15 July 2021

Luis García Berlanga's Grandeur nature | Lifesize (1974)

It's difficult to figure out what to say about this film, as although a mere piece of fluff on the outside, it's also a very interesting piece of fluff. At the time of its release some complained that it was objectifying women, but I can't see that: rather, it's infantilising men.

Dental surgeon Michel (Michel Piccoli) is discontented with his wife Isabelle (Rada Rassimov), so he buys a rubber doll with which he can do what he likes, indulge his fantasies, talk to it, and so on. His wife and friends think he's gone mad, but the real problem comes when he finds that his new lover is being used by others. He calls her a 'pute' and abuses her, and his only recourse is to kill both himself and 'her': he drowns himself with her, only she floats to the surface: fantasy rules over reality?

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