How Much Do You Love Me?

There's hardly a Monica Bellucci movie where the main storyline does not involve her incredibly seductive body.. it is just absolutely, totally impossible to ignore. She is a woman most any man (and lots of women) would find physically addictive. Whatever the scene you just cannot take your eyes off her.. what she says holds little interest, and it's not that she does a bad job acting.. it's just not the main reason she is on screen (you don't watch her films for the story). Partial or full nudity is the linchpin of her acting experience. She was amazing in this film ten years ago.. she is now at 50yo, still amazing today, and will be the same in another decade. It's almost as if women like her are somewhat immune to the aging process. "The world's biggest power is... the beauty of a woman"... and Monica is a nuclear weapon.

Bertrand Blier is a director to whom one cannot be indifferent. Through the years his films have by turns tantalised, taunted, entertained and exasperated. His recurring theme of the power of Sex to raise one to the heights or drag one to the depths is never more relevant than in this tale of Daniela, a stunningly beautiful woman of the night and Francois, a shy, unprepossessing office worker with a dicky ticker. She has of course entertained clients of every age, shape and size and to her surprise he pushes all the right buttons. He awakens her domestic instincts but the other man in her life, Charly, who also happens to be her pimp, shows extreme reluctance to give her up....... There is much to savour here as Blier's marvellous screenplay has twists and turns, subtle ironies and constant surprises. He has also created a colourful assortment of characters living their lives as best they can. Notable among these are Jean-Pierre Darroussin as a tragi-comic doctor and Farida Rahouadj as a neighbour who gives an hilarious demonstation of how a genuine * should sound. One has to play the game with the cards one is dealt and Monica Belluci has certainly been dealt a great hand! She is of course physically ideal as Daniela and Blier has drawn from her one of her best performances. She is perfectly complemented by Bernard Campan as Francois who confirms that one cannot judge a book by its cover. The casting of Gerard Depardieu as Charly is inspired. He and Blier have enjoyed a long and fruitful professional partnership to say the least and Depardieu has succeeded here in making a thoroughly unpleasant character somehow sympathetic. Technically accomplished, aesthetically pleasing and a feast for the eyes this film is also a feast for the ears as Blier has chosen to use extracts from Italian opera. The final scene of domestic bliss between Daniela and Francois acted to the strains of Puccini is certain to melt the hearts of even the most cynical among us.

Calling this a movie would be exaggerate because almost all the story happens in a flat. Yes, it is the trademark of French movies and that's why in my opinion, the movies are rather dull. It's close of stage performance without the live add-on. Nevertheless, the cast are pretty excellent to support a very ironic, coarse script. For one time, Monica Belluci has a lot of lines to say and it's always a pleasure to hear her accent. Above all, I think that the more she speaks, the more she can prove her actress talent instead of relying to much on her sex-appeal. If Blier is talented enough to tell a story, I regret that he lacks some better inspiration. Watching the DVD bonus, you understand him better because he delivers good speech about film-making while cooking. I really got the feeling that he is a apt pupil but a bit lazy. And again a french DVD without the subtitles! Thanks for the deaf audience, really!

The movie was good and The story was a good one. I voted 7 out of 10. I especially liked the scenes acted like a musical and playing opera in the back. Some parts of the film were surrealistic or i felted so. Men in the film wanted to have sex with Monica Belluci and to touch her. Although they could not manage to have or to touch her the scenes were like they did it. It was not boring and i had fun till the end of the film. Nevertheless, if Monica Belluci did not play in the movie then i would not watch this film. So, the 5 or 6 points of my 7 are for Monica Belluci and the remaining 1 or 2 points are for the film itself. After watching this movie, i felt an increasing interest in Monica Belluci. Because She is really a beautiful woman like every man's dream. i will try to watch other films like "Melina" and "Irreversible".

I am questioning my intelligence right now on two accounts: firstly, as to what was the movie all about, secondly, as to why did I watch this film in the first place. The film storyline (or should I call it a story-curve) kept jumping from one point to another faster than Belluci takes her clothes off in the film and in the end I was moaning like Monica Belluci's love making act - but out of agony. The only positive about this picture is the copious amount of nudity, the divine figure of Monica Belluci is worth every penny of $0.00 (thanks Amazon prime) I spent on this film. But then, I was left wondering to myself that I could have easily saved so much time, energy and my precious brain cells by watching these scenes selectively at YouTube. Therefore, my first ever review on IMDb goes to warn the community to not watch this film and give a negative review which this film so eminently deserves.

