La Marge

Saddled with an ungainly English title - even ignoring Barthes' specific use of la marge to denote the erotic midriff margin between two items of clothing, 'the edge' or 'on the fringe' would have been closer - Borowczyk's adaptation of an André Pieyre de Mandiargues novel works hard to create a private hallucinatory world out of modern Paris and the twilight district of the Rue St Denis. An unexpectedly well-groomed Dallesandro plays a happy husband who, learning of the sudden death back home of his wife and child, turns to the obsessive pursuit of a beautiful Dutch whore (Kristel). It's a frustrating battle of extraordinary details - the prostitutes' glistening wardrobe, the remarkable '70s soundtrack - over an unconvincing narrative and flat acting. Borowczyk delivers palpable moments of erotic fascination, but they surface fitfully in an environment over which the director clearly had insufficient control.