You're always on for something special with Patrice Leconte. While "Rue des plaisirs" is not his best film, by far, it's still enjoyable. The cinematography is great and the cast is doing a good job. The story is told by a trio of Parisian prostitutes well past their best-before date. It's the story of P'tit Louis, the handyman at the brothel, and Marion the newly arrived girl. P'tit Louis vows to take care of her for the rest of her life. He's in love with her, but he won't tell her. He'll just be by her sides, to try to make her happy, even pushing her in the arms of a prince charmant who turns out to be a trouble maker. It's not a great film, but one could argue that it's a great love story. Great music from the 30's on.

Seen at home, in Toronto, on March 12th, 2006.

78/100 (**½)

I am an unabashed fan of Mr. Leconte. In fact, I have never seen a bad film from this director. Every film of his is completely unlike the others, and yet they all have his unmistakable stamp.

Rue des Plaisirs takes its sweet time setting its story up, but it all moves very quickly, pace-wise, and the simplicity and beauty of the images is wonderful, and the little fable is ultimately very touching. Mr. Leconte rarely overstays his welcome - his films have reasonable running times and they say what they have to say and then they're done. If you don't know this director, you should seek out his films, especially Monseiur Hire, Intimate Strangers, The Widow of St. Pierre, Ridicule, and the great 1 Chance Sur Doux, with Belmondo, Delon, and Vanessa Paradis.

There's much to like about Laetitia Casta; she's pretty much the only supermodel who consistently has main roles in her movies (even Elle Macpherson's biggest fans have to admit she doesn't really deserve the prominent billing she often gets),and she's an appealing and stunning woman as well. True, she's not going to be winning any Cesars (the French equivalent of the Oscars) in the near future, but then again Tom Selleck once won an Emmy. "Rue des Plaisirs" was a box office underachiever in France, and while you can see why it's not the curvaceous Laetitia's fault. In fact, it's not even a bad movie - just an underpowered one.

Patrice Leconte's movie starts with three prostitutes plying their trade on a slow, rainy night in Paris - with nothing coming their way, one of them tells the other two about another hooker who actually did make something of her life... cue flashbacks to 1945, and the ladies of a brothel taking care of the son of one of their own, who grows up to continue working there as the handyman (Patrick Timsit),but when he sees the newest arrival (La Casta, still gorgeous with shortened black hair),he falls for her on the spot. Rather than try his luck with her, he tries to make her happy in other ways, namely by playing Cupid. The man he eventually matches the romantic young prostitute with, however, isn't quite as perfect as he'd wish.

"Rue des Plaisirs" doesn't glamourise prostitution (it avoids any easy humour about being the only man in a houseful of women, and the scenes of Laetitia's character in action aren't shot for eroticism at all),but it also short-changes the people - the main characters aren't really that developed, and it's fairly passionless at first despite the title and the setting, but the movie does improve as it goes along; you never really love it, but you can like it.

It doesn't really work overall, and you do wonder how the women who narrate know everything that happens, but there are plenty of bits to enjoy - Timsit's sympathetic performance as Louis, a man whose devotion to a woman he'll never have is touching to behold; the montage of women raising money to help the couple (literally a matter of life and death); the big-screen singing debut of Laetitia, whose character uses music as one release; the '40s soundtrack... the movie has lots to like, but in the end it falls short. It's probably because there's not enough emotion in the tale, or maybe because in the closing stages we get a wonderfully shot but profoundly sad ending which ultimately renders the movie a bummer. (The original script for "Pretty Woman," another love story about a prostitute, also had a downbeat finish - but not as downbeat as this movie's.)

But give Laetitia Casta credit for stretching herself on screen instead of being content to play The Girlfriend; and at least she can act (Kate Moss, please note). I'd like to see her in an English-language movie or in something set in the present day, but Casta fans should still check this out - like they need me to tell them that. Now if only someone would put out a subtitled version of "La Bicyclette Bleue"...