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Belle de jour (1967)
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Overview
Release Date:
10 April 1968 (USA) moreTagline:
Luis Bunuel's Masterpiece of Erotica!Plot:
A frigid young housewife decides to spend her midweek afternoons as a prostitute. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 4 wins moreNewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Stars Gather To Mourn Saint Laurent (From WENN. 5 June 2008, 9:05 AM, PDT)
Deneuve To Preside at Venice Film Festival (From Studio Briefing. 15 June 2006)
User Comments:
Unique, Strange, and Memorable moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | 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 |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Beauty of the Day (International: English title) (literal title)Bella di giorno (Italy)
Belle de jour (USA)
more
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
101 minColor:
Color (Eastmancolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoCertification:
France:-12 | Finland:K-18 (1968) | Finland:K-16 (1988) | Philippines:R-18 | South Korea:18 | Portugal:M/16 | 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:18MOVIEmeter: 
2% since last week
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Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Director Cameo: [Luis Buñuel]Sitting in the outdoor café when the Duke gets off his carriage. moreGoofs:
Continuity: Marcel breaks the glass and oval frame to vent his anger. The same frame and picture are unbroken later. moreFAQ
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The premise of BELLE DU JOUR is well known. A young, beautiful, and slightly frigid doctor's wife (Catherine Deneuve) secretly harbors fantasies of being dominated, humiliated, and abused by her husband (Jean Sorel.) When these fantasies can no longer be denied, she becomes a prostitute under the sponsorship of a possibly lesbian madam (Geneviève Page), working during the afternoons while her husband is at his own work. Her sexuality is awakened by the sometimes brutish clients, who soon discover that "she likes it rough," and she is ultimately caught up a relationship with a truly dangerous client (Pierre Clémenti) whose possessiveness threatens to destroy both her and her husband.
Throughout the film Deneuve slips in and out of memory and fantasy, sometimes recalling herself as a possibly molested child, sometimes imagining herself as the victim in a series of sexual assault fantasies. Director Bunuel, whose masterpiece this is, so blurs the line between memory, reality, and fantasy that by the film's conclusion one cannot be sure if some, most, or everything about the film has been Deneuve's fantasy.
Although it includes a number of impressive performances (particularly by Geneviève Page, her girls, and their clients), BELLE is essentially Deneuve's film from start to finish, and she gives an astonishing performance that cannot be easily described. Like the film itself, it is a balancing act between fantasy and a plausible reality that may actually be nothing of the kind. Bunuel presents both her and the film as a whole in an almost clinical manner, and is less interested in gaining our sympathy for the character than in presenting her as an object for intellectual observation.
Ultimately, BELLE DU JOUR seems to be about a lot of things, some of them obvious and some of them extremely subtle. And yet, given the way in which it undercuts its realities by blurring them with fantasy, it is also entirely possible that the film is not actually "about" anything except itself. Individuals who insist on clear-cut meanings and neatly wrapped conclusions will probably loathe it--but those prepared to accept the film on its own terms will find it a fascinating experience. Recommended.
Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer