Beatrice (1987)

A warrior leaves home to fight in the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) between France and England. Before his departure, he gives his 10-year-old son, François, a sword to safeguard his ... See full summary »

Director:

Bertrand Tavernier

Writer:

Colo Tavernier (as Colo Tavernier O'Hagan)

Stars:

Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Julie Delpy, Nils Tavernier

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu	...	François / Béatrice's father (as Bernard Pierre Donnadieu)
Julie Delpy	...	Béatrice / François' daughter
Nils Tavernier	...	Arnaud / François' son
Monique Chaumette	...	La mère de François / François' mother
Robert Dhéry	...	Raoul
Michèle Gleizer	...	Hélène
Maxime Leroux	...	Richard / Knight
Jean-Claude Adelin	...	Lemartin / Landlord (as Jean Claude Adelin)
Jean-Louis Grinfeld	...	Maître Blanche / White Master (as Jean Louis Grinfeld)
Claude Duneton	...	Le Curé / The parish priest
Isabelle Nanty	...	La Nourrice / Nanny
Jean-Luc Rivals	...	Jehan / dwarf (as Jean Luc Rivals)
Roselyne Vuillaume	...	Marie (as Rosaline Villaumé)
Maïté Maillé	...	La Noiraude / The Blackwoman
Albane Guilhe	...	La Recluse / The recluse

Storyline

A warrior leaves home to fight in the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) between France and England. Before his departure, he gives his 10-year-old son, François, a sword to safeguard his mother and her virtue. One day, after the boy opens a bedroom door to find his mother willingly submitting to a man, he uses the sword to kill the man and becomes traumatized with guilt and enmity toward his mother. Years later, he must go off to war as a chevalier, or knight. While he is away, his daughter, the gentle and loving Béatrice, sees to the needs of her little brother and her feckless mother. Although the castle in which they live is a sepulcher of shadows and stone, she maintains her spirits as she looks forward to the day when her father's voice will once again echo in the corridors. After four years of war in which he was held captive for a time by the English, he returns to the castle, a hardened warrior who has renounced God. Inside his twisted mind, he still carries the memory of that ...

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Plot Keywords:

breast feeding an adult | female pubic hair | female full frontal nudity | older woman younger man relationship | forced to strip | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

11 November 1987 (France)

Also Known As:

Beatrice

Filming Locations:

Château de Puivert, Aude, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,781, 20 March 1988

Gross USA:

$211,821

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$211,821

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cléa Productions, AMLF, TF1 Films Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

La Noiraude: The earth is flooded with brutes., and they'll procreate. The plague is nothing in comparison.

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Soundtracks

Pie Jesu
Composed by Lili Boulanger
Conducted by Igor Markevitch
Courtesy of Everest Records

User Reviews

a long way from your local Renaissance Faire

Bertrand Tavernier's medieval tragedy is steeped in the superstitions and squalor of 14th century France, offering an all too vivid depiction of a world shackled by its misplaced faith in a divine order behind our Earthly chaos. The script (written by the director's ex-wife) presents a chilling portrait of a nobleman whose fury against women is only one expression of his rage against God. Thirty years after murdering his mother's lover, he brutally torments his own son and corrupts his adoring daughter by first raping her and then proclaiming his intention to take her as his wife. Tavernier captures the often oppressive atmosphere of the setting with plenty of nervous energy, carried along by a restless hand-held camera and the director's astonishing eye for (presumably) authentic period detail. All the primitive manners and arcane medieval symbolism make the film perhaps easier to respect than enjoy; it's a dark and violent film about a dark and violent age, when women, like cattle, were not thought to have immortal souls.