Belle de Jour (1967)

A frigid young housewife decides to spend her midweek afternoons as a prostitute.

Director:

Luis Buñuel (as Luis Bunuel)

Writers:

Joseph Kessel (novel) (as Joseph Kessel de l'Académie Française), Luis Buñuel (adaptation) (as Luis Bunuel)

Stars:

Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, Michel Piccoli

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Catherine Deneuve	...	Séverine Serizy / Belle de Jour
Jean Sorel	...	Pierre Serizy
Michel Piccoli	...	Henri Husson
Geneviève Page	...	Madame Anais
Pierre Clémenti	...	Marcel (as Pierre Clementi)
Françoise Fabian	...	Charlotte
Macha Méril	...	Renee (as Macha Meril)
Muni	...	Pallas
Maria Latour	...	Mathilde
Claude Cerval
Michel Charrel	...	Footman
Iska Khan	...	Asian client
Bernard Musson	...	Majordomo
Marcel Charvey	...	Prof. Henri
François Maistre	...	L'enseignant

Storyline

Severine is a beautiful young woman married to a doctor. She loves her husband dearly, but cannot bring herself to be physically intimate with him. She indulges instead in vivid, kinky, erotic fantasies to entertain her sexual desires. Eventually she becomes a prostitute, working in a brothel in the afternoons while remaining chaste in her marriage.

---

Plot Keywords:

prostitute | marriage | brothel | daydream | pelted with mud | 

---

Taglines:

Luis Bunuel's Masterpiece of Erotica!

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French Spanish Mongolian

Release Date:

10 April 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Belle de Jour

Filming Locations:

Valberg, Guillaumes, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,462, 25 March 2018, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$26,331, 19 April 2018

Company Credits

Production Co:

Robert et Raymond Hakim, Paris Film Productions, Five Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Luis Buñuel was so enamored of his leading lady Catherine Deneuve that he cast her in one of his next films, Tristana (1970).

---

Goofs

When the client that wants to be spanked rejects Belle Du Jour she puts her robe back on but not her bra. Then when she sees the Asian client a few moments later, she takes off her robe and her bra is on.

---

Quotes

Marcel: Leave your stockings on. A girl tried to strangle me once. Poor thing.
Séverine Serizy: If you like, I won't charge you.
Marcel: Naturally. Plenty of girls would love to be in your place.

---

Connections

Remade as The Violation of Claudia (1977)

User Reviews

Genuinely haunting Bunuel classic.

'Belle De Jour' is a movie which requires multiple viewing to fully appreciate. We live in an era of explicit sex and violence in movies are commonplace, and where we are very rarely required to think. 'Belle De Jour' is not like this. What you don't see is more important than what you do. It is a movie which needs a little effort on the viewers part. Persevere, you will be rewarded.

The basic plot is easy to understand. Severine (Catherine Deneuve in a superbly understated performance) is a beautiful, sexually repressed young bride. Her husband Pierre (Jean Sorel) adores her, but their marriage remains chaste. Severine suffers from dreams and hallucinations of debasement. She eventually is employed in a brothel during the day under a pseudonym, while continuing to live a bourgeois life with her unsuspecting husband. I won't reveal what happens after that.

That is the bare bones of the story, but it gives you no idea of HOW Bunuel tells it, which is what makes 'Belle De Jour' such a gem. I think this movie is one of the landmarks of 1960s cinema, and has aged wonderfully. In fact it gets better and better as most contemporary movies about sex get poorer and poorer. A movie that will haunt you. Superb!