"Mademoiselle" is a genuinely strange film--one that is very, very difficult to describe or understand. The title character is played by Jeanne Moreau and she's a school teacher with a strange obsession. She loves to do evil things to the folks in her village. Mostly, she lights fires, but she also poisons their cattle and floods their farms. There really is no explanation for much of this behavior--she just likes to do evil things. Yet, she really isn't crazy, as she's the school teacher and KNOWS what she's going is wrong. Later, you realize part of the reason she lights fires is that Manou (Ettore Manni) looks so manly as he battles these fires. However, at the same time, the villagers begin to blame Manou for the fires. After all, he has a lot of nerve being a foreigner!! At the same time, Mademoiselle takes great delight in making Manou's son feel worthless--and treats him abominably in the classroom. What does all this mean? I really am not sure. In fact, I am not sure there's much behind all this and making heads or tales of it is a dilemma. It was well made but that just isn't enough. All in all, a strange movie that left me baffled--and I assume your reaction will probably be about the same.

By the way, there seem to be a lot of dead animals in the film--including a rabbit that is beaten to death. I sure hope they didn't do this just for the film, but it sure looks like they did. What a waste.

Set entirely in a small town and surrounding countryside in central France this is at once a tale of idyllic country life with its emphasis on religion, patriotism and family but at the same time a devastating portrait of a psychopath. The remarkable actress Jeanne Moreau plays that psychopath which makes it even more difficult to accept and deal with within the context of this beautiful looking film. The only film I can think of that comes near to this one in its seeming idealism gone rotten is Luis Bunuel's Diary of a Chambermaid two years before. Mademoiselle does not have the humour or quite the same subtlety but it does have Moreau and that disconnect between the apparent 'pillar of society' and utter corruption. Indeed Bunuel's much quoted phrase concerning the 'immorality of bourgeois morality' is played out here from the very beginning with malicious and violent action combined with a religious procession through golden fields. Moreau is magnificent here in the central role and so believable we have to pinch ourselves lest we lapse into misreading her as others clearly do. Her cool and calculated manner amidst the farmyards and animals is terrifying and extremely well dealt with by Tony Richardson, who marshals all his cast immaculately. There is a scene at one of the arson attacks and as we watch with Moreau we have a close up of her quietly gleeful state and catch the reflection of her burning object of desire reflected within her eyes. Measured but masterful.

Dark in its commentary about human nature, 'Mademoiselle' is both artistic and disturbing. Several say that it's the frustrated sexual desire for woodman Ettore Manni that leads to Jeanne Moreau's spate of secret violence against the town, but it's worth noting that the first fire set is accidental. I think it's more horrifying to think how arbitrary sociopathic behavior may be, that it may exist in all of us, and small turns of events turn her into a monster. The malevolence in her eyes is frightening, as is her cruelty to his son in her classroom, and we see how cruelty begets cruelty, as he dashes a rabbit repeatedly against the ground after an incident with her. That's one thing to beware of in the film, there is more than one scene of what appears to be actual cruelty to animals. There is also sexual humiliation - kissing boots, crawling on the ground, and getting spit on before being kissed - in a sequence that drags on over multiple scenes far too long towards the end. The film simply tries too hard to makes its point, sometimes with silly, obvious symbolism (for example, him unwrapping his snake and having her stroke it). Director Tony Richardson, with screen writing from Marguerite Duras based on a story by Jean Genet, certainly creates an image with this film, it's just not all that pleasant. On the positive side, he does capture several wonderful shots, mostly outdoors. It's as if he saying nature is beautiful, man is not. I also loved seeing Jeanne Moreau, who is fantastic.