My Night at Maud's (1969)
"Ma nuit chez Maud" (original title)

The narrator (Jean-Louis), a devout Catholic, moves to a provincial town and vows to marry Francoise, a pretty blond he notices at mass. Vidal, an old school friend, invites him to visit ... See full summary »

Director:

Eric Rohmer

Writer:

Eric Rohmer

Stars:

Jean-Louis Trintignant, Françoise Fabian, Marie-Christine Barrault

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jean-Louis Trintignant	...	Jean-Louis
Françoise Fabian	...	Maud
Marie-Christine Barrault	...	Françoise
Antoine Vitez	...	Vidal
Léonide Kogan	...	Concert Violinist
Guy Léger	...	Preacher
Anne Dubot	...	Blonde Friend

Storyline

The narrator (Jean-Louis), a devout Catholic, moves to a provincial town and vows to marry Francoise, a pretty blond he notices at mass. Vidal, an old school friend, invites him to visit the recently divorced Maud, and the narrator ends up staying the night, having philosophical discussions in her bedroom. Next morning the narrator engineers a meeting with Francoise.

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Plot Keywords:

catholic | engineer | apartment | catholicism | faith | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

22 March 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

My Night at Maud's

Filming Locations:

Belle-Île-en-Mer, Morbihan, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

FFD, Les Films de la Pléiade, Les Films des deux mondes

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, it was nominated under the title "My Night with Maud" because at the time it had no US distibutor.

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Goofs

When Trintignant accepts to climb into bed with Fabian, he motions for her to pass him the blanket, extending his right hand holding a lit cigarette. The next shot from the side shows him grasping the blanket with a cigarette-free right hand.

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Connections

Follows Suzanne's Career (1963)

User Reviews

Pascal's wager

Can love be reduced to an intellectual calculation? Can faith? What role do the emotions play into this calculation? Blaise Pascal, a French scientist and philosopher, put down his thoughts regarding the Christian Religion which were published after his death and came to be known as "Pensees" or "thoughts". Here Pascal puts forth the case for belief: "Since the duration of our lives is but a moment and the state of death eternal . . . those who are guided by their own inclinations and pleasures without reflection and concern" for the reality of death eternal, are idiots and should be "condemned". He asks, "What would you wager? . . . God is, or He is not. Reason can decide nothing." And not to wager is not an option. Pascal reduces belief to a win/loss calculation with the following: "If you gain, you gain all. If you lose, you lose nothing." MY NIGHT AT MAUD'S is a film devoid of conventional film devices to sway you one way or the other such as music, special effects, close-ups and general sentimentality. This is a film full of dialog and intellectual meanderings, but it is the emotions of the characters, those subtle distortions of the face, and the voice behind the eyes captured by a lingering camera that speak the truth. On the surface, this picture appears one dimensional and the end merely a continuation of the beginning, but under the surface, the characters have been transformed. One's actions may be controlled by intellectual pragmatism, but the emotions govern the inner world with a volotility that cannot be controlled. Single minded conformity to a religious proposition may bring security and comfort, but can love be divorced from the emotions? Can emotions be governed by the intellect? As to Pascals Wager, if one clings to this rigid proposition, despite the changing landscape of the emotions, perhaps shunning love itself, can the conclusion that "nothing is lost" still be held?