The Libertine (1968 film)

The Libertine
The Libertine
Directed by	Pasquale Festa Campanile
Written by	Nicolò Ferrari; Ottavio Jemma
Produced by	Silvio Clementelli
Starring	Catherine Spaak; Jean-Louis Trintignant; Gigi Proietti
Cinematography	Alfio Contini
Edited by	Sergio Montanari
Music by	Armando Trovajoli
Production; companies	Clesi Cinemtografica; Finanziaria San Marco
Distributed by	Audubon Films
Release date	23 December 1968;
Running time	90 minutes
Language	Italian
Box office	128,378 admissions (France); $359,883 (Spain)

The Libertine (La Matriarca; a.k.a. The Matriarch) is a 1968 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[]

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

External links[]

The Libertine at IMDb

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

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

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

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

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

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

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