Plaisir, Le (1952) review

Ophüls combines three separate stories by the great Guy de Maupassant relating to various forms of pleasure - social, spiritual and physical. Stories one and three are given a rather quick treatment - one deals with an older man who wishes to relive his youth, the other with a sculptor and his model and their massive argument - compared to the Renoir-esque middle story, which has an entire brothel taking a pilgrimage to see the Madame's niece receive First Holy Communion. The film moves with elegance and the performances are pleasant, though my first thought after it ended was that it should have been longer - not the worst after-thought, of course, but that makes this more or less a tasty aperitif.