Les contes de La Fontaine (1980)

José Bénazéraf was a XXth century director who worked the whole spectrum of erotica, from sexy thrillers to hard core porn, and was something of an intellectual. Sometimes, that last quality made him boring as hell, such as in Le désirable et le sublime but it could also make him delve into classical litterature in order to produce the little gem that is Les Contes Galants de Jean de la fontaine..

This film is directly inspired by 4 libertine tales by Jean de la Fontaine which are three classics of 18th century literature, highlighting picaresque situations where the notion of the couple is undermined.

“The servant justified”: A rich merchant is surprised by his neighbor while he makes love with his servant. The merchant who realizes that he has been spied on, immediately goes to fetch his wife and does, exactly, what he was doing with the servant. So that when the neighbor hastens to “tell” everything to the wife, the latter does not believe it since she is convinced that it was herself.

“The beaten and happy cuckold”: A lovely chatelaine introduces a handsome lord into her home, whom she hires as a valet. Then she complains to her husband about the attendance of the said valet who is waiting for him in the outbuildings of the castle. But when the husband goes there, the valet boldly pushes his advantages into the arms of the chatelaine.

“Norman tale”: Her husband being helpless, a woman uses an old original, who simmers potions in a hovel on the edge of town. The man said, however, that the product is dangerous, especially if it is used for a long time, but once informed, the husband can not bring himself to abandon this potion which has restored his former vigor. He died soon after, under the tears of all the occupants of the house.

“The glasses”: In a convent, a young novice is pregnant. The superior mother, convinced that a man was hiding among the novices, made them undergo a lavish review council thus exposing the body of the crime.