Arielle Dombasle treats herself to an ego trip in costumes

THE OPINION OF THE “WORLD” – WE CAN AVOID

We never really knew what planet Arielle Dombasle came from and it is probably not her cinematographic work that is likely to guide us. After an experimental UFO close to the Z series (Alien Crystal Palace2018), now the jack-of-all-trades diva is tackling a study of women by Balzac, The Secrets of the Princess of Cadignan (1839). Living recluse in his home at the venerable age of 37, this feminine Don Juan portrayed by Dombasle has, in his past, sketched lovers and many fortunes.

In the secrecy of a salon, the scandalous woman remembers her conquests with her confidante, the Marquise d’Espard (Julie Depardieu). Over the course of memories, the two friends admit to having never found love: the marquise then suggests that the princess meet Daniel d’Arthez (Cédric Kahn), a baron vaguely a writer who will manage to reach the heart of this woman.

Sympathetic disaster

There is, in this little historical melodrama, nothing that could claim to be a fiction in proper form: the sequences give the feeling of collapsing on top of each other, a series of crazy little clips (shots taken with a drone here , electro there) where Dombasle – the center of all eyes and all plans –, histrionics, sings, demonstrates her riding skills and parades in sumptuous costumes.

This pleasant disaster gives the strange feeling of being both completely broke and far too expensive for an ego trip collecting big names – Jacques Fieschi on the screenplay, Eric Gautier on photography, and a few actors lost in this slump (Stanislas Merhar and Cedric Kahn). Quirks rarely make good films, at best good fancy dress parties.