Overview
A cinematic exploration of pleasure in its many forms, from the whimsical to the profound.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- elegant
- witty
- sensual
- classic cinema evening
- arthouse film night
What critics said
Critics broadly admire the film's humane anthology structure, visual elegance, and sophisticated treatment of desire, while recognizing its tonal unevenness across episodes.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film presents three separate stories linked by the shifting meanings of pleasure, purity, and death.
Ophüls's signature visual style uses graceful movement through balls, brothels, and country interiors to connect characters and social worlds.
The three episodes pair erotic or social pleasure with old age, prostitution and purity, and the proximity of death.
Masked revelry, bourgeois ceremony, and the country visit reveal the tensions beneath polished manners and moral labels.
Films like Le Plaisir, and why
La Ronde
episodic romantic drama, sophisticated irony, and elegant period-inflected French storytelling
The Earrings of Madame de...
Max Ophüls's elaborate camera movement, bittersweet romanticism, and interconnected social portraits
The Rules of the Game
anthological structure, sensual fatalism, and melancholy examination of desire and social performance
Movie Details
- Director
- Max Ophüls
- Release Date
- 1952-02-29
- Runtime
- 97 min
- Rating
- 7.5 / 10 (141)
Cast
- Claude Dauphin
- Gaby Morlay
- Madeleine Renaud
- Ginette Leclerc
- Mila Parély
- Danielle Darrieux
- Pierre Brasseur
- Jean Gabin
- Jean Servais
- Daniel Gélin
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Criterion Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Le Plaisir about?
- Max Ophüls transforms three stories of erotic and social pleasure into a graceful, melancholic meditation on youth, respectability, and mortality.
- What is Le Plaisir like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Le Plaisir as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Le Plaisir violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Le Plaisir.
- What did critics think of Le Plaisir?
- Critics broadly admire the film's humane anthology structure, visual elegance, and sophisticated treatment of desire, while recognizing its tonal unevenness across episodes.
- Which films are like Le Plaisir?
- Films with a similar feel include La Ronde, The Earrings of Madame de..., and The Rules of the Game.
- How long is Le Plaisir?
- Le Plaisir runs 97 minutes.
- Where can I watch Le Plaisir?
- In United States, Le Plaisir streams on Criterion Channel.