"How Much Do You Love Me?" revolves around Monica Bellucci's character Daniela and the many different female roles she changes into and out of like so many pieces of clothing. She is definitely a * and a seductress, but she may or may not also be a girlfriend, a wife, a mistress, an accomplice, and a scam artist. She is at times domineering but at others submissive and weak; at times jealously possessive but at others open and free; at times quiet and pensive but at others loud and raucous. It takes a while for all these different sides of Daniela to appear, but by the end of the film she is changing between them seemingly in the blink of an eye. Few characters in the movie can resist falling for one or more sides of Daniela, and the audience too will fall in love with the performance Monica Bellucci gives in the role. It certainly helps that Monica has the beauty and the body to pull of the role, and she is not shy about sharing her voluptuous charms with the camera. In one scene she even instructs us on how she is able to seduce her target, and it is clear that Monica Bellucci knows how to use her considerable female attributes. The other strong performance in "How Much Do You Love Me?" comes from legendary French actor Gerard Depardieu. Depardieu's character does not appear until the second half of the film, well after all the other main characters have been introduced, but Depardieu instantly captures the attention of the audience. He has played many different characters in his career, and in "How Much Do You Love Me?" he looks like he was born to play the role of an amoral gangster. The main problem I had with "How Much Do You Love Me?" is that the action starts off slowly, and what is billed as a comedy feels like a depressive drama during the first third of the film. As it turns out it takes a while for director and writer Bertrand Blier to set the stage, and the action picks up considerably in the second two thirds of the film. "How Much Do You Love Me?" never turns into a slapstick farce; instead, it is ultimately a sophisticated adult comedy about the different roles women can assume. While being entertaining it also raises some interesting questions about just what the differences and boundaries are between those roles.

THIS COMMENT MAYBE CONTAINS SOME '' SPOILERS '' !!! - Though, i don't think it would spoil anything for you since the movie is already as bad as possible!!! This movie is just terrible! No story no nothing. This was probably the worst script ever to become a movie. Really terrible. Okay, acting wasn't that bad. It was even kinda good but it really can't be appreciated in a movie as bad as this one. I really have no idea what was it about! The ugly guy that would never stand a chance to be with a woman like her ''pays'' her to be with him but, unfortunately, it turn's out to be that a mobster is in love with her also. The mobster, played by Gerard Depardieu, is probably the dullest character ever made. As it seems, he actually mind's her having sex with this guy but he doesn't mind the fact that she's a prostitute. Are you kidding me??? That makes no sense!!! Even Monica Bellucci, who i usually adore and find beautiful, can't and wont make me watch this movie again! This is really bad! Do your self a favor and don't see it!!!!

This is one of the weirdest movies I have ever seen. Usually that is a reason for me to like a movie, but in this case, the movie was so absurd, that simply everything got destroyed. Characters, conversations, story - simply everything, absurd, unrealistic even silly and pathetic. I felt like watching a movie created by a senile man, that totally lost track of the reality. I guess this movie wanted to be funny, sadly it didn't even make me smile. I guess this movie wanted to be romantic and passionate, but it felt artificial and wasn't convincing at any point. I guess the movie wanted to teach us something... I failed to get it. If I would have at least understood a message the film wants to give us, I might have accepted it as art and would have accepted all the absurdity along with it. If the jokes would have been funny, I could have accepted the movie as comedy. - All I did during the movie, was to shake my head. This movie didn't offer anything to me beside some beautiful and sexy pictures of Monica Beluci. Even the great actors (I mainly mean Gerard Depardieu) have not been able to save this movie.

Bertrand Blier, one of the most innovative provocateurs of the French Cinema, is at it again with this satire which will be viewed with pleasure or anger by his fans. Mr. Blier, who also wrote the screen play, is a man whose movies appear to be something on the surface, but he, like other Europeans are really examining the society in which they live. Therefore, it's easy to dismiss this work on the outward appearance of what one sees on screen. The premise is about how money can't buy happiness, or even sexual excitement, as is the case with the poor Francois, a man who, might, or might not, have won a fortune in the French lottery. When he spots the luscious Daniela, he wants her, at whatever cost. The way he figures, even in spite of his health, he is entitled to the gorgeous prostitute now that he has money. Little prepares Francois, an office worker, to a life with Daniella. She is rather complicated, with a pimp named Charly, who has a different plan for her and the man who has paid for her services. Charly enters their lives and everything changes, as Daniella's loyalties are put to a test. The best reason for watching this film is Monica Bellucci, an actress with a lovely face and figure. The spectator becomes riveted to the time she is on the screen. Bernard Campan is the deadpan Francois, a man whose will is put to a test when he gets more than what he bargained for. Gerard Depardieu, a man who owes his career to Mr. Blier, plays the enigmatic Charly. Farida Rahouadj, is seen as the neighbor of Francois and Jean Pierre Derroussin has a pivotal role as well. "Combien tu m'aimes" is not for everyone, but true fans of Bertrand Blier will enjoy this film because of the way he provokes them into areas that are original as well as different from many filmmakers.

What a disappointment. I was expecting much more from a film coming from Bertrand Blier, who has made Tenue de Soir in the 80s, and a bunch of reasonable films since. Having Depardieu and the mind-blowing Monica Belucci in the film was not certainly enough. All the film turns around Monica Belucci. Sure, such a beauty makes man die for and can make them pay millions or kill for, the issue is that the characters in this film seem to be willing to do exactly this, and this is the whole story, not much more. One of the reasons of failure is I believe the cast. Bernard Campan in the role of the gray clerk who wins the lottery and intents to buy a beautiful Italian * for the rest of his life is lacking charisma, and there is no chemistry between him and Monica Belucci. In other words, I can certainly understand him, but I cannot understand her, and the whole intended love story is less than credible. All around dance a bunch of characters who fail to be coherent enough, or funny, or to be able to collect any sympathy. Even Gerard Depardieu who is an actor who seemed not to be able to do wrong looks like mis-cast. Actually all characters seem under-developed, and if it were not for Monica Belucci's beauty and talent (almost completely wasted here) the film would have sunk into complete failure. It gets a few stars however, and all belong to Belucci.