I'm with Zetes
http://juntajuleil.blogspot.com/2009/01/film-review-earrings-of-madame -de-1953.html
shareOne of the achievements of a work of art is that it can make us feel sympathy for characters who might otherwise seem superficial or unappealing. For the aristocratic women in "Camille," in "Madame de. . . ," and even in "Anna Karenina," we see women whose entire existence is pointless and useless. It is in falling in love that they both rejoin humanity and destroy themselves, and it is in the exaltation of self-immolation that they achieve greatness.
Those who think Louise's initial shallowness disqualifies her for sympathy or interest are, I think, about on a par with the headmistress in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" who dismisses Violetta as a silly woman with diseased lungs.
While I was being fairly facetious in my post, I do, of course, believe in the core ideas of it. You may call me a bullheaded Saint-Simonian or an idealistic Fourierist, but I have an incredibly difficult time relating to the 'plights' of the aristocracy. Perhaps that's a flaw on my part, or evidence of a deeper prejudice, but, even with that stacked deck, I can occasionally be won over by a moneyed protagonist- as in the best of Antonioni, Renoir, or Stillman. Deep alienation and modern malaise (as depicted by Antonioni), war between nations- or persons (as depicted by Renoir), and existential, crippling premature ideas of failure (as depicted by Stillman), are enough to make me sympathize with those characters. Though Madame de is similarly a victim of an era, she never, for me, quite strikes that note of likability or humanity capable of tilting my scales in her favor. I concur that Madame de does succeed in rejoining humanity, but I'm unsure if 'greatness' is achieved in the process.
Best,
very true.
the movie has some subtle comedy too.
"Hipness is not a state of mind, it's a fact of life!" - Cannonball Adderley