For Sale

As the detective "follows" her through her past, starting with the small town which was her childhood home, he becomes obsessed with the woman, her unusual behavior, and the conditions that turned her into a type of prostitute. After her first boyfriend, she charged every man for sex. As the detective pieces her life together, he comes to know more about her than most people know about their spouses, and starts to identify with her. Because the detective has not accepted his separation from his own wife, the girl he seeks becomes his companion, although he has never met her.

NUDITY REPORT

Sandrine Kiberlain is completely naked in an outdoor scene, topless in a sex scene, and bottomless in a scene in her apartment.

There is some additional nudity from minor characters.

DVD info from Amazon.

Widescreen anamorphic, 2.35:1
no meaningful features
I can't tell if the fuzzy video is the fault of the DVD or the original, but it is often blurry.

For some reason, the film includes an almost unrelated epilogue which takes place after Kiberlain emigrates to the USA and becomes a homeless street person in the USA. It was always her dream to move there, inspired by bedroom talks with her first lover in the small town. I guess this is meant to be ironic, showing that her deep feeling of betrayal is based upon a false sense of loss. This section appears to be shot on video, although the rest of the movie is on film.

I thought this movie had some good moments, and the two main characters were sort of interesting, but the story just wanders and wanders, with no real economy or focus. At one point, there is what seems like a twenty minute encounter between the detective and his ex-wife, which seems like a complete departure from the storyline. The film technique varied from straightforward realism to all kinds of over-saturated effects. I didn't find this film much to my taste, either as serious cinema or as entertainment.

The Critics Vote

no English reviews online

Kiberlain was nominated for a Best Actress Cesar in 1999.

The People Vote ...

With their votes ... IMDB summary: IMDB readers say 6.1/10

IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, this film is a C.