La Truite is a very interesting film. Every character is defective in some way, and Frederique's frigidity and inability to commit to any sexual relationships does not seem so abnormal when one considers the flaws in the characters of the men who surround her, each of whom (with the possible exception of the Japanese patriarch) seems to have a void which they believe can be filled by Frederique. Frederique is able to exploit the weaknesses in these men, manipulating each of them in turn, but she herself is deeply flawed and lacks a moral compass. To me, it is a study in the destructive consequences of a personality disorder. Everyone Frederique touches will lose a part of themselves, and everyone struggles, unsuccessfully, to repair the impact of her primitive and nihilistic projection into them. The void in her own soul becomes a reflected emptiness in others, leading to great distress. Like the fish at the beginning of the film, Frederique milks them all. At the end of the film, even though she is financially successful, she still feels nothing. She has fulfilled her stated ambition of seeing the world, but has failed to get away from herself. I thought it was an excellent portrait of a woman missing an essential component of her personality.
Review of La truite
