Yves Saint Laurent's designs for Catherine Deneuve define her character Séverine, whose frigidity is represented by the prissy, ladylike dresses she wears and by her perfectly coiffed hair. As Buñuel explores the shape of female fantasy and masochism, however, it becomes clear that it is only Séverine's public, wedded persona who cannot perform sexually. After a friend plants the idea in her head, only Séverine's husband is denied the sight of her in the exquisite, sensual lingerie she wears for us and for her clients at Madame Anaïs's brothel. As Séverine becomes addicted to her new trade, the line between reality and fantasy begins to slip, a distinction made more ambiguous by constant formal reminders that the story we are being told only exists on film. Buñuel proposes two endings to Séverine's story, asking us to consider a relationship between sadist and masochist extending beyond the bedroom, both endings punishments of sorts, and both offering permanent fulfillment of her masochistic fantasies.-Amy Holberg