37°2 le matin (1986)

Director:

Jean-Jacques Beineix

Writers:

Philippe Djian (novel)
Jean-Jacques Beineix (writer)

Release Date:

7 November 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Zorg is a handyman working at in France, maintaining and looking after the bungalows. He lives a quiet and peaceful life...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Restaurant | Bungalow | Piano Player | Tears

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Jean-Hugues Anglade	...	Zorg
Béatrice Dalle	...	Betty
Gérard Darmon	...	Eddy
Consuelo De Haviland	...	Lisa
Clémentine Célarié	...	Annie
Jacques Mathou	...	Bob
Vincent Lindon	...	Richard le jeune policier
Jean-Pierre Bisson	...	Le commissaire (complete version)
Dominique Pinon	...	Le dealer / Dope dealer (complete version)
Bernard Hug	...	(complete version)
Catherine D'At
Claude Aufaure	...	Le médecin
Louis Bellanti	...	Mario
Dominique Besnehard	...	Client pizzeria
Raoul Billerey	...	Le vieux policier

Also Known As:

Betty Blue (UK) (USA)
37.2 Degrees in the Morning (International: English title) (literal title)
37.2 le matin (France) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

120 min | 185 min (director's cut)

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Belgium:KNT (original rating) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Chile:14 (DVD rating) | Chile:18 (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2005) | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:16 | Peru:18 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Gruissan, Aude, France

Company:

Gaumont

Trivia:

Cameo: [Frédéric Andréi]When in Paris, Betty briefly goes to the rail tracks and Jules, the postman played by Frédéric Andréi in Diva, also directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix, can be seen walking past her.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Eddy's mother is lying dead on the bed, she is clearly breathing.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Nos 18 ans (2008)

Soundtrack:

Prendre un enfant dans ses bras

A visual treat and an epic tale not to be missed

The Betty of the title is like a shooting star; she runs hot and bright, but she's burning up. _Betty Blue_ chronicles a torrid affair between a waitress and a handyman, initially in a broken down seaside resort. Betty is both passionate and unstable, almost childlike, and initially it is outsiders who bear the brunt of her anger - the piggish owner of the seaside bungalows, for example, or the playboy publisher who rejects Zorg's novel.

However, as Betty becomes more unstable and begins her descent into insanity, this rage is increasingly turned inward into self-punishing and self-mutilating actions. The same intensity that drives her sexuality and her love for Zorg is, ultimately, her downfall.

Over the course of the movie, which is quite long (I saw the 178 minute director's cut), Zorg goes to increasingly frantic lengths both to please Betty and to protect her from herself. In this regard, certainly, Betty and Zorg are almost identical, both going to extremes, in their own ways, to defend their relationship from outside interference.

As well as providing a narrative that may be read and interpreted on several levels, _Betty Blue_ is an exceptionally beautiful film in terms of cinematography and mise en scene. Colour is used to breathtaking effect - the blue floors of the piano shop, the yellow car, the yellow lighting which makes it seem as though, regardless of time, it's always afternoon twilight. Landscapes, city scenes, interiors are all set up and filmed beautifully.

A tale of love, sex and obsession not to be missed.