
Gigi Proietti as Sandro Maldini
Luigi Pistilli as Otto Frank, aka Mr. X
Renzo Montagnani as Fabrizio
Nora Ricci as Mimmi's Mother
Vittorio Caprioli as The Librarian
Frank Wolff as Dr. Giulio
Edda Ferronao as Maria
Paolo Stoppa as Professor Zauri
Philippe Leroy as The Tennis Instructor
Venantino Venantini as Aurelio
Gabriele Tinti as The Man in the Car

Reception

The New York Times said the film was "not nearly as clever, sophisticated and amusing as it archly pretends."[2] The Guardian called it "pseudo-sophisticated, so fake as to be positively sick making and, what is more, thoroughly unerotic."[3] The Washington Post complained "the film's own attitudes are far too conventional".[4] The Los Angeles Times thought the movie was "at times... pretty hot stuff... has a little more style and wit than most Radley Metzger releases."[5] The Chicago Tribune thought the film was "more clumsy than clever... just as unimaginative as the film it attempts to parody."[6]

References

Box office information for the film at Box Office Story
Thompson, Howard (May 16, 1969). "Screen: Restless Widow: The Libertine' Stars Catherine Spaak". New York Times. p. 41.
Malcolm, Derek (15 Aug 1969). "The slow, the bad, and Buster". The Guardian. London (UK). p. 6.
Gary Arnold. (Aug 16, 1969). "A Comic 'Libertine'". The Washington Post. p. C6.
Thomas, Kevin. (Aug 20, 1969). "MOVIE REVIEW: 'Libertine' Westwood Run". Los Angeles Times. p. e19.
Clifford, Terry. (Aug 25, 1969). "The Movies: 'The Libertine'". Chicago Tribune. p. a9.

External links

The Libertine at IMDb

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[1] Box office information for the film at Box Office Story

[2] Thompson, Howard (May 16, 1969). "Screen: Restless Widow: The Libertine' Stars Catherine Spaak". New York Times. p. 41.

[3] Malcolm, Derek (15 Aug 1969). "The slow, the bad, and Buster". The Guardian. London (UK). p. 6.

[4] Gary Arnold. (Aug 16, 1969). "A Comic 'Libertine'". The Washington Post. p. C6.

[5] Thomas, Kevin. (Aug 20, 1969). "MOVIE REVIEW: 'Libertine' Westwood Run". Los Angeles Times. p. e19.

[6] Clifford, Terry. (Aug 25, 1969). "The Movies: 'The Libertine'". Chicago Tribune. p. a9.