New Showbiz

You are here:
A Game for Six Lovers

A Game for Six Lovers

1960

Director

Jacques Doniol-Valcroze

Runtime

95 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

Synopsis

Miléna is living in her grandmother's baroque château when the rich lady dies. The lawyer Miguel, who had a previous relationship with Miléna, insists the other two grandchildren, Fifine and her brother Jean-Paul, visit the château for the reading of the will, even though they have been estranged from the family at an early age. However Robert, who had been living with Fifine in an open relationship, arrives and impersonates Jean-Paul. Robert falls for Fifine's cousin Miléna while Fifine has designs on Miguel. In the meantime, the butler César is focusing his lecherous intentions on Prudence, the maid he had just hired.

Where to Watch

Diversity & Representation

Overall Score

4.3/10

Fair

Category Breakdown

LGBTQ+ Representation

Limited

The film introduces non-traditional relationship structures through an open partnership between Fifine and Robert. While this disrupts heteronormative domesticity, the lack of explicit queer identities limits the representation.

Gender Representation

Fair

Female characters like Miléna and Fifine drive the plot through their romantic agency and desire. The narrative moves away from submissive tropes by focusing on their navigation of infidelity and courtship.

Racial & Ethnic Diversity

Limited

The cast is predominantly white and European, reflecting the homogeneous social structure of the 1960s Parisian bourgeoisie. There is no evidence of non-white characters or race-bent casting.

Religious & Cultural Diversity

Fair

As a comedy of manners, the film prioritizes secular passion and moral relativism over religious frameworks. It explores the fleeting nature of desire rather than traditional moral structures.

Disability Representation

Minimal

There are no visible or invisible disabilities portrayed as central to the characters or the narrative development.

Strengths

  • Subverts traditional gender hierarchies by giving female characters significant romantic agency.
  • Explores non-traditional relationship structures through the concept of an open partnership.
  • Challenges rigid moral frameworks by focusing on secular passion and moral relativism.

Areas for Improvement

  • Lacks racial and ethnic diversity, remaining focused on a homogeneous European cast.
  • Does not feature explicit LGBTQ+ identities or non-cisnormative characters.
  • Provides no representation of disability within the character arcs or narrative.

AI Analysis

The film serves as a transitional piece of French cinema, beginning to loosen the rigid social and romantic constraints of its era. It succeeds in subverting traditional gender hierarchies by granting female characters significant agency in their romantic pursuits. However, the work remains tethered to the demographic homogeneity of the 1960s. The lack of racial diversity and explicit LGBTQ+ identities keeps the score modest, despite the interesting exploration of non-monogamous relationship structures. Ultimately, the film's strength lies in its deconstruction of courtship patterns and its focus on subjective morality within a bourgeois setting.

How are these scores produced? →

Rate this Movie

No rating selected
Use arrow keys to select a rating from 1 to 5 stars
Optional text review, maximum 2000 characters
Tip: Wrap spoilers with ||double pipes|| to hide them
0/2000 characters
You must be signed in to submit a rating

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts on this movie!

Use the rating form above to leave a star rating and optional review.