''Belle de Jour'' () is a 1967
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
film directed by
Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and m ...
, and starring
Catherine Deneuve
Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...
,
Jean Sorel, and
Michel Piccoli
Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli (27 December 1925 – 12 May 2020) was a French actor, producer and film director with a career spanning 70 years. He was lauded as one of the greatest French character actors of his generation who played a wide vari ...
. Based on the 1928 novel ''
Belle de jour'' by
Joseph Kessel
Joseph Kessel (10 February 1898 – 23 July 1979), also known as "Jef", was a French journalist and novelist. He was a member of the Académie française and Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour.
Biography
Kessel was born to a Argentine Jews, Je ...
, the film is about a young woman who spends her midweek afternoons as a high-class prostitute, while her husband is at work.
The title of the film is a play on words on the French term ''belle de nuit'' ("beauty of the night", i.e., a prostitute), as Séverine works during the day under the pseudonym "Belle de Jour". Her nickname can also be interpreted as a reference to the French name of the
morning glory
Morning glory (also written as morning-glory) is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose current taxonomy and systematics are in flux. Morning glory species belong to many genera, some of ...
(''Convolvulaceae''), meaning "beauty of
heday", a flower that blooms only during the day.
''Belle de Jour'' is one of Buñuel's most successful and famous films with many film historians calling Deneuve's performance her finest. It won the
Golden Lion
The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguishe ...
and the Pasinetti Award for Best Film at the
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
in 1967.
Plot
Séverine Serizy (
Catherine Deneuve
Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...
), a young and beautiful housewife, is unable to share physical intimacy with her husband, Dr. Pierre Serizy (
Jean Sorel), despite their love for each other. Her sexual life is restricted to elaborate fantasies involving
domination
Domination or dominant may refer to:
Society
* World domination, which is mainly a conspiracy theory
* Colonialism in which one group (usually a nation) invades another region for material gain or to eliminate competition
* Chauvinism in which ...
,
sadomasochism
Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...
, and
bondage. Although frustrated by his wife's frigidity toward him, he respects her wishes.
While visiting a ski resort, they meet two friends, Henri Husson (
Michel Piccoli
Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli (27 December 1925 – 12 May 2020) was a French actor, producer and film director with a career spanning 70 years. He was lauded as one of the greatest French character actors of his generation who played a wide vari ...
) and Renée (
Macha Méril
Macha Méril (; born Princess Maria-Magdalena Vladimirovna Gagarina on 3 September 1940) is a French actress and writer.
Biography
Méril is descended by her father from the Russian princely house Gagarin and by her mother from a Ukrainian nob ...
). Séverine does not like Husson's manner and the way he looks at her. Back in Paris, Séverine meets up with Renée and learns that a common friend, Henriette, now works at a brothel. At her home, Séverine receives roses from Husson and is unsettled by the gesture. At the tennis courts, she meets Husson and they discuss Henriette and houses of pleasure. Husson mentions a high-class
brothel
A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...
to Séverine at 11 Cité Jean de Saumur. He also confesses his desire for her, but Séverine rejects his advances.
Haunted by childhood memories, including one involving a man who appears to touch her inappropriately, Séverine goes to the high-class brothel, which is run by Madame Anaïs (
Geneviève Page
Geneviève Page (born Geneviève Bonjean, 13 December 1927) is a French actress with a film career spanning fifty years and also numerous English-speaking film productions. She is the daughter of French art collector Jacques Paul Bonjean (1899– ...
), who names her "Belle de Jour." That afternoon Séverine services her first client. Reluctant at first, she responds to the "firm hand" of Madame Anaïs and has sex with the stranger. After staying away for a week, Séverine returns to the brothel and begins working from two to five o'clock each day, returning to her unsuspecting husband in the evenings. One day, Husson comes to visit her at home, but Séverine refuses to see him. Still, she fantasizes about having sex with him in her husband's presence. At the same time, Séverine's physical relationship with her husband is improving and she begins having sex with him.
Séverine becomes involved with a young criminal, Marcel (
Pierre Clémenti
Pierre André Clémenti (28 September 1942 – 27 December 1999) was a French actor.
Life and career
Born in Paris to an unknown father and Rose Clémenti, a Corsican concierge whose surname he took, Clémenti had a difficult childhood and took ...
), who offers her the kind of thrills and excitement of her fantasies. When Marcel becomes increasingly jealous and demanding, Séverine decides to leave the brothel, with Madame Anaïs's agreement. Séverine is also concerned about Husson, who has discovered her secret life at the brothel. After one of Marcel's associates follows Séverine to her home, Marcel visits her and threatens to reveal her secret to her husband. Séverine pleads with him to leave, which he does, referring to her husband as "the obstacle".
Marcel waits downstairs for Pierre to return home and shoots him three times. Marcel then flees but is shot dead by police. Séverine's husband survives but is left in a coma. The police are unable to find a motive for the attempted murder. Sometime later Séverine is at home taking care of Pierre, who is now paralysed, blind and in a wheelchair. Husson visits Pierre to tell him the truth about his wife's secret life; she does not try to stop him. After Husson leaves, Séverine returns to see Pierre crying. In an ambiguous ending which is hinted to be another of her fantasies, Pierre then gets out of the wheelchair, pours himself a drink and discusses holiday plans with Séverine.
