Jean-Pierre Limosin appears initially to have stumbled upon something original in his romantic drama “Novo”, but I don’t think he’s successfully brought it to fruition. The film will rightly be remembered for featuring copious nudity from Eduardo Noriega and Anna Mouglalis, but it could have been a lot more.
Graham, formerly Pablo (Eduardo Noriega), has a strange case of selective amnesia that prevents him from remembering his wife and child, but allows him to turn up at work regularly as part of an elaborate therapy, and where he can remember his duties well enough to remain employable. It is of course, also helped by his availability as a convenient sex toy for attractive employer Sabine (Nathalie Richard). Otherwise, Graham gets by with the help of a scrap book pinned to his sleeve, which he uses to note down events and persons that matter to him on a daily-basis. His son Antoine (Lény Bueno) follows him around, even if Graham doesn’t quite recognise him. His wife Isabelle (Paz Vega) doesn’t, but feels guilty as it is for having started a relationship with Graham’s best friend Fred (Éric Caravaca) on the back of his illness.
It’s around this time that Irène (Anna Mouglalis) joins his company as a temporary secretary. She falls in love with his eccentric behaviour and good looks before learning about his illness. For a while, she relishes the idea of being with someone who can’t remember the day before – there are no past mistakes to forgive or ask forgiveness for, every day comes with a courting ritual, and making love to him is like doing it for the first time – without the habits or patterns of a steady lover. Surely she could never grow tired of him, at least sexually. But human relationships have the propensity to complicate matters, more so when every one around Graham are working with their own agenda – some want him cured, while others wish he’d rather stay this way.
And that is when the film looses its focus, darting in and out of various themes – some surreal even, with neither being interpreted with clarity or purpose. An example is the episode concerning a fallen tooth – it takes Graham to a derelict seaside town, but we’re left clueless as to its relevance to the film. It’s as if around the halfway mark, the director had either decided to chop off scenes, only to insert in its place irrelevant details and confuse the viewer, or was simply in a hurry to wash his hands off the project. The film, I’m afraid, is mainly for those wishing to watch Eduardo Noriega or Anna Mouglalis for their own sake, and not particularly for their redoubtable acting skills either. Other talented actresses like Paz Vega and Julie Gayet too are underused – not necessarily from a nudity perspective, but of course, that as well.
Amazon DVD Link [NTSC]
This is my recommended release (the same copy as mine) at the time of posting.
The Nudity: Anna Mouglalis and Eduardo Noriega
The raison d’être for the film’s existence, is the copious frontal nudity from both the attractive leads. They are, of course, easy to watch, but I think the scenes could have been put together more creatively.
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About the Compilations:
Since there’s extensive male frontal nudity in the film, I’ve split them into two; the first feature the actresses, while the second is intended for Eduardo Noriega fans.
Main Compilation: Anna Mouglalis, Eduardo Noriega, and Paz Vega
The snapshots of Eduardo Noriega in the last row of the graphic belong to the second compilation.
Scene Guide:
- Indirect nudity – it’s her first day at work, and Irène decides to take off a tight-fitting bra that had been bothering her while being given a guided tour of the office by Graham. Towards the end of it, she duly invites him for dinner.
- Different desserts – an ice cube for Irène, and coffee vapour for Graham, or perhaps more accurately, the other way around..!
- Assorted night-before and morning-afters, during which Irène is either tied-up or ties herself to Graham.
- Irène writes and later wipes off her name from her inner-thigh – part of helping Graham get his memory back, I guess.
- A ‘Saturday-special’ shave for Graham…
- Graham surprises wife Nathalie (Paz Vega) in a changing room, and having his memory returned, uses the occasion to allow her to move on in life.
Bonus Scene: Eduardo Noriega
Graham aka Pablo bonds with son Antoine at a beach. Even if there isn’t anything remotely sexual happening, or even suggested here, prudish-types may find the scene disconcerting. Now wouldn’t it be nice if someone decides to make a scene as long as this, of a mother bonding with her early teenage daughter in similar fashion. And I know the Isabelle Huppert and Hanna Schygulla scene from Marco Ferreri’s Storia di Piera, but that doesn’t come anywhere near Novo in terms of duration and age-factor.
Download Links:
Main Compilation: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
(All parts required. Unpack with Winrar)
Eduardo Noriega Scene: Download Link
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You always do right by me and I love, love, love this site. I’ve found some liberating, refreshing examples of greater cinema than the schlock that Hollywood churns out. Although, the Greek film, Mavro Livadi, with the proffered website doesn’t seem to offer it up for sale, Anyhoo, I want to let the readers and Mouglalis aficionados in on a little sleuthing I did a while back on my own, irrespective of this site. Hurrah for me!
Anna Mouglalis has starred in a lot of movies, true, but ones that elevate her body in languorous glory are the best. Case in point: a 2004 film co-produced by France and Italy titled, Le Prix du Desirs (France, The Price Of Desire) Sotto Falso Nome (Italy, Under A False Name) are all the same movie. Just two different titles. Starring Daniel Auteuil in a rather boorish role as a married lover to the mysterious but alluring young Mouglalis. Unbeknownst to him, she is engaged to his son. She has a cunning plan to insinuate herself into this wealthy author’s milieu and life and to rob him blind of his marriage and his money.
I’ll leave it at that. Suffice to say that Mr. Auteuil has passed his prime long ago. The only thing that revs up this film is the beauty of Greta Scacchi and the nubile allure of Mouglalis’ nether lips. That’s right. Put that in your Z category. In the French copy only, approximately a third of the way through the film, he and she are in the throes of illicit love. There you can see it. I know this is a tasteful blog and so I won’t tarnish TR’s reputation but I was gobsmacked as you Britons like to say, when I saw that. The French copy is rare indeed. But desperate times call for desperate measures. I made the mistake of ordering the Italian copy. So, people, don’t do that!
About Sotto falso nomme – yes it is a torrid film and I own the DVD with its original title and both the Italian and French audio. As far as I can see there are no cuts in this edition – so you’ll have to give further details regarding the exact time mark so that I can verify again.
But if you’re talking about this happening in the toilet scene at the party, you must be having a full-frame edition rather than the widescreen anamorphic in order to have caught a few extra frames of the in-your-face shot. 🙂
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No, I’m not talking about the party scene. I’m not very mechanically inclined but I knew what I saw when I saw it! Of course I will give the exact time mark. I threw away the Italian copy. There is a movie forum with a singular interest in explicit scenes in mainstream movies. Now, everyone has heard of 9 Songs, Brown Bunny, Romance etc. But this forum deals with even more obscure mainstream films (well, at least films, I’ve never heard of). That is where I found this reference. Then another forum validated that this scene did exist but I had to figure out which copy it was on. On the same copy that I have you can also see glimpses (I counted twice) of south-of-the-border shots) Quick like. O, it was heavenly indeed. R2, French language only, 1h31m52s is the precise moment, the most definite view of the hue (though it is still in shadow) I love the French. Not for their politics, not for their flaky allegiances, not for their haughtiness, but for their cinema!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You mean, this..?!
It’s there in the Italian version as well, there’s also a deleted nude scene among the extras, and an alternative ending too.
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Off topic, obviously. But Pascale Bussiere’s film, When Night Is Falling’s UK cut also shows south of the border but from behind in a major, mouth watering feminine moment. I know loving film is not all about gynecology, but a few affirmations of real skin-on-skin intimacy is the highlight of an attentive production.
Yes, it is that scene. But I couldn’t find it in my Italian version. But at least twice if you slow down the after marriage sex between she and her new husband as she is sitting down on the bed and during a tickle moment you can see glimpses as well.