Les Courtisanes: les Reines de Paris (2014)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Courtesans: Center of All Desires is the English title of a French docudrama which premiered in 2014. It is an episode of the French series Secrets of History (Secrets d’Histoire) (season 7).

 

The courtesans of 19th century France are known as:

 

** Les Grandes Horizontales

 

The word Grandes is used, because they were famous.

 

The word Horizontales refers to the position these women assumed when they were conducting their profession.

 

They are also known as:

 

** Les cocottes

** Les reines de Paris

 

In this film, the history of the courtesans of 19th century France is told by focusing on four cases. 

 

The lives and careers of four women are presented in great detail. We learn:

 

** How they managed to achieve fame and fortune, at least for a while

** How they were remarkably independent and surprisingly influential, in an era when the lives of most women were controlled by men

** What happened to them, when they were no longer young and beautiful and they had to retire from the profession

 

Here is some basic information about this film:

 

** French title: Les Courtisanes: les Reines de Paris

** Directors: David Jakowski and David Perrier

** Host and presenter: Stéphane Bern

** Language: French

** Subtitles: English

** Available via Amazon Prime Video

** Run time: 1 hour 53 minutes

 

The docudrama is a combination of two elements:

 

(1) A traditional documentary film where modern experts (known as talking heads) appear from time to time

 

(2) A drama in which historical scenes are reconstructed by modern actors.

 

Here are the names of the four courtesans who are presented in this film:

 

# 1. From Russia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Real name = Esther Lachmann (1819-1884)

Artist name = La Païva

 

# 2. From Spain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Real name = Agustina del Carmen Otero Iglesias

Also known as Carolina Otero (1868-1965)

Artist name = La Belle Otero

 

# 3. From France

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Real name: Anne-Marie Chassaigne (1869-1950)

Artist name: Liane de Pougy

 

# 4. From Florence, Tuscany (Italy)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Real name = Virginia Oldoïni (1837-1899)

Also known as the Countess of Castiglione

Artist name = La Castiglione

 

The first three women were born in poor families. They fit the definition of a courtesan very well: a woman from a poor background who is independent and who builds up her own career.

 

The fourth woman has a different background. Her family is a member of the minor Tuscan nobility. She does not really fit the definition of a courtesan:

 

She does not have a poor background. She is not independent. She does not build up her own career. She works for the Italian politician Camillo Cavour, who is her cousin.

 

She was, in fact, a secret agent whose mission was to get close to the French Emperor Napoleon III and convince him to support the unification of Italy.

 

This mission was successfully accomplished when she became Napoleon’s mistress for a while and convinced him to support the unification of Italy.

 

I am not going to say more about the lives of the other three courtesans. I do not want to spoil the viewing for anyone. If you want more details about them, you can google their names.

 

What do reviewers say about this film? On Amazon there are at the moment 46 global ratings and 24 global reviews of this product. The average rating is 3.5 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 70 percent.

 

Here are the details:

 

5 stars = 41 percent

4 stars = 11 percent

3 stars = 21 percent

2 stars = 10 percent

1 star = 17 percent

 

Most reviews are positive. 52 percent offer four or five stars. But a substantial group of reviews are negative. 27 percent offer only one or two stars.

 

As you can see, the average rating is good but not great. If you ask me, the average rating on Amazon is not far off the mark.

 

In my opinion, three of the four characters presented in this film are well-chosen. 

 

But the fourth character is not well-chosen, because she does not fit the category. It is not proper to describe her as a courtesan.

 

She was, as explained above, a secret agent who worked for her cousin Camillo Cavour. This is a flaw which cannot be ignored.

 

I like this film and I want to offer a good rating, but I have to remove one star because of this flaw.

 

Therefore, I think this product deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent).

 

REFERENCES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Les Grandes Horizontales: The Lives and Legends of Four Nineteenth Century Courtesans by Virginia Rounding (2003) (2004)

 

This volume covers the following four characters:

 

** Esther Lachmann (aka La Païva)

** Apollonie Sabatier (aka La Presidente) (1822-1889)

** Marie du Plessis (1824-1847)

** Cora Pearl (1836-1886)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Courtesans: Money, Sex and Fame in the Nineteenth Century by Katie Hickman (2003) (2004)

 

This volume is a study of five English courtesans:

 

** Sophia Baddeley (1745-1786)

** Elizabeth Amistead (1750-1842)

** Harriette Wilson (1786-1845)

** Cora Pearl (1836-1886)

** Catherine Walters (aka Skittles) (1839-1920)

 

*****

 

Les Courtisanes: les Reines de Paris

Presented by Stéphane Bern

Secrets d'Histoire

(2014)

 

 *****