Cast
*
Catherine Deneuve
Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...
as Séverine Serizy, alias Belle de Jour
*
Jean Sorel as Pierre Serizy
*
Michel Piccoli
Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli (27 December 1925 – 12 May 2020) was a French actor, producer and film director with a career spanning 70 years. He was lauded as one of the greatest French character actors of his generation who played a wide vari ...
as Henri Husson
*
Geneviève Page
Geneviève Page (born Geneviève Bonjean, 13 December 1927) is a French actress with a film career spanning fifty years and also numerous English-speaking film productions. She is the daughter of French art collector Jacques Paul Bonjean (1899– ...
as Madame Anaïs
*
Pierre Clémenti
Pierre André Clémenti (28 September 1942 – 27 December 1999) was a French actor.
Life and career
Born in Paris to an unknown father and Rose Clémenti, a Corsican concierge whose surname he took, Clémenti had a difficult childhood and took ...
as Marcel
*
Françoise Fabian
Michèle Cortes (born 10 May 1933), known professionally as Françoise Fabian (), is a French film actress. She has appeared in more than 100 films since 1956. In 1971, Fabian signed the Manifesto of the 343
The Manifesto of the 343 (), was a F ...
as Charlotte
*
Macha Méril
Macha Méril (; born Princess Maria-Magdalena Vladimirovna Gagarina on 3 September 1940) is a French actress and writer.
Biography
Méril is descended by her father from the Russian princely house Gagarin and by her mother from a Ukrainian nob ...
as Renée
*
Maria Latour
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
* 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
*Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, d ...
as Mathilde
*
Marguerite Muni
Muni (born Marguerite Muni; 23 June 1929 – 22 August 1999) was a French actress who is best known for her appearances in the late French films of the movie director Luis Buñuel. Though she is most often recognized by her last name, gene ...
as Pallas
*
Francis Blanche
François Jean Blanche, known as "Francis Blanche" (20 July 1921 – 6 July 1974) was a French actor, singer, humorist and author. He was a very popular figure on stage, radio and in films, during the 1950s and 1960s.
Early life
Blanche was ...
as Monsieur Adolphe
*
François Maistre
François Maistre (14 May 1925 – 16 May 2016) was a French film, television and theatre actor. Born in Demigny, Saône-et-Loire, France, he appeared in nearly 100 films between 1960 and 2003. His father was singer and actor A.-M. Julien.
Se ...
as The professor
*
Georges Marchal
Georges Marchal (10 January 1920 – 28 November 1997) was a French actor.
Born Georges Louis Lucot in Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France, the strikingly handsome Marchal was discovered in the early-1940s by director Jean Grémillon. By the ear ...
as Duke
*
Francisco Rabal
Francisco Rabal Valera (8 March 1926 – 29 August 2001), better known as Paco Rabal, was a Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter born in Águilas, a town in the south-western part of the province of Murcia, Spain. Throughout his career, Raba ...
as Hyppolite
Production
;Costume design
Much of Deneuve's wardrobe was designed by
Yves St. Laurent.
;Filming locations
*1 Square Albin-Cachot, Paris 13, Paris, France
*79
Champs-Élysées
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is lo ...
, Paris 8, Paris, France
*Chalet de la Grande Cascade,
Bois de Boulogne
The Bois de Boulogne (, "Boulogne woodland") is a large public park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine. The land was ceded to the city of Paris by t ...
, Paris 16, Paris, France
*Champs Elysées, Paris 8, Paris, France
*Rue de Messine, Paris 8, Paris, France (Serizy's home)
Release
Critical response
On review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, ''Belle de Jour'' holds an approval rating of 95%, based on 58 reviews, and an average rating of 8.6/10.
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
of ''
RogerEbert.com'' gave the film 4 stars out of 4 and included it into his Great Movies list.
Awards and nominations
Home media
American director
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...
promoted a 1995 limited re-release in America and a 2002 release on DVD.
Legacy
In 2006, the Portuguese director
Manoel de Oliveira released ''
Belle Toujours'', imagining a future encounter between the characters of Séverine and Henri Husson from the original film.
In 2010, ''Belle de Jour'' was ranked No. 56 in ''
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' magazine's list, The 100 Best Films of World Cinema.
See also
*
Sadism and masochism in fiction
The role of sadism and masochism in fiction has attracted serious scholarly attention. Anthony Storr has commented that the volume of sadomasochist pornography shows that sadomasochistic interest is widespread in Western society; John Kucich has n ...
*
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...
References
External links
*
*
''Belle de jour: Tough Love''– an essay by Melissa Anderson at
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...
{{The Golden Lion 1949–1969
1967 films
1967 drama films
1960s erotic drama films
1960s French films
1960s French-language films
1960s Italian films
1960s multilingual films
1960s psychological drama films
1960s Spanish-language films
BDSM in films
Films about adultery in France
Films about prostitution in Paris
Films about sexual repression
Films based on French novels
Films directed by Luis Buñuel
Films produced by Robert and Raymond Hakim
Films shot in Paris
Films with screenplays by Jean-Claude Carrière
French erotic drama films
French multilingual films
French psychological drama films
French-language Italian films
Golden Lion winners
Italian erotic drama films
Italian multilingual films
Italian psychological drama films
Spanish-language French films