Tentatrice
2018 · 5m · Francia
Directed by Bertrand Sanabria, Joana Sacco, Kristen Boisnier, Léa Peirano, Marine Saillard, Marion Torcheux, Rachel Casassus
Genres: fantasy, historical, romance
Tones: sensual, theatrical, whimsical
In Roaring Twenties Chicago, Myrtille is desperately attracted to the cabaret's singer, and one night the power of a peculiar perfume gives her the chance to step out of the shadows.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Seven directors steering a 1920s perfume-fantasy romance could've been chaos; instead it's weirdly restrained, which makes the sensuality hit harder than expected—basically the opposite of what I'd predict, and that's almost enough to make me care.
A deliberate exercise in Weimar theatrical aesthetics filtered through contemporary ensemble craft—the formal control required to balance seven visions into a coherent period reverie speaks to filmmakers aware of their own lineage, from German Expressionism through contemporary queer cinema.
The decision to make the perfume's magic so tactile and gestural rather than flashy—letting it live in Myrtille's body language and the singer's eyes—is what separates this from costume-box fantasy; that specificity of restraint is what a seven-person crew somehow converged on.