| Belle de Jour | |
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| Directed by | Luis Buñuel |
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| Based on | Belle de Jour byJoseph Kessel |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Sacha Vierny |
| Edited by | Louisette Hautecoeur |
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Running time | 101 minutes |
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| Box office | 2,162,160 admissions (France)[2] |
Belle de Jour (pronounced[bɛldəʒuʁ]) is a 1967surrealisterotic[3]psychological drama film directed byLuis Buñuel, from a screenplay he co-wrote withJean-Claude Carrière. Based on the 1928 novelof the same name byJoseph Kessel, the film starsCatherine Deneuve in the leading role as Séverine, a young housewife who spends her midweek afternoons as a high-class prostitute, while her husband is at work.[4] It co-starsJean Sorel, andMichel Piccoli, and featuresGeneviève Page,Francisco Rabal,Pierre Clémenti,Francis Blanche andGeorges Marchal in supporting roles.
The title of the film is a play on words on the French termbelle de nuit ("beauty of the night", i.e., a prostitute), as Séverine works during the day under the pseudonym "Belle de Jour". Her nickname can also be interpreted as a reference to the French name of themorning glory (Convolvulaceae), meaning "beauty of [the] day", a flower that blooms only during the day.
Belle de Jour is one of Buñuel's most successful and famous films. It was Deneuve's second acclaimed success afterThe Umbrellas of Cherbourg.[5] It won theGolden Lion and the Pasinetti Award for Best Film at theVenice Film Festival in 1967.[6] Deneuve was nominated forBAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
Séverine Serizy, a young and beautiful housewife, is unable to share physical intimacy with her husband, Dr. Pierre Serizy, despite their love for each other. Her sexual life is restricted to elaborate fantasies involvingdomination,sadomasochism, andbondage. Although frustrated by his wife's frigidity toward him, he respects her wishes.
While visiting a ski resort, they meet two friends, Henri Husson and Renée. Séverine does not like Husson's manner and the way he looks at her. Back in Paris, Séverine meets up with Renée and learns that a common friend, Henriette, now works at a brothel. At her home, Séverine receives roses from Husson and is unsettled by the gesture. At the tennis courts, she meets Husson and they discuss Henriette and houses of pleasