Love and the Frenchwoman Reviews

A charming French anthology film that traces the nature of love in typical French women from childhood to old age. The first episode, "Childhood," details a nine-year-old's confusion when her parents tell her that babies come from cabbages. The parents have a hysterical little girl on their hands when the child sees a cabbage fall from a vegetable truck. "Adolescence" shows a girl's first kiss and the exciting world of diaries, stolen kisses, and daydreams of charming princes. "Virginity" takes on the sticky problem of a young couple having trouble waiting until marriage to consummate their love. Financial problems cause the pair to postpone their marriage continually, and they are about to give in to temptation when reason clears their heads and they decide definitely to wait. "Marriage" details a newlywed couple's first turbulent experiences with petty arguments and frustrating personal habits as they drive to their honeymoon spot. In "Adultery" a bored wife takes a young lover. When her husband finds out, he invites the young man to lunch and tries to scare him off with tales of his wife's lavish spending. Having succeeded, the husband returns to his repentant wife, but he is interrupted by a phone call from his mistress. "Divorce" focuses on a couple trying to part on friendly terms and remain friends, while their obnoxious lawyers' demands prevent them from having a civilized divorce. "A Woman Alone" concerns a bigamist who attempts to bilk a lonely woman; he falls in love with her roommate, however, and reveals his plot. The women have him prosecuted, but upon his release he meets up with another lonely woman, the lawyer who defended him in his trial.