Les Biches (1968)

Architect Paul Thomas insinuates himself into the relationship of two bisexual women living in a St. Tropez villa with tragic consequences.

Director:

Claude Chabrol

Writers:

Paul Gégauff (screenplay), Claude Chabrol (screenplay)

Stars:

Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jacqueline Sassard, Stéphane Audran

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jean-Louis Trintignant	...	Paul Thomas
Jacqueline Sassard	...	Why
Stéphane Audran	...	Frédérique
Nane Germon	...	Violetta
Serge Bento	...	Bookseller
Henri Frances
Henri Attal	...	Robègue
Dominique Zardi	...	Riais
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Laure Valmée

Storyline

Frédérique is a rich and beautiful woman who picks up a female street artist called "Why". It is December and they go to her villa in Saint Tropez, which is inhabited by a couple of odd gay men. Both women fall for the local architect Paul Thomas. However Why says that she is not interested in him, so Frédérique invites him to move into the villa.

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Plot Keywords:

bisexual | lesbianism | menage a trois | lesbian | woman murders a woman | 

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Taglines:

A Story of Unusual Love!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

26 September 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bad Girls

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films de la Boétie,Alexandra Produzioni Cinematografiche

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Claude Chabrol talked about the story: "It is about the equilibrium of such a relationship, when someone else intervenes about the bargains that people make with each other. And about the rich, the advantage that they have over the poor, their richness. They can buy people, and the poor have to submit, until they revolt, and the only possible revolt is destruction. It is from a Marxist point of view but it is not political at all. I'm sure you cannot make a revolution with a camera. But you can show up all the people and things you dislike."

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Quotes

Robèque: [popping a champagne cork] Champagne! The artillery of pleasure!

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Connections

References Vertigo (1958)

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Soundtracks

Les Biches (Générique Du Fin)
Written and Performed by Pierre Jansen Et Son Orchestre

User Reviews

Quietly Subversive Look At Sexual Relationships

American films are usually about someone coming in to clean up the mess around them; A good many French films are about people dealing with the mess that's inside--and in Les Biches (not only "The Bad Girls" as uneasily translated, but "The Does," as in fauns) director Claude Chabrol returns to his obsession with the sexual power that one individual attempts to have over another, and like Hitchcock, with identities that fluctuate as the situation changes.

Les Biches is a subtle and subversive look at two women, one rich and powerful and beautiful, and a younger street artist who draws "does" on the sidewalks of Paris, picked up by the elder to vacation with her in St. Tropez during the winter--Jean-Louis Trignitant enters as the token love interest, and quietly nasty love games ensue: Chabrol's early films do not seem to date the way most films of the 1960's do, and the only problem with this one is that is should be available in widescreen as some of his quietly elegant compositions have been hacked at the edges by some corporate type that should have known better.