Eden and After (1970)

A group of French students are drawn into the psychological and sexual games of a mysterious Dutchman. Once they sample his "fear powder" the students experience a series of hallucinations.

Director:

Alain Robbe-Grillet

Writer:

Alain Robbe-Grillet

Stars:

Catherine Jourdan, Pierre Zimmer, Richard Leduc

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Catherine Jourdan	...	Violette
Pierre Zimmer	...	Duchemin
Richard Leduc	...	Marc-Antoine
Lorraine Rainer	...	Marie-Eve
Sylvain Corthay	...	Jean-Pierre
Juraj Kukura	...	Boris
Jarmila Kolenicová	...	Sonia (as Jarmila Kolenicova)
Catherine Robbe-Grillet	...	Foolish woman
Frantisek Gervai	...	(as François Gervai)
Ludovít Króner	...	Franc (as Ludwik Kroner)

Storyline

A group of French students are drawn into the psychological and sexual games of a mysterious Dutchman. Once they sample his "fear powder" the students experience a series of hallucinations.

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Plot Keywords:

female full frontal nudity | female rear nudity | nihilism | torture | surrealism | 

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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Certificate:

18

Details

Country:

France Czechoslovakia Tunisia

Language:

French

Release Date:

20 April 1970 (France)

Also Known As:

Eden and After

Filming Locations:

Bratislava, Slovakia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Como Film, Satpec, Studio Hraných Filmov Bratislava

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 98 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Der Ruf der Gradiva (2006)

User Reviews

Hypnotic Maze of Psychosexual Insanity

This is one of the horror genre's most delirious, imaginative, nightmarish and disturbing films ever made, on the same vein of Andrej Zulawski's "Possession" and, to a lesser extent, Harry Kümel's "Malpertuis". Directed by Alain Robbe Grillet (who wrote the screenplay for the equally enigmatic "Last Year in Marienbad") does not disappoint in creating a suffocating dreamlike atmosphere, as he takes the audience, through the eyes of the protagonist, in a "Alice in Wonderland"-like trip, with a little Marquis De Sade twist. The story is told basically through striking, thought provoking imagery, with dialog kept to a minimum, something that can be very unappealing to some, but I found it particularly fascinating. We follow the Mia Farrow-lookalike Catherine Jourdan as Violet, who goes to Tunisia in order to find out the truth behind the strange death of a mysterious man she met at a bar (the Eden of the title) during one of her friends' drug-induced games. That's basically all I can tell you, because it's a film so difficult to describe in words, you just have to see it for yourself to understand. Grillet's script, just like the film's setting, is a twisted, mind-bending labyrinth of sexual deviance and murder, where nothing is what it seems. In fact, once you've seen it, exactly how much of the events actually did happen, and if so, what did they mean. As in "Marienbad...", Grillet haunts the viewer with many questions, which may or may not be answer within this maze of a film. As mentioned before, it may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you like this kind of deliciously bizarre, surreal film that will undoubtedly leave you scratching your head long after you've watched it, this one is a must see. It's kind of hard to find, but it's really worth it.