When you rent this Jean Renoir historical comedy, you can expect lush colors, beautiful costumes, and a bit of the absurd. There's a certain style of French comedy that is very silly, which you can easily imagine being played on the stage with all the actors trying to reach the back row. What you might not expect is an entirely French movie, despite non-French leading actors. Ingrid Bergman is Swedish, after all, and Mel Ferrer American. But there they are, speaking French! (Actually, I couldn't tell if Mel's voice was dubbed, but I did watch his mouth, and he spoke all the French words, regardless if they got another actor to correct his accent.)
The story centers around the beautiful, flirtatious Ingrid who has every man at her fingertips. They meet her, they fall in love. She ends up getting involved with several powerful men and influencing history and important war decisions, all because of her beautiful smile and charm. Before you think it's ridiculous, let me tell you she really does look beautiful in this movie. With her hair highlighted and piled high on top of her head, a constant smile lifting her features, and gorgeous period gowns showing off her figure, it's really a treat to watch this movie even if you think it's silly or have no idea what's even going on.
Review of Elena and Her Men
