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Dominique Thomas, Lola Creton, Daphné Baiwir, Marilou Lopes-Benites, Lola Giovannetti ... see more see more... , Farida Khelfa , Isabelle Lapouge , Laure Lapeyre , Luc Bailly , Suzanne Foulquier

Controversial filmmaker Catherine Breillat puts a new spin on an ancient story in this multileveled drama. In France in the mid-'50s, Catherine (Marilou Lopes-Benites) enjoys toying with her older sis... read more read more...ter, Marie-Anne (Lola Giovannetti), by reading her the story of the murderous and oft-married Bluebeard, embellishing the story with plenty of gore and scaring the girl out of her wits. As Catherine rereads the story, we're taken back to the year 1697, as Lord Bluebeard (Dominique Thomas) prepares to make Marie-Catherine (Lola Créton) his seventh wife. Marie-Catherine's youth and innocence make her an especially attractive quarry to Bluebeard, and rather than murder her right away, he decides to wait a while in order to savor the terrible joy of claiming her life. However, as Bluebeard becomes caught in a cycle of events that keep him from following through on his wife's murder, the two slowly become something like a normal couple and Marie-Catherine begins to turn the tables on her spouse. Barbe Bleue (aka Bluebeard) received its world premiere at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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45% liked it

579 ratings

Critics

78% liked it

36 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 20 min.

Directed by: Catherine Breillat

Release Date: March 26, 2010

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DVD Release Date: June 22, 2010

Stats: 82 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (82)

  • 366weirdmovies
    April 4, 2012
    366weirdmovies
    An aristocrat with a blue beard marries young girls, who always wind up dead. There are a few startling images near the end that pop out because the rest of the story so flat, but the for the most part the matter-of-fact minimalist style fades the magic and mystery of the fairy ... read moretale.
  • gator681
    April 4, 2012
    gator681
    In "Bluebeard," two young girls, Catherine(Marilou Lopes-Benites) and Marie-Anne(Lola Giovannetti), wander into an attic that they have not been strictly forbidden from entering but not exactly given permission to enter, either. There, they play games and read the story of Blueb... read moreeard again.

    Marie-Catherine(Lola Creton) and Anne(Daphne Baiwir) are sent home from a private school when their father is killed by a carriage while saving a child. Things are no better at home when all of their belongings are taken away and their mother(Isabelle Lapouge) is left with two daughters she cannot a provide a dowry for. However, Bluebeard(Dominique Thomas), the enormously wealthy lord of a nearby castle, is looking for a new wife since all of his old ones have gone missing.

    I don't recall specifically how much Catherine Breillat might have changed in adapting the classic fairytale for the screen but regardless she makes it her own. While much more sedate than most of her other movies, it has more than its share of transgressions and forbidden knowledge with her contributing much intelligent thought on the subject of female sexuality.(For this reason and I may be alone on this, I think Catherine Breillat would make a fine director for the next "Twilight" movie.) The girls in the present have their own weird ideas on what marriage is supposed to be and no idea what to expect in the future. On the other hand, Marie-Catherine has no illusions when it comes to marriage and Bluebeard and prepares herself accordingly.
  • fb1144932598
    April 4, 2012
    fb1144932598
    A strangely disjointed tale, based on the Bluebeard fairy tale, told as a cautionary tale that leaves the viewer feeling somehow short-changed. One questions the artistic decision to tell the tale as a young girl reading it to her older sister, and then dissolving to the action o... read moref the story. The scenery is sumptuous, the costumes are gorgeous, the actors well chosen, but at a mere hour and twenty minutes, the ending seems forced, terribly rushed, and serves no other purpose than to allow the director to say she filmed an ending. The context is somehow missing, at least for this viewer. My favorite Muse calls this Breillat's most accessible film to date, and with that one must concur, but that still isn't saying much. One always comes away with the feeling that one missed something, some cultural reference or some mistranslated line of dialog, that would make the screenplay make more sense. This viewer has been left wanting a clearer message far too many times.
  • smootysveen
    April 4, 2012
    smootysveen
    I really like the little girl reading the story, could have done with out the community theateresque medieval costumes.
  • liannenoone
    April 4, 2012
    liannenoone
    Breillat's most refined and lovely film yet. I want Catherine Breillat to always tell my bedtime fairy tales. Just the right amount of dark without going overboard, as is usual with the director's past work. A great film.
    This is a retellling of folklore, but it isn't strictly a ... read moreperiod piece as there are two storylines playing out.
  • NoxInvictus
    April 4, 2012
    NoxInvictus
    The ONLY reason I was able to complete the movie was the little girl in the pink dress reading the story. Its a very slow, quiet film.
  • nkkigrrl28
    April 4, 2012
    nkkigrrl28
    I enjoyed this film, but not as much as I had hoped. There is a subversive quality to the movie that is typical of Breillat films. I thought the lead actress was spectacular and beautiful: sensuous and conquettish, while smart, impulsive, and entirely unique. Perhaps I would have... read more enjoyed this film more if analyzed through the guidance/support of a class. Still, a bit of a delicious experience.

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Critic Reviews

Mark Feeney
May 13, 2010
Mark Feeney, Boston Globe

A simple device, the parallel structure freshens and enlarges the familiar story precisely because Breillat doesn't put too much weight on it. Full Review

Tom Long
April 30, 2010
Tom Long, Detroit News

Those looking for a re-interpretation of a classic fairytale will certainly find it in Bluebeard. They just won't find a very good one. Full Review

Owen Gleiberman
March 31, 2010
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

A movie that has all the when-will-he-draw-the-scimitar suspense of Friday the 13th as made by Robert Bresson. In other words, none at all. Full Review

Manohla Dargis
March 26, 2010
Manohla Dargis, New York Times

All fairy tales have morals and the one in Ms. Breillat's Bluebeard is brutal, suitably bloody and, like all good retellings, both similar to and different from earlier iterations.

V.A. Musetto
March 26, 2010
V.A. Musetto, New York Post

Bluebeard revisits themes often found in Breillat's films -- sibling rivalry, pedophilia, gender conflict -- but it remains fresh and new. Full Review

J. Hoberman
March 24, 2010
J. Hoberman, Village Voice

Psychologically rich, unobtrusively minimalist, at once admirably straightforward and slyly comic. Full Review

Leslie Felperin
March 3, 2010
Leslie Felperin, Variety

This offbeat but compelling take on the tale, arguably the first serial-killer yarn, emphasizes sisterly bonds but still gets to the original story's heart of mysterious darkness with impressive results. Full Review

Charlotte O'Sullivan
July 22, 2010
Charlotte O'Sullivan, This is London

Breillat's ideas owes much to Angela Carter, yet The Bloody Chamber author would surely be depressed by the lack of dynamism on display. Full Review

Rich Cline
July 22, 2010
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall

Murky and cold, this retelling of the fairy tale has an effectively grim tone that cleverly plays with our expectations while examining some provocative themes. But it's not very engaging. Full Review

Kate Stables
July 22, 2010
Kate Stables, Total Film

Catherine Breillat's move from arthouse provocations to ponderous period dramas continues with this austere, slyly experimental adaptation of Charles Perrault's grisly classic. Full Review

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Bluebeard Trivia

  • Which of the following are not an actor and the name of a pirate they portrayed on the silver screen?  Answer »
  • What 1987 movie starring Matthew Broderick contained chimpanzees named Virgil, Goofy, Bluebeard, Goliath and Spike?  Answer »
  • Who played the original "Bluebeard"?   Answer »
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