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A Parisian poet in love with his mentor's daughter, who marries his friend for a better social position, finds passion in erotic photography and returns to Paris to start a love affair in the backdrop of Paris's erotic photography.
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Paris 1895. Pierre Louÿs is a Parisian dandy and poet on the verge of fame. Pierre and his friend Henri De Régnier are both madly in love with Marie de Heredia (Noemie Merlant), the cheeky daughter of their mentor. Despite her feelings for Pierre, Marie eventually marries Henri who has a better situation. Badly hurt, Pierre leaves for Algeria where he meets Zohra, a bewitching local girl with whom he shares a tumultuous relationship and a passion for erotic photography. One year later, Marie still has weak feelings for her husband and Pierre comes back to Paris with Zohra. As soon as Marie hears the news, she rushes to see Pierre and confesses that she kept herself for him. They quickly start an affair and a game of cat and mouse between many players begins, full of desire, jealousy and photography. They will build their future selves by transgressing the established codes, how far will they go?
"The woman on which this movie is based, Marie de Régnier, became one of the most influential writers in France at the beginning of the 20th century (sometimes under the pseudonym Gérard d'Houville). Although the hook for 'Curiosa' is the love triangle between her and the poets Henri de Régnier and Pierre Louÿs, the movie goes far beyond that, as it tells the story of a woman's emancipation who, at the height of the Belle Époque, went from being an object of male desire to someone who challenged the prejudices of the French bourgeoisie of her time, taking possession of her body and her sexuality through her artistic re-affirmation. Therefore, although it is a period drama, it is an extremely relevant movie today, in times of such a wide and necessary feminist discussion (something emphasized by its more current electronic soundtrack). The performances of the entire cast are good, but logically the one who stands out the most is the actress Noémie Merlant, who became famous for 'Portrait of a Young Woman on Fire'."