Curiosa

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1:36

Curiosa

2021

1h 47m

History

Drama

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Popcornmeter

40%

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10 Reviews

38%

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

Paris 1895. Pierre Louÿs is a Parisian dandy and poet on the verge of fame. Pierre and his friend Henri De Régnier are both madly in love with Marie de Heredia (Noemie Merlant), the cheeky daughter of their mentor. Despite her feelings for Pierre, Marie eventually marries Henri who has a better situation. Badly hurt, Pierre leaves for Algeria where he meets Zohra, a bewitching local girl with whom he shares a tumultuous relationship and a passion for erotic photography. One year later, Marie still has weak feelings for her husband and Pierre comes back to Paris with Zohra. As soon as Marie hears the news, she rushes to see Pierre and confesses that she kept herself for him. They quickly start an affair and a game of cat and mouse between many players begins, full of desire, jealousy and photography. They will build their future selves by transgressing the established codes, how far will they go?

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André Hereford

Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)

Aug 16, 2021

2/5

Everybody's getting it on in Lou Jeunet's frisky period romance Curiosa, an awkward commentary on female sexual liberation.

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Gary M. Kramer

Gay City News

Aug 15, 2021

"Curiosa" feels like a missed opportunity to showcase risqué sexual behavior in 19th century France. That the film portrays real people but provides little insight into them is also a drawback.

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Leslie Combemale

AWFJ.org

Aug 14, 2021

2/5

Lou Jeunet's woefully off-target and ponderously slow French Curiosa aims for historical illumination, sex positivity, & strong feminist energy, and misses the mark in nearly every way.

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Ayeen Forootan

In Review Online

Aug 11, 2021

Truly, it's almost impossible to see, feel, or read anything profound into a film that's so pleased with only mere voyeurism and exhibitionist spectacle.

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Christopher Lloyd

The Film Yap

Aug 11, 2021

4/5

This unabashedly erotic French film looks at the sizzling love affair between two famed writers who pushed the boundaries of expression and sexuality in the 19th century.

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Josh Bell

Crooked Marquee

Aug 10, 2021

C+

There's copious nudity, but not much passion.

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SIMAS C

@simas_eros Oct 17, 2026

A sublime and incredibly erotic film, based on the correspondence between the libertine writer Pierre Louÿs and his wife’s sister—herself a writer—Marie de Régnier.

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Juris O

@Juris100 Jul 16, 2026

What a waste of time. The film is worthless.

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Latro S

@RT69050539 Jan 13, 2025

One of the worst collection of scenes I have ever witnessed on all streaming services. No matter how long I watched it for, the sensation of having wasted precious time only grew stronger.

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Lou Jeunet

Director

Noémie Merlant

Marie de Heredia

Niels Schneider

Pierre Louÿs

Benjamin Lavernhe

Henri de Régnier

Camélia Jordana

Zohra Ben Brahim

Amira Casar

Madame de Heredia

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Synopsis

Paris 1895. Pierre Louÿs is a Parisian dandy and poet on the verge of fame. Pierre and his friend Henri De Régnier are both madly in love with Marie de Heredia (Noemie Merlant), the cheeky daughter of their mentor. Despite her feelings for Pierre, Marie eventually marries Henri who has a better situation. Badly hurt, Pierre leaves for Algeria where he meets Zohra, a bewitching local girl with whom he shares a tumultuous relationship and a passion for erotic photography. One year later, Marie still has weak feelings for her husband and Pierre comes back to Paris with Zohra. As soon as Marie hears the news, she rushes to see Pierre and confesses that she kept herself for him. They quickly start an affair and a game of cat and mouse between many players begins, full of desire, jealousy and photography. They will build their future selves by transgressing the established codes, how far will they go?

Director: Lou Jeunet
Producer: Olivier Delbosc, Christine De Jekel, Emilien Bignon
Screenwriter: Lou Jeunet, Raphaëlle Desplechin
Distributor: Film Movement
Production Co: Playtime, Curiosa Films
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 13, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 13, 2021
Runtime: 1h 47m

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