Uma Questão de Mulheres (1988)

A housewife in Nazi-occupied France struggles to make ends meet when her husband returns home after being wounded in the war.

Director:

Claude Chabrol

Writers:

Colo Tavernier (scenario & adaptation), Claude Chabrol (scenario & adaptation)

Stars:

Isabelle Huppert, François Cluzet, Marie Trintignant

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 13 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Isabelle Huppert	...	Marie
François Cluzet	...	Paul
Marie Trintignant	...	Lulu / Lucie
Nils Tavernier	...	Lucien
Lolita Chammah	...	Mouche #2
Aurore Gauvin	...	Mouche #1
Guillaume Foutrier	...	Pierrot #1
Nicolas Foutrier	...	Pierrot #2
Marie Bunel	...	Ginette
Dominique Blanc	...	Jasmine
Evelyne Didi	...	Fernande
Dani	...	Loulou
François Maistre	...	Le président Lamarre-Coudray
Vincent Gauthier	...	Me Fillon / Judge Fillon
Myriam David	...	Rachel

Storyline

Marie Latour, a woman of limited schooling, raises two children in a ratty flat during World War II in occupied France. In 1941, her husband Paul returns from German captivity, too weak to hold a job. Marie discovers she can make money performing abortions, using a soapy water douche. Many of her clients are knocked up by occupying Germans. She buys better food and clothes, looks for a new flat, and, through an acquaintance, who is a prostitute, rents out her bedrooms to hookers during the day. She's indifferent to Paul; his humiliations grow as does her income. She hopes to be a singer. Male Vichy umbrage and moral hypocrisy may upend her. What is she thinking?

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Plot Keywords:

abortion | prostitute | women's prison | made an example of | adultery | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

M/18

Did You Know?

Trivia

Based upon the true story of Marie-Louise Giraud.

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Quotes

Marie: You got angel eyes.

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Fat Man and Little Boy/I, Madman/Gross Anatomy/Story of Women/When the Whales Came (1989)

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Soundtracks

La Chanson du Maçon
Music by Henri Betti
Lyrics by Maurice Chevalier and Maurice Vandair
Performed by Maurice Chevalier

User Reviews

A Sad Affair

With cool detachment and a subtle touch of horror, Claude Chabrol dissects the story of a woman who was guillotined during the Nazi occupation of France. One of his strengths as a director is that he allows the movie goer to form his/her own thoughts and opinions about the issues at hand. He is not a proselytizer.

The film covers a lot of ground: illegal abortion, collaborating with the enemy, parenting, marital communication, greed and a slew of other human weaknesses. All of this against the backdrop of an occupied France, a country who witnessed the horrors of WWI and never fully recovered, and whose WWII soul (what is left of it) has been torn apart.

Isabelle Huppert does a fine job interpreting Marie LaTour, the woman in question. Marie is not the most sympathetic of characters. In fact, most of the major characters are not "sympathique".(My favorite character is the prostitute Lulu, acted by Marie Trintignant.)

All in all a well directed, well structured film about a tragic period in the lives of the French people. But you be the judge.

Trivia: "Vera Drake" and "L'Affaire de Femmes" both begin in apartments which have the the same god awful green walls.

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

8 February 1991 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Uma Questão de Mulheres

Filming Locations:

Coulommiers, Seine-et-Marne, France

Box Office

Gross USA:

$438,483

Company Credits

Production Co:

MK2 Productions, Films A2, Les Films du Camélia

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1