The Mother and the Whore (1973)

The chauvinist Alexandre balances relationships with several women, including the maternal Marie and the sexually liberated Veronika, in the post-1968 intellectual scene of Paris.

Director:

Jean Eustache

Writer:

Jean Eustache (scenario and dialogue)

Stars:

Jean-Pierre Léaud, Bernadette Lafont, Françoise Lebrun

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jean-Pierre Léaud	...	Alexandre
Bernadette Lafont	...	Marie / Alexandre's girlfriend
Françoise Lebrun	...	Veronika / Alexandre's girlfriend
Isabelle Weingarten	...	Gilberte / Alexandre's ex-girlfriend
Jacques Renard	...	Alexandre's Friend
Jean-Noël Picq	...	Offenbach's Fan

Storyline

In Paris, Alexandre, an unemployed young man with memories of the May 1968 events in France, attempts to persuade his former love, Gilberte, to marry him. Gilberte opts to instead marry another man. Alexandre is involved with a live-in girlfriend called Marie, and is interested in films such as The Working Class Goes to Heaven. One day, after an unsuccessful reconciliation with Gilberte at the highly popular Les Deux Magots café, he meets Veronika, a Polish French twenty-something nurse. In the midst of the sexual revolution, Veronika is highly promiscuous, and begins to make advances on Alexandre. During the summer of 1972, Alexandre and Marie are nude in bed in their apartment when Veronika visits. Marie lets her in and Veronika insults both of them, but acknowledges she is not pure herself. The three begin a ménage à trois and sleep in the same bed, with Veronika assuring Alexandre she and Marie both love him, and telling him to be more happy with his situation and life. Although ...

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Plot Keywords:

written by director | male objectification | bare breasts | female full frontal nudity | female pubic hair | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Not a word in the film was improvised by actors. Jean Eustache declared he knew the script by heart.

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Goofs

While reading the book of Gestapo at his friend's home, Alexandre is holding a cigarette in his right hand in the close-up. In the next shot he is only holding the book.

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Quotes

Alexandre: See all events, the murderers always seem abstract in the newspapers, but when they come into your life, things change completely. I think the streets are full of murderers. Not potential murderers, but of actual murderers. And especially in France. If you believe that abortion is a crime, I know dozens, hundreds of murderers and their accomplices. The streets are full of murderers and really feel good. If someone were to reproach something was very surprised. They feel no remorse, they feel ...

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Connections

Features Les idoles (1968)

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Soundtracks

Un Souvenir
Music by Fernand Capitani
Lyrics by Oreste Rossi
Performed by Damia

User Reviews

A beautiful film

This is a wonderful film. My personal second best film of all time. ("Les Mepris" by Jean -Luc Goddard being the first.) La Maman et La Putain is beautiful in its evocation of the complicated emotions that arise in loving and / or sexual relationships. Jean Eustache is a man I would have liked to have had a chat with. He was an intelligent observer of l'etat humaine.No daftie. This film was made over thirty years ago but to me is contemporary in the manner in which it discusses the eternal themes of human interaction. The monolgue by the character Veronika is sheer brilliance..in acting and writing...this particular scene is cinema or drama at its best. Never seen anything to compete with it in the cinema yet. Thoroughly recommend this film. Three and a half hours. So?

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

17 May 1973 (France)

Also Known As:

The Mother and the Whore

Filming Locations:

Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris 6, Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Elite Films, Ciné Qua Non, Les Films du Losange

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1