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Belle de Jour (film)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
|name = Belle de Jour
|image = Belle de jour poster.jpg
|caption = Theatrical release poster
|director = Luis Buuel
|producer =
|writer =
|based_on =
|starring =
|cinematography = Sacha Vierny
|editing = Louisette Hautecoeur
|distributor =
|released =
|runtime = 101 minutes
|country =
|language =
|gross = $20.2 million
}}
'Belle de Jour' is a 1967 drama film directed by Luis Buuel, and starring Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, and Michel Piccoli. Based on the 1928 novel 'Belle de jour' by Joseph Kessel, 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 Sverine 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 ('Convolvulaceae'), meaning "beauty of [the] day", a flower that blooms only during the day.
'Belle de Jour' is one of Buuel's most successful and famous films with many film historians calling Deneuve's performance her finest. It won the Golden Lion and the Pasinetti Award for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival in 1967.
Plot
Sverine Serizy (Catherine Deneuve), 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, sadomasochism, 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) and Rene (Macha Mril). Sverine does not like Husson's manner and the way he looks at her. Back in Paris, Sverine meets up with Rene and learns that a common friend, Henriette, now works at a brothel. At her home, Sverine 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 to Sverine at 11 Cit Jean de Saumur. He also confesses his desire for her, but Sverine rejects his advances.
Haunted by childhood memories, including one involving a man who appears to touch her inappropriately, Sverine goes to the high-class brothel, which is run by Madame Anas (Genevive Page), who names her "Belle de Jour." That afternoon Sverine services her first client. Reluctant at first, she responds to the "firm hand" of Madame Anas and has sex with the stranger. After staying away for a week, Sverine 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 Sverine refuses to see him. Still, she fantasizes about having sex with him in her husband's presence. At the same time, Sverine's physical relationship with her husband is improving and she begins having sex with him.
Sverine becomes involved with a young criminal, Marcel (Pierre Clmenti), who offers her the kind of thrills and excitement of her fantasies. When Marcel becomes increasingly jealous and demanding, Sverine decides to leave the brothel, with Madame Anas's agreement. Sverine is also concerned about Husson, who has discovered her secret life at the brothel. After one of Marcel's associates follows Sverine to her home, Marcel visits her and threatens to reveal her secret to her husband. Sverine 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. Sverine's husband survives but is left in a coma. The police are unable to find a motive for the attempted murder. Sometime later Sverine 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, Sverine 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 Sverine.
Cast
*Catherine Deneuve as Sverine Serizy, alias Belle de Jour
*Jean Sorel as Pierre Serizy
*Michel Piccoli as Henri Husson
*Genevive Page as Madame Anas
*Pierre Clmenti as Marcel
*Franoise Fabian as Charlotte
*Macha Mril as Rene
*Maria Latour as Mathilde
*Marguerite Muni as Pallas
*Francis Blanche as Monsieur Adolphe
*Franois Maistre as The professor
*Georges Marchal as Duke
*Francisco Rabal 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-lyses, Paris 8, Paris, France
*Chalet de la Grande Cascade, Bois de Boulogne, Paris 16, Paris, France
*Champs Elyses, Paris 8, Paris, France
*Rue de Messine, Paris 8, Paris, France (Serizy's home)
Release
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 'Belle de Jour' holds an approval rating of 95%, based on 57 reviews, and an average rating of 8.6/10. Roger Ebert 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 promoted a 1995 limited re-release in Americaper DVD extras trailer 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 Sverine and Henri Husson from the original film.
In 2010, 'Belle de Jour' was ranked No. 56 in 'Empire' magazine's list, The 100 Best Films of World Cinema.
See also
*Sadism and masochism in fiction
*Surrealism
References
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