Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974)

A mysteriously linked pair of young women find their daily lives preempted by a strange boudoir melodrama that plays itself out in a hallucinatory parallel reality.

Director:

Jacques Rivette

Writers:

Juliet Berto (scenario) (as Berto), Dominique Labourier (scenario) (as Labourier)

Stars:

Juliet Berto, Dominique Labourier, Bulle Ogier

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Juliet Berto	...	Celine
Dominique Labourier	...	Julie
Bulle Ogier	...	Camille
Marie-France Pisier	...	Sophie
Barbet Schroeder	...	Olivier
Nathalie Asnar	...	Madlyn
Marie-Thérèse Saussure	...	Poupie
Philippe Clévenot	...	Guilou
Anne Zamire	...	Lil
Jean Douchet	...	M'sieur Dede
Adèle Taffetas	...	Alice
Monique Clément	...	Myrtille
Jérôme Richard	...	Julien
Michael Graham	...	Boris
Jean-Marie Sénia	...	Cyrille

Storyline

A mysteriously linked pair of young women find their daily lives preempted by a strange boudoir melodrama that plays itself out in a hallucinatory parallel reality.

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Plot Keywords:

female friend | alternate reality | magic | surrealism | bare breasts | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

18 September 1974 (France)

Also Known As:

Celine and Julie Go Boating

Filming Locations:

Montmartre, Paris 18, Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,624, 6 May 2012, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$31,452, 16 September 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Action Films, Les Films 7, Les Films Christian Fechner

Technical Specs

Runtime:

193 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ranked number 81 non-English-speaking film in the critics' poll conducted by the BBC in 2018.

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Quotes

Julie: It doesn't hurt to fall off the moon.

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Connections

Referenced in La última película (2013)

User Reviews

Two Beautiful Troublemakers Go Boating

Praised by the critics as "delicate , mysterious, and exiting", "an original and entertaining metaphor for film-watching and, perhaps, film history", and named "The most radical and delightful narrative film since Citizen Kane! The experience of a lifetime" by New York's critic David Thompson, "Celine and Julie Go Boating" (1974) is all of the above but first of all it is incredible fun to watch. This magic candy of a movie tells the story (or rather plays with the story) of two friends, Julie, a librarian and Celine, a magician. The film starts one sunny summer day in Paris when Julie follows running through the park and losing her stuff all over (a scarf, a shoe…) Celine exactly like another girl in the English country side one sunny summer day had followed a White Rabbit into a world of her imagination. Two girls became friends and soon with the help of a magic memory-inducing candy, they both will be the observers and participants in a bizarre soap-opera like drama that takes place in a mysterious house. It involves two stunningly beautiful women, a blonde and a brunette, who are in love with the same man. The man is a widower with a young daughter who had promised his wife that he would not remarry as long as their daughter is alive. When the blonde and the brunette become desperate enough to try to do something about the situation, it is up to Julie and Celine to come up with the plan and to rescue the young girl. Will they go boating? Well, you will have to stay with them for all 193 minutes to find out. Yes, Rivette takes his time but his movie never seems slow or boring. Playful yet complicated, mad and funny, "Celine and Julie" is a magic movie. It grabbed me from the opening scene - which is of course the opening chapter of "Alice in Wonderland" - and it never let go. Buniel would love this movie, I think. It also reminds me of "Mullholand Dr" and even "Persona" but in the absolutely different mode. Simply DELIGHTFUL.