大象传媒

The French rework an English classic in Lady Chatterley, an erotic tale of love in the woods that stars Marina Hand (Tell No One) as the amorous aristocrat who falls for gamekeeper Parkin (Jean-Louss Coulloc'h). Based on "John Thomas and Lady Jane," an early draft of D.H. Lawrence's controversial novel, this Gallic retelling lays on the rudeness with gusto earning its 18 certificate, while teasing out the story's themes of nature, sex and class conflict with elegant intelligence.

It's no surprise that the French should have made what's probably the best adaptation of Lady Chatterley so far. While England's courts banned the novel for several decades as obscene, Paris published Lawrence's "pornographic" tale of sex and four-letter words without blushing. Here, director Pascale Ferran delivers a passionate, moving take on the story as her ladyship abandons wheelchair-bound husband Clifford (Hippolyte Girardot) to frolic with Coulloc'h's tender woodsman. The sex is frank without being sensational and it's hard to imagine a British adaptation that could stage a scene in which Hand dances naked in the rain with such ease. Ken Russell's toned down 1993 version certainly can't compare.

"APPROACHES LAWRENCE WITH FRESH EYES"

Throughout its imposing running time, languid shots of sunny woodlands, falling leaves and blossoming flowers highlight Lawrence's subtle interplay of sex and nature. It's a theme that's underscored in a remarkable moment where Clifford accompanies his wife into the woods in his motorised wheelchair. His awkwardly mechanised intrusion into the pastoral paradise suggests just how alien he is to his wife's secret world. Like the rest of this adaptation, it's a scene that approaches Lawrence with fresh eyes and re-invigorates a classic with a delicate touch. It's also proof that French really is the language of love... and sometimes lust.

Lady Chatterley is out in the UK on 24th August 2007.