The Mouth Agape (1974)

Monique is dying. Around her gather her unfaithful husband, her son, who is like his father, and her daughter-in-law. We observe them playing with life as she dies.

Director:

Maurice Pialat

Writer:

Maurice Pialat

Stars:

Nathalie Baye, Hubert Deschamps, Philippe Léotard

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nathalie Baye	...	Nathalie
Hubert Deschamps	...	Roger le père, 'Le Garçu'
Philippe Léotard	...	Philippe, le fils
Monique Mélinand	...	Monique, la mère
Henri Saulquin
Alain Grestau
Anna Gayane
Mireille Laurenchet
Corinne Derel	...	Corinne
Marie-Blanche Dehaux	...	Corinne
Christian Dehaux
Jean-Dominique de la Rochefoucauld	...	(as J.-D. de la Rochefoucauld)
Jeanne Dulac	...	Jeanne
Lucien Dulac
Anne-Claude Girard	...	Anne-Claude (as Annie Claude Girard)

Storyline

Monique is dying. Around her gather her unfaithful husband, her son, who is like his father, and her daughter-in-law. We observe them playing with life as she dies.

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Plot Keywords:

family relationships | female full rear nudity | female full frontal nudity | large breasts | female pubic hair | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

TV-14

Did You Know?

Trivia

For the role of the father, Maurice Pialat hesitated between Hubert Deschamps and Francis Blanche. Hubert Deschamps had to be absent quite often during the filming of 'The Mouth Agape' to shoot 'Les Gaspards' (1974) by Pierre Tchernia.

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Soundtracks

COSI FAN TUTTE
Deutsche Grammophon
B.P. 138 861
(Atto Primo: Scena 5. Recitativo "Non v'e più tempo, amici" - No 9 Quintetto e Coro "De scrivermi ogni giorno" / Scena 6: Recitativo "Dove son ?" - No 10 Terzettino "Soave sia il vento") song title uncredited
Conducted by Eugen Jochum (uncredited)
Fiordiligi: Irmgard Seefried (uncredited)
Drabella: Nan Merriman (uncredited)
Ferrando: Ernst Haefliger (uncredited)
Guglielmo: Hermann Prey (uncredited)
Don Alfonso: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (uncredited)
Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker (uncredited)

User Reviews

Sad film, with beautiful photography

This is a sad film with beautiful photography and some haunting music. It deals, graphically and unflinchingly, with the gradual death of a woman. Both the male characters (her husband and son) are portrayed as unsympathetic and incorrigible philanderers. The son (Philippe, played by Philippe Leotard) is married to a strikingly attractive woman (played by Nathalie Baye) yet he still cheats on her. Incidentally the cast list on IMDb seems to credit two different women as playing the part of Corinne, one of the women with whom Philippe goes to bed. The actress playing this part is in fact the strikingly attractive Marie-Blanche Dehaux, and she gives a good cameo performance. The film is an interesting reminder of the fashions in 1974, and is also a reminder of the casual racism and anti-immigrant prejudice which was apparently normal in rural France at that time.

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

8 May 1974 (France)

Also Known As:

A Vida Íntima de Um Casal

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lido Films, Les Films de la Boétie

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1