''Quiet Days in Clichy'' ( da, Stille dage i Clichy), is a Danish film released in 1970 which was written and directed by

Jens Jørgen Thorsen Jens Jørgen Thorsen (2 February 1932 Holstebro – 15 November 2000) was a Danish artist, director, and jazz musician whose works sometimes created controversy. Thorsen began his artistic career attending periodically the Royal Danish Acade ...

. Set in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, it features music by

Country Joe McDonald Joseph Allen "Country Joe" McDonald (born January 1, 1942) is an American musician who was the lead singer of the 1960s psychedelic rock group Country Joe and the Fish.Richard Brenneman"Country Joe McDonald Revives Anti-War Anthem", ''Berkeley ...

and

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Early life and career A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...

. Drawn from the semi-autobiographical 1956 novel by

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...

, updated from the 1930s to the 1960s, it gives reflections on and incidents in the lives of two young men sharing an apartment. The amount of nudity, sexual activity and crude language in the film has restricted its public showing in many countries.

Plot

The American writer Joey and his European friend Carl share an apartment in the

Clichy-sous-Bois Clichy-sous-Bois () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from central Paris.surrealist 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 ...

artist comes to their apartment, offers her services and paints slogans over the walls of the bathroom. In a café, Joey meets the amiable Nys and they go to a hotel. In the street afterwards, when she asks for money he gives her all he has got. Left with nothing for his dinner, he roams the streets of the city in increasing hunger and distress. Returning in despair to the empty apartment, he is reduced to picking stale food out of the bin. Trying vainly to sleep, he is woken by Carl who has brought back Colette, an underage runaway to whom they give a home. Joey has further dates with Nys, without charge because she enjoys his company. Colette's parents eventually track her down and reclaim her, telling Carl and Joey they will not inform the police so long as the two never see the girl again. Thinking it prudent to leave France for a while, the two men take a train to

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

which they find picturesque but dull. When a bar owner tells them his establishment is free of Jews, they beat him up and return quickly to Paris. There Joey meets the exotic Mara, who claims to have had a brilliant career in

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

but is temporarily reduced to prostituting herself on the

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 ...

. Carl brings back two prostitutes from a jazz bar, both called Christine, and the five have a wild night. Later, Carl and Joey have fun with two Danish visitors, one of whom keeps proclaiming her unavailability because she is a married woman with two children.

Cast

* Paul Valjean: Joey * Wayne Rodda: Carl * Ulla Koppel: Nys * Lisbet Lundquist: Jeanne * Elsebeth Reingaard: Colette *

Olaf Ussing Olaf Ussing (28 April 1907 – 4 January 1990) was a Danish film actor. He appeared in 64 films between 1937 and 1988. He was born and died in Denmark. Selected filmography * '' Frk. Møllers jubilæum'' (1937) * '' Frk. Vildkat'' ( 1942) ...

: Father * Noemie Roos: Mother *

: Ben Webster *

Avi Sagild Avi Sagild (22 February 1933 – 19 September 1995) was a Danish film actress. She appeared in 21 films between 1958 and 1993. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States and died in Denmark. Selected filmography * ''The Gree ...

: Mara * Susanne Krage: Christine * Louise White: Surrealist *

Petronella Petronilla is a Late Latin feminine given name. The name is a diminutive form of Petronia, itself the feminine form of Petronius, a Roman naming conventions#Nomen, Roman family name. Saint Petronilla is an early Roman saint, later interpreted as ...

: Adrienne

References

External links

* {{Henry Miller 1970s erotic drama films Danish erotic drama films Films based on American novels Films based on works by Henry Miller 1970 drama films 1970 films English-language Danish films 1970s English-language films 1970s French-language films 1970 multilingual films Danish multilingual films Seine-Saint-Denis

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links