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 | old dark house | magic | following someone | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

It is a misconception that most of the film was improvised by the actors. Jacques Rivette provided structure but did not let his actors "go wild", instead he let them write. A single scene was improvised, where Celine, played by Julie Berto, brags to her associates about her rich American friend. The rest of the scenes where shot from scripted material, mostly thanks to participating actors. The film is collaboration by several authors, including actors Berto, Labourier, Ogier and Pisier. Rivette's involvement in the writing was to give structure to all the contributions, tightening things up.

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Quotes

Olivier: There is a homosexual pancreas in the closet.

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Connections

References Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)

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.

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

Gross USA:

$31,452

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$31,452

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