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:

Bernadette Lafont, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Françoise Lebrun

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

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

Storyline

In Paris, the pedantic Alexandre lives with his mate Marie in her apartment, an open relationship. Alexandre, who is idle and chauvinist, spends his days reading, drinking and shagging women. After flirting with his former affair, Gilberte, who tells him that she will marry soon her boyfriend, Alexandre meets the Laenne Hospital nurse Veronika Osterwald and they schedule a date. Alexandre learns that Veronika is a promiscuous woman that loves to shag and introduces her to Marie. They have a threesome and Alexandre has a crush on Veronika.

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Plot Keywords:

written by director | male objectification | bare chested male | threesome | reading | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is based on the real-life relationship between director Jean Eustache and actress Francoise Lebrun (who plays Veronika).

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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: Women are such liars.

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Connections

Referenced in Les passagers (1999)

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Soundtracks

Un souvenir
Written by Oreste Rossi and Fernand Capitani
Performed by Damia

User Reviews

The price of free love.

Guts.

That's what The Mother and the Whore makes me think of. The guts it takes for Alexandre ( Jean-Pierre Leaud ), a layabout romantic with no future, to ask his former girlfriend to marry him. The guts it takes for her to refuse. The guts it takes for him to flirt with another girl less than a minute later. The guts that girl, Veronika ( Francoise Lebrun ), shows in accepting a date from the pushy stranger. The guts Alexandre displays by calling Veronika from his girlfriend's house. The guts Veronika musters, on their first date, to tell him in so many words that she's a slut. The guts it takes for him to sleep with her anyway. The guts it takes for her to pretend not to be in love. The guts it takes for Alexandre to inform his live-in girlfriend Marie ( Bernadette Lafont ), the woman who pays his rent, that he's seeing someone else. The guts it takes for Marie to ask to meet Veronika. The guts it takes for all of them to pretend to be friends, even to the point of sleeping together. The guts it takes for Marie not to die. The guts Veronika figuratively spills while pornographically recounting every detail of her sordid, empty life. The guts Veronika literally spills, puking into a bucket while gratefully accepting Alexandre's proposal of marriage. The guts of the director, Jean Eustache, in making the most agonizingly, rawly personal film of them all -- The Mother and the Whore.

Or maybe it isn't guts. Maybe it's gall. Substitute the second word for the first in the above paragraph and see what you get.