'Rue des plaisirs" unfolds in Paris at the end of World War II. It's a hard time for prostitutes, as all the brothels in the city have been shut down. One working girl, Marion (Laetitia Casta), is truly adored by her admirer Petit Louis (Patrick Timsit) - a stout, asexual man with a melancholy look in his eyes and a childish naivete. And Marion used to be romantic and dreamed of meeting a prince and becoming a famous diva, although she was destined to become a prostitute.

Louis never has sex with her because he worships her as a goddess. What he longs for is for her to meet the man of her dreams and make her dreams come true. But the man Marion eventually falls in love with is not a prince at all, and this is the moment when a romantic French film turns into a criminal drama with a tragic finale. The director, Patrice Leconte, recently presented his new film to a Moscow audience in person. While admitting that the movie failed to impress the French public much, he said he still holds his work in high regard.

"First of all," he stressed, "it's the story of a naive and self-sacrificing love." This sort of love can be found in many of his films. "The tragic finale," he added, "is not at all a coincidence. I wanted it to move spectators." However, the film fails to arouse any strong emotions. Stories of Cinderellas will always be in demand, but a boring retelling of something you have already seen before arouses nothing but deja vu.

Casta's performance is perhaps the only thing worth seeing in the entire movie. She is charming, and there are several moments when the audience can admire her through the eyes of the infatuated characters. But, after 30 minutes, the audience was all yawns. I noticed that many people seemed to want to leave the "street of pleasures," having failed to find the pleasures promised.