Céline et Julie vont en bateau (1974)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Jacques Rivette

Writers:

Juliet Berto (writer)
Eduardo de Gregorio (writer)

Release Date:

September 1974 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery

Plot:

A mysteriously linked pair of young women find their daily lives pre-empted by a strange boudoir melodrama...

Plot Keywords:

Shower | Dark Comedy | Experimental Film | Surrealism | Female Duo

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Juliet Berto	...	Celine
Dominique Labourier	...	Julie
Bulle Ogier	...	Camille
Marie-France Pisier	...	Sophie
Barbet Schroeder	...	Olivier
Nathalie Asnar	...	Madlyn
Marie-Thérèse Saussure	...	Poupie
Philippe Clévenot	...	Guilou
Anne Zamire	...	Lil
Jean Douchet	...	M'sieur Dede
Adèle Taffetas	...	Alice
Monique Clément	...	Myrtille
Jérôme Richard	...	Julien
Michael Graham	...	Boris
Jean-Marie Sénia	...	Cyrille

Also Known As:

Celine and Julie Go Boating (USA)
Phantom Ladies Over Paris (France) (subtitle)

Runtime:

193 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:12A (re-rating) (2005) | UK:15 (video rating) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Montmartre, Paris 18, Paris, France

Company:

Action Films

Trivia:

It is a misconception that most of the film was improvised by the actors. Jacques Rivette provided structure but did not let his actors "go wild", instead he let them write. A single scene was improvised, where Celine, played by Julie Berto, brags to her associates about her rich American friend. The rest of the scenes where shot from scripted material, mostly thanks to participating actors. The film is collaboration by several authors, including actors Berto, Labourier, Ogier and Pisier. Rivette's involvement in the writing was to give structure to all the contributions, tightening things up.

Quotes:

Julie: It doesn't hurt to fall off the moon.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Berlin Chamissoplatz (1980)

Lavrene and Shirley In Hell!

CELINE AND JULIE GO BOATING (5 outta 5 stars)

Wow... one of those really great, really strange movies that I love so much! Over 3 hours long but I got so absorbed in the story that I didn't even notice it was that long. I wanted it to be longer, in fact! Kinda hard to describe... sort of a cross between a Bunuel and a Rohmer movie... starring a French Laverne and Shirley. The plot takes its time getting started... but once the premise became evident I was totally hooked! Our 2 heroines take turns going into a strange house. They emerge some hours later, totally disoriented and with no recollection of what happened inside. Later they are able to recall certain events... but not the whole story. This goes on day after day... the exact same scenes take place with the 2 women taking turns playing a nurse to a sick child... who, it turns out, may have been murdered by someone else in the house! But who? The girls keep going back into the house to find out the secret. The 2 women who play the leads are EXCELLENT! They start out not knowing each other but become close friends as the events unfold. They are both slightly kooky and enjoy playing pranks on each other... at times taking over the other person's life while that person is busy in the house. Some of the later scenes in the movie... when the 2 girls go into the house together... are HILARIOUS! I was actually laughing at loud at stuff... but I fully admit that normal people don't always see the humour in the same things that I do. 8) Wow, I need to see this movie again! Will someone PLEASE release it on DVD with a decent picture? This grainy bootleg just doesn't do it justice.