A bad film also merits proper attention as it can help critics and viewers to ascertain what went wrong during the making of a particular film.This is also true for French film "Le Parfum d'Yvonne" which remains one of those horribly bad films which deserves to be seen as it has been directed by a famous director.For this film Patrice Leconte loses artistic control on many occasions as he leaves a lot of questions unanswered.The entire film is nicely shot and depiction of fun loving idlers is authentic yet this film fails to captivate audiences.This is the reason why most of the viewers will have a hard time figuring out what this film was trying to convey.It appears that viewers might complain that very less background information has been provided to enable them to comprehend what the film was all about. Despite its inherent shortcomings "Le Parfum d'Yvonne" is a film whose established actors Hipployte Girardot and Jean Pierre Marielle have done immense justice to their roles.However,it is really a pity that nothing much is known about Dutch actress Sandra Majani who shines throughout the film.Her sensual performance is extraordinary as it helps this film to be enjoyed only for its visual erotic undercurrents.

I have never seen such a nicely made piece of rubbish in my life. I am still working out what the film was about and what was its cause. There was none and I felt I wasted an hour and a half, as well as £1.50 hiring this from the library. Nonetheless, it was beautifully made, the camera work was nice, there were interesting statements about love and Sandra Majani has a very nice bottom.So what does happen exactly; well, it's about a man called Victor Chmara (Hippolyte Girardot) who doesn't do much with his life apart from living off his fathers inheritance. He falls in love with the beautiful actress Yvonne (Sandra Majani) and becomes best-buddies with her mysterious old friend Dr Meinthe (Jean-Pierre Marielle). They all have a great time together and then things go wrong after a strange motor/fashion show. Victor wants to go to the USA, Yvonne doesn't, and the Doctor just continues being camp. If I tell you anymore, I end up telling you the ending, so that's enough of the synopsis. There are ingredients in this film that I liked. The camera work was sometimes interesting and there were some nice landscape shots. The dialogue, the heart to hearts, the warble about their lives, the philosophical statements about 'never letting her (Yvonne) go' were very romantic and very poetic. The acting by Jean-Pierre Marielle as the camp doctor was also amusing. Otherwise, his character is totally wasted in the story and has a far bigger role than that is necessary. For me, Patrice Leconte's reason for adapting Patrick Modiano's book Villa Triste to the big screen was all about Sandra Majani and seeing her nude. She was a poor actress. Her movement and the way she carried herself was half-hearted. That goes for Hippolyte Girardot as well. He plays someone a little too stiff to be in love. Either the actors are poor or the director is, because there are bad performances all around, and it's the director's job to make sure that these types of performances do not happen. Another of his problems was conveying the messages in the story. They were mixed up and statements of romance were just thrown together without thought of the plot. To me it just seemed pretentious and the director was trying to be too clever with little resources. The story had little meaning other than not to let love go when you have it. That and to see a beautiful French lady naked, which was admittedly quite nice. The statements of love were unsubtle and the acting didn't really convey any proper emotion. Totally unconvincing and I hope Yvonne's bad smelling perfume goes away. I give this film two.

1958 and the summer of secrets haunt Victor as his memories dwell into the lustful past of Yvonne's passion. They are accompanied by the eccentric gay Doctor and all together they hide secrets. Director Leconte never reveals in detail the meaning of their secrets but hints on them, allowing the viewer to work that little bit harder. The main interest is the sexual passion the camera has with beautiful Yvonne, a woman of leisure that distracts Victor and the viewer.

As the audience of this movie you will drown into the atmosphere of boredom from three non-characters who are heading straight for the ending you all expect from the beginning. I still liked it though.