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The Mother and the Whore ()

La maman et la putain (original title)
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The chauvinist Alexandre balances relationships with several women in the post-1968 intellectual scene of Paris.
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Marie / Alexandre's live-in girlfriend
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Alexandre
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Veronika / Alexandre's live-in girlfriend
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Gilberte / Alexandre's ex-girlfriend
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L'ami d'Alexandre / Alexander's friend
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Le fan d'Offenbach
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L'amie à la main blessée
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L'amie de Marie / Mary's friend
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L'amie de Veronika / Veronika's friend
Marinka Matuszewski
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
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Un homme aux Deux Magots (uncredited)
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(uncredited)
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Un homme au Café de Flore (uncredited)
Douchka ...
(uncredited)
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Maurice (uncredited)
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Le mari de Gilberte / Gilbert's husband (uncredited)
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Une jeune fille qui lit le journal en terrasse (uncredited)
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Un homme au Café de Flore (uncredited)
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Un homme aux Deux Magots (uncredited)

Directed by

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Jean Eustache

Written by

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Jean Eustache ... (scenario and dialogue)

Produced by

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Marcel Berbert ... co-producer (uncredited)
Claude Berri ... co-producer (uncredited)
Alain Coiffier ... co-executive producer
Pierre Cottrell ... executive producer
Christian Fechner ... co-producer (uncredited)
Vincent Malle ... co-producer: V.M. Productions (uncredited)
Bob Rafelson ... producer (uncredited)
Jean-Pierre Rassam ... co-producer (uncredited)
Barbet Schroeder ... co-producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by

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Pierre Lhomme

Editing by

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Denise de Casabianca
Jean Eustache

Editorial Department

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Monique Prim ... assistant editor

Costume Design by

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Catherine Garnier ... (as Catherine)

Production Management

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Claude Bertrand ... production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Luc Béraud ... assistant director
Rémy Duchemin ... assistant director

Sound Department

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Nara Kollery ... sound mixer
Paul Lainé ... sound recordist
Jean-Pierre Ruh ... sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department

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Michel Cénet ... assistant camera
Pierre Lhomme ... camera operator
Bernard Prim ... still photographer
Jacques Renard ... assistant camera

Script and Continuity Department

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Irina Charitonoff ... script girl (as Irène Lhomme)

Thanks

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Catherine Garnier ... dedicatee

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

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 Marie affirms her indifference to Alexandre's affairs, she quickly changes her mind when she sees how close he becomes to Veronika. This leads to a growing estrangement between her and Alexandre. As the three sit together, Veronika attempts to reassure Marie about her looks and body. Tearfully, Veronika speaks about how she believes no women are truly whores, and how love is meaningless unless it produces a child.

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Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • The Mother and the Whore (India, English title)
  • The Mother and the Whore (World-wide, English title)
  • La Maman Et La Putain (Singapore, English title)
  • The Mother and the Whore (Thailand, English title)
  • The Mother and the Whore (Philippines, English title)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 217 min
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Did You Know?

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Trivia This film is based on the real-life relationship between director Jean Eustache and actress Francoise Lebrun (who plays Veronika). The character based on her is named Gilberte in the movie and is played by Isabelle Weingarten. See more »
Goofs Alexandre can be seen drinking a bottle of 1970 Gevrey-Chambertin, which would have been far too expensive for him to have purchased. This error is illuminated by his notable lack of money during the cafe scene, in which his date pays for his bill. See more »
Movie Connections Featured in European New Wave (2011). See more »
Soundtracks Ich weiß, es wird einmal ein Wunder gescheh'n See more »
Quotes Veronika: Why shouldn't women be able to say they want to fuck?
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