My Night at Maud's (1969)

The rigid principles of a devout Catholic man are challenged during a one-night stay with Maud, a divorced woman with an outsize personality.

Director:

Éric Rohmer

Writer:

Éric Rohmer

Stars:

Jean-Louis Trintignant, Françoise Fabian, Marie-Christine Barrault

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jean-Louis Trintignant	...	Jean-Louis
Françoise Fabian	...	Maud
Marie-Christine Barrault	...	Françoise
Antoine Vitez	...	Vidal
Léonide Kogan	...	Concert Violinist
Guy Léger	...	Priest (as Guy Leger)
Anne Dubot	...	Blonde Friend

Storyline

Thirty-four year old engineer Jean-Louis has just started a new job in Clermont. He leads a relatively solitary life not knowing anyone in town besides his work colleagues, he who has made a conscious decision that they should not become his de facto friends just because they work together. His choice not to socialize in town is due also in part to his situation and needing to make the long daily commute to/from Ceyrat where he currently lives. He has had his fair share of women over the course of his adult life, he now choosing to adhere more closely to his Catholic beliefs in approaching romantic and sexual relationships with women solely in the goal of love and marriage. Although not knowing her or having talked to her, he believes the pretty blonde he sees at church at Sunday morning services is the woman destined to be his wife. Within this situation of his new life, he has lately been reading the writings of Blaise Pascal, the mixture of mathematics and Catholicism in particular...

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Plot Keywords:

pascal's wager | catholic | mass | divorced woman | engineer | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

GP

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

22 March 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

My Night at Maud's

Filming Locations:

Basilique Notre-Dame du Port, Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

FFD,Les Films de la Pléiade,Les Films des deux mondes

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

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Goofs

When Trintignant accepts to climb into bed with Fabian, he motions for her to pass him the blanket, extending his right hand holding a lit cigarette. The next shot from the side shows him grasping the blanket with a cigarette-free right hand.

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Quotes

Maud: [resisting Jean-Louis approaches after she offered to sleep with him and he refused] No. I prefer people who know what they want.

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Connections

Follows La boulangère de Monceau (1963)

User Reviews

The Battlefield of Ideologies

Ma nuit chez Maud AKA My Night at Maud's is Eric Rohmer's third Moral Tale. Eric Rohmer, together with Truffaut, Godard, Chabrol & Rivette, formed the French New Wave, which offered a new view on narrative. Rohmer's films are often seen as more mature compared to his other French New Wave companions. My Night at Maud's is a moral study, which dialog achieves to catch the viewer right from the start.

Two men, Jean-Louis and Vidal meet again after 15 years. They decide to go to visit Vidal's friend, Maud. In Maud's apartment the group of three have interesting discussions about Pascal, philosophy, moral and religion. What makes these discussions so interesting is the difference of Vidal, Jean-Louis and Maud. Jean-Louis is a catholic who believes in the holiness of man. Vidal is a Marxist who replaces God with history, he believes in history instead of God. Maud is an atheist, who believes in true short-term happiness. When Vidal leaves the apartment, Jean-Louis gets to a moral dilemma.

Jean-Louis talks a lot about a young blond woman he saw in church, Francoise. He doesn't know anything about her, but she represents religious and an ideal woman to him. Where Maud is the opposite to him. Jean-Louis doesn't believe in short-term happiness. So as he spends the night at Maud's he gets to a moral dilemma. According to his religious beliefs he should resist the temptation of Maud. Again his lie to Francoise is Christian compassion, but it's also a desire to hide his dishonesty.

My Night at Maud's goes very deep. It's not just about what's on surface: the intellectual dialogs and the moral dilemmas. The intelligence of Rohmer goes much deeper. And that is what I like in his films, even if you don't understand everything, the films have something that make you watch them again and again. I'm 17 and when I walked into a dark theater to see this fine film, I was blown away. When the film is over, you have came from a moral journey. So Eric Rohmer's film, obviously doesn't just stop at being the battlefield of ideologies.