Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Very well executed

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

One description of 'Belle de jour' that I read described the film, at some point, as being like a daydream. Nothing could be closer to the truth. Bunuel, Bunuel, Bunuel! One of cinema's all time greats, and a personal favorite filmmaker of mine for a few years now! 'Belle de jour' may be his greatest masterpiece, although I personally do prefer the likes of 'L'age d'Or', 'Viridiana', and 'Simon of the Desert', I feel like 'Belle de jour' can certainly be considered the most genuinely high quality film in his prolific and more than impressive cinematic oeuvre. It contains many of the elements that make Bunuel such a beloved and brilliant artist; the humor is there, the tragedy/drama is there, the strange sexual content is there, and the classic sense of surrealism all his greatest films have utilized so wonderfully is perfected here. This is Bunuel at the top of his game, blurring the already-blurry lines between cinematic fantasy and cinematic reality, playing w/flashbacks and dream sequences and never keeping absurdity out of the question no matter the setting or situation. And sexuality is portrayed with as much confusion and wild surrealist hijinks as is necessary when attempting to explore such a mess of a topic. Few filmmakers (or artists, whether they be authors or painters or whatever, for that matter) can depict sexuality quite like Bunuel can. 'Belle de jour' harkens back to Bunuel's much earlier masterpiece, 'L'age d'Or', which depicted sex w/a raging sort of surrealist accuracy that struck something in people, turning them angrily against him and his work, making them set fires to some cinemas in which it played, banning his obscene and blasphemous black comedy of horrors, and 'Belle de jour' may strike a similar emotional reaction to those of a more archaic sensibility, and the same energy said archaic-types may muster up in response may be utilized by film lovers across the globe to tear their hearts out in gripping love and admiration for Bunuel and this fantastical film!

Belle De Jour is simply amazing in its content and its form, and amazingly, it has also aged very well: the tale of Severine is told in such subtle layers that it is watchable by anyone, it has not lost its bite after all these years, and anyone can still make what they want of it. That's a masterpiece! I will make one remark, though, about the DVD version I am viewing in 2017 via rental: it is a Miramax edition curated by Martin Scorsese, so you would think this latest DVD incarnation is improved in all ways from the original 1967. But I regret to say the translation (i.e. the subtitles) from French to English is often inaccurate, if not downright misleading. Pardon my hauteur, but I am French-born and 100% bilingual, darnit. I wonder if that sloppy translation was actually deliberately "softened"(i.e as a form of censorship), because it often results in a "softening" of the situation seen on screen . One example: the necrophiliac character addresses his "dear departed" in the coffin as "ma fille"in French. It is translated as "my girl" in the DVD version. Yes, "ma fille" in French can be "my girl", but it is also far more frequently "my daughter". And here, it is far more likely "my daughter", considering Bunuel's social comment and intent in this film. If you view the scene I am referring to, you will know that whether this man calls this dead woman "my girl" or " my daughter" makes a great deal of difference in the meaning of the scene.

a special film. like each movie by Bunuel. same scene, same tricks, same spirit. different ingredients. and Catherine Deneuve in one of her memorable roles. a film about passion and desire. about search of happiness and clash between words. ironic, cold and out of reality's circle. and it is enough for discover an universe who has its rhythm, shadows and law. a film like a parable but that is not new fact for Bunuel. a film who seduce in strange manner because it is only a chain of questions. surrealism is basic answer but not the only. because it is an imitation of life in essential aspects. and a challenge. like each of Bunuel films.

A masterpiece of erotica, but in 1967 not today.There are moments for sure of eroticism but this is far from that if seen more objectively. There is a story of a woman who desires much more from her life than what is given to her in life. She wants money and she wants her desires to be satisfied and she walks to one of the "houses" and seeks a place and makes it her own. Catherine DeNeuve as (Severine / Belle De Jour) gives a fine and a subdued performance, but after a point she start becoming monotonous as she does the same thing over and over again.This is French cinema, so there is some inexplicably that will made me , a viewer think about it and here I have her dreams that come and go just like that. It begins and ends in a dream as if it comes a full circle for us. Now, is this kind of physical romance was what she liked, or wanted, I was wondering and perhaps, yes or may be no, but the interesting thing is it's not shown straight to us we only get some significant hints. Some may be disappointed for this film might not have stood up to their expectations of being seductive or sexy but sure, this film goes beyond many seductive films and just keeps us glued. Maybe it's Catherine's beauty that's so enticing for us, maybe it's the screenplay or maybe something else, does it really matter, coz I watched it and I liked it. As I said, I liked it but not loved it, so I say this is a good movie though. A 3/5 is what I think is apt.