Belle de jour (1967)

Director:

Luis Buñuel

Writers:

Luis Buñuel (writer)
Jean-Claude Carrière (writer)

Release Date:

10 April 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Luis Bunuel's Masterpiece of Erotica!

Plot:

A frigid young housewife decides to spend her midweek afternoons as a prostitute.

Plot Keywords:

Daydream | Bondage | Police Officer | Cherry Brandy | Playing Footsie

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 4 wins

Cast

Catherine Deneuve	...	Séverine Serizy aka Belle de Jour
Jean Sorel	...	Pierre Serizy
Michel Piccoli	...	Henri Husson
Geneviève Page	...	Madame Anais
Pierre Clémenti	...	Marcel
Françoise Fabian	...	Charlotte
Macha Méril	...	Renee
Muni	...	Pallas
Maria Latour	...	Mathilde
Claude Cerval
Michel Charrel	...	Footman
Iska Khan	...	Asian client
Bernard Musson	...	Majordomo
Marcel Charvey	...	Prof. Henri
François Maistre	...	L'ensignant

Also Known As:

Beauty of the Day (International: English title) (literal title)
Bella di giorno (Italy)
Belle de jour (USA)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

Spanish | French

Colour:

Colour (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Portugal:M/16 | France:-12 | Philippines:R-18 | Finland:K-18 (1968) | South Korea:18 | Finland:K-16 (1988) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R | Ireland:18

Filming Locations:

1 Square Albin-Cachot, Paris 13, Paris, France

Company:

Paris Film

Trivia:

In most subtitled versions of the film, an italicized font is used to help the audience spot Séverine's fantasies from reality.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Mr. Adolphe first unzips Belle's dress she has a slip under it, but when she rushes out and then comes back in, Adolphe unzips her dress again and she isn't wearing the slip anymore.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Coming Apart (1969)

Genuinely haunting Bunuel classic.

'Belle De Jour' is a movie which requires multiple viewing to fully appreciate. We live in an era of explicit sex and violence in movies are commonplace, and where we are very rarely required to think. 'Belle De Jour' is not like this. What you don't see is more important than what you do. It is a movie which needs a little effort on the viewers part. Persevere, you will be rewarded.

The basic plot is easy to understand. Severine (Catherine Deneuve in a superbly understated performance) is a beautiful, sexually repressed young bride. Her husband Pierre (Jean Sorel) adores her, but their marriage remains chaste. Severine suffers from dreams and hallucinations of debasement. She eventually is employed in a brothel during the day under a pseudonym, while continuing to live a bourgeois life with her unsuspecting husband. I won't reveal what happens after that.

That is the bare bones of the story, but it gives you no idea of HOW Bunuel tells it, which is what makes 'Belle De Jour' such a gem. I think this movie is one of the landmarks of 1960s cinema, and has aged wonderfully. In fact it gets better and better as most contemporary movies about sex get poorer and poorer. A movie that will haunt you. Superb!