Pretty Baby

As with all Louis Malle's films, subtlety is the keynote to this portrayal of a New Orleans brothel in the early years of the 20th century, and of the lives of one prostitute and her 12-year-old daughter in particular. The performances by Susan Sarandon and Brooke Shields are very natural and hugely impressive, as is the tenor of Malle's direction, which fills in the sense of place with great immediacy. You really feel you are there in this large house for real, the authenticity of it is there in front of you. It is very far from most period recreations in films, and somehow the time difference melts away, even though we can see that the mores were different at that time. The ensemble scenes in the brothel are seamlessly handled, and many of the stills could have inspired a painting by Toulouse-Lautrec or Sickert. Child prostitution seems not to have been so shocking then as it is now, but it is useful to show the shift in attitudes to this as to many other things, in order to give more context to our own time. Malle does this in other films as well, always suggesting how the underlying dynamics in human interaction are the same even if they are dressed up differently. The photographer (Keith Carradine) who falls in love with the young girl is not presented in a moralising way, rather it is left for us to feel the awkwardness of his infatuation, or to feel whatever we feel. In fact it is quite hard not to feel sorry for him, and to see in him a certain purity, really, which had made him so reserved for much of the film. The moment where he realises that he needs to sacrifice his own happiness is a moving one, and means that Malle has been as provocative as ever by, in effect, showing us a sympathetic pedophile, while showing precisely why this is not a good arrangement for the girl, and that she should be with her mother, going to school etc. This lack of hysteria is based in an acceptance of ambiguity at the heart of things and a sense of beauty in life as well, and it gives you a profound sense of truth in the film's closing moments.

Great film.

Fairly dull drama about prostitution in the 30s. Nothing exceptional in it.

High rating, pretty baby has a good story line which is plausible. A child or in this story children being raised in a New Orleans brothel and all the goings on in this whore house that the children witness on a day to day basis. By todays standards this would not happen? It is an amusing film as well as having a serious side. Very much sex for sale by the ladies and some indication to the types of men clients that frequent the place. A good performance by Keith Carradine who plays the role of a photographer whose interests are in capturing photos of the ladies of pleasure especially young Violet (Brooke Shields) and her mother (Susan Saradon) The story is set in 1917. The film has a controversial theme child prostitution and its interpretation by the director and entire cast is outstanding. I have no dislikes of the film but this is one for adults only.

This is a fascinating film, presenting a serious story about the goings-on in an early 20th century brothel. This movie is not intended to titillate, and it's certainly not pornographic. Rather, it depicts - in some graphic detail - the experiences of a number of prostitutes, as they go about their daily life, in the red-light district of New Orleans c.1917. The focus is on Violet, a 12 year old, who resides at the brothel (where her mother works). The Madame of the house decides that Violet has become old enough to partake in the activities, and so Violet's virginity is auctioned off … after which, she starts to work alongside the other prostitutes. The story is concerned with the relationships that Violet experiences, especially with a photographer who frequents the brothel. The acting is excellent. In particular, Brooke Shields - who was only 12 at the time - offers a standout performance. She captures in a mesmerising way the dual role of, on the one hand, a child who wants to play and be loved and, on the other hand, someone who has become sexually objectified. Of course, presenting full nudity - in the context of this story - was a risqué undertaking. However, the film succeeds in giving us a gritty, often realistic representation of underage prostitution (and the abuse it involves). I do think that the directing is slightly below par, and this is my only major criticism of the film. Occasionally the camera is out of focus, and there are times when the image lingers for too long on an uninteresting scene. Additionally, this is a film without a score or soundtrack - and the decision to not include music results in a certain amateurish quality. So long as you're aware that this is a serious, character-driven movie involving nudity and depictions of prostitution, produced on a relatively low budget, it's a film I can recommend.

How this Film was ever made, & passed the Censors is beyond me. This would never have passed the Censorship Laws operating for many years, by The Legion Of Decency, Catholic. Clearly those laws were outdated when this thing was made. I can’t understand how a 11 year old girl ( Brooke Shields ) was allowed to play the girl brought up in a Brothel, & taught the trade as a child, was allowed to act the part in this Movie. I liked Keith Carradine before viewing this, & was very disappointed. He admired Greer Garson, & her ideals, & spoke of these often, so what happened to him here. I doesn’t make a lot of sense.

きれいです。

Loved to see this classic movie again..

una pelicula imposible de hacer hoy en día

🎥 Ce film de Louis Malle est un pur chef d'œuvre du cinéma français car, bien que tourné aux Etats-Unis, le film respecte la temporalité française et le cadrage français et l'intelligence du cinéma français des années 70 (1978 très exactement). 🎥 📽 Pour être rapide et concis, ce film est d'une subtilité infinie et d'une richesse époustouflante : un plan fixe muet peut vouloir dire tant de choses fortes, une simple réplique peut bousculer les certitudes, un regard peut avoir une signification extraordinaire ! 📽 🎺 Les décors de la Nouvelle Orléans et de la maison close sont sublimes. On est face à une reconstitution historique prodigieuse. Alors, on ne s'ennuie pas une seconde ! C'est la magie de ce film français où chaque scène fait penser à un tableau d'Edouard Manet ! 🎺 🔑 Quant au sujet du film, au-delà de toute polémique, il s'agit d'une page d'histoire que l'on ne peut pas effacer et qu'il est bon de montrer afin de ne pas l'oublier. Un analyste fin verra qu'il n'y a pas de complaisance ici, loin de là, mais un récit poignant avec toute sa part d'humanité : ses peines mais aussi ses joies. Louis Malle prouve une fois de plus qu'il est un réalisateur immense et un des plus dignes représentant de la culture française. 🔑 🌎 L'impact de ce film a été planétaire, tant mieux. Pour seul exemple, et quel exemple, saviez-vous que la chanson "Pretty baby" de Blondie est une référence à ce film ? Debbie Harry revient d'ailleurs sur cette chanson dans son excellente autobiographie "Face it" (n'hésitez pas à lire mon commentaire sur ce livre) : https://www.amazon.fr/Face-lautobiographie-mémoires-licône-Blondie/dp/B08C9987BT 🌈 Alors, oui, quelle que soit votre opinion, vous allez voir un excellent film français d'une finesse et d'une beauté absolues. Susan Sarandon est parfaite dans son rôle ambivalent et elle porte une grande partie du film sur ses épaules mais c'est surtout la caméra de Louis Malle qui est tout simplement fantastique en nous plongeant au cœur d'une Nouvelle Orléans peu connue qui a pourtant existé. 🌹 La fin du film (que je ne dévoilerai pas) est sans doute la meilleure des conclusions à ce film et la meilleure des réponses à tout ce qui allait être dit sur ce film. ☀️ Si vous aimez le grand cinéma français des années 70 dans tout ce qu'il a de plus magistral et de plus prenant alors le DVD de "La petite" ("Pretty Baby" en anglais) doit faire partie de votre DVDthèque. 📀 INFO A SAVOIR : à ma connaissance, il n'existe pas de Blu-ray (et encore moins de 4K) de ce film et c'est bien dommage car les images sont sublimes. Donc, vous pouvez acheter le DVD sans crainte de vous dire ensuite "Ce film est trop beau, j'aurais mieux fait d'acheter le Blu-ray" car ce Blu-ray n'existe pas (hélas).