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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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Venus Beauty Institute
Lot 47 Films
MPAA RATING: Not rated
Starring
Nathalie Baye,
Bulle Ogier,
Samuel Le Bihan,
and
Jacques Bonnaffé
This film takes us into this world of beauty and self image and into the lives of four strong, smart women who make their living practicing beauty at a Parisian spa. (Lot 47 Films)
| GENRE(S): |
Drama
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Tonie Marshall
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Tonie Marshall
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: June 26, 2001
Video: June 12, 2001
Theatrical: October 27, 2000
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
105 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
France |
| LANGUAGE(S): |
French (with English subtitles) |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
90
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
There is a sophistication about affairs of the heart, about the wisdom and the risks of romantic involvement that is more than quintessentially French. It's irresistible as well.
75
Baltimore Sun
Athima Chansanchai
Love, however implausible, is simply beautiful in Venus.
75
Philadelphia Inquirer
Carrie Rickey
A pink-collar "Sex and the City" made urgent by the performance of Nathalie Baye.
75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Sean Axmaker
At its best when it remains with the women, and Marshall draws marvelous performances from all.
75
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
Baye gives a stunning performance in the central role, backed by a first-rate supporting cast.
75
Boston Globe
Jay Carr
It's all glossy urban fairy-tale stuff, laid on with style to spare, given added resonance by a mini-pantheon of French movie goddesses.
70
TV Guide
Maitland McDonagh
A beautifully acted slice of intersecting lives defined and driven by the business of beauty.
70
Film.com
Ernest Hardy
At its core is a feminine realm (the beauty parlor) through which modern issues of alienation and casual-sex-as-a-drug are coupled with timeless questions about the natures of love and desire.
70
Salon.com
Charles Taylor
Lets you indulge your taste for soapy heartache without leaving you feeling that you have to wash the bubbles out of your mouth.
70
Village Voice
Amy Taubin
Thanks to some brilliant casting, Venus Beauty Institute provokes ideas about women, movies, sexuality, and age that extend beyond its frothy fiction.
70
LA Weekly
Ernest Hardy
Director Tonie Marshall has taken a very simple story and laced it with potent details that make the film a rich map of her lead character's inner life.
67
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
Clever and smooth, yet, like Angèle herself (or Nathalie Baye), the film is almost too placid for its own good.
63
New York Post
Jonathan Foreman
Slight but entertaining and occasionally touching.
63
New York Daily News
Jami Bernard
It's hard not to feel empowered by Nathalie Baye.
62
Mr. Showbiz
Michael Atkinson
Mature and adroitly performed but ultimately underachieving.
60
Chicago Reader
Jonathan Rosenbaum
A pretty good chronicle of a certain phase of French working-class life.
58
Portland Oregonian
Kim Morgan
Marshall does such a good job re-creating the otherworldly energy of a temple of youth that the rest of the picture feels strained and sometimes trite. Nevertheless, parts can be absorbing, reflective and touching.
50
The New York Times
Dana Stevens
Has occasional moments of heat, but not much warmth. And while it is pretty enough to look at, real beauty eludes it.
40
Austin Chronicle
Kimberley Jones
Warmed my heart about as much as the cold cream Angèle slathers all over her wrinkling clients.
 The average user rating for this movie is 4.2 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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