Betty Blue (1986)

Best movie ever!

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Zorg (Jean-Hugues Anglade) is a handyman working in France, maintaining and looking after the bungalows. He lives a quiet and peaceful life, working diligently and writing in his spare time. One day, Betty walks into his life, a young woman who is as beautiful as she is wild and unpredictable.Although the film is widely praised, it was "hated" by Roger Ebert, who sees it as nothing more than a film about the lead actress being naked a good deal of the time. He says that is the plot, and anyone who gets more out of it is missing the point. Many people apparently miss the point, as the film received both a BAFTA and Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 1986, as well as winning a César Award for Best Poster.Ebert exaggerates slightly, but I cannot completely disagree with him. For one thing, I am not a fan of explicit sex is movies as it never serves a purpose. But also, it just is not that interesting of a film. If people were not attracted to the scandalous nature of the film, it would probably not be a cult film today.

There are many very good reviews here, but I just wanted to say that if you watch this excellent film, please make sure you watch the director's cut. I have watched both versions and the clumsily edited 120min version is very poor by comparison with the full length cut. It also leaves some central elements of the film completely and frustratingly unexplained. By contrast, the full version is a compelling story of a particular and intense relationship and it succeeds in raising a number of broad questions about love, passion, loyalty and commitment. I think everyone should watch this film but no one should watch the shorter edit.

Nothing excites a film critic more than the opportunity to kick a whiz-kid director down on his luck, and it's been open season on Jean-Jacques Beineix ever since his justifiably ill-fated second feature 'Moon in the Gutter'. But he can be assured of having a captive audience for at least the opening moments of his new movie, in which the director indulges his Gallic penchant for erotic overkill with several minutes of unembellished (and absurdly gratuitous) sexual intercourse. The scene gives a misleading first impression of the film as a libidinous romp, and may leave viewers unprepared for the tragic story of a sublimely untalented writer (named, oddly, Zorg) and his tempestuous lover Betty: an untamed, impulsive force of nature prone to violent fits of temper. The film itself is often equally irrational, meandering across some of the more picturesque corners of rural France before Betty's next tantrum turns (inevitably) fatal. But the extravagant self-indulgence that ruined Beineix's previous feature is tempered here by an unexpected measure of genuine wit and self-deprecating pretension, with the additional bonus of handsome photography and a catchy music score by the ubiquitous Gabriel Yared. The alliterative title is also a distinct improvement over the original French '37.2 degrees le matin'.

Oh Betty Blue! Probably the first soft core sex movie I ever watched. To be honest, I was a young kid that only wanted to explore sexuality through movies. You know, hormones are at it's peak when you are starting to explore sex.Years later, watching the director's cut I was amazed on how solid and sexual the script is.The sex scenes shouldn't be important and are only perceptible because of the passion and caring about each other between the couple.I don't think I have seen a movie with a plot like this. And the sexuality was a strong factor to keep the atmosphere in the movie.This is a great dramatic feature supported by sexuality and passion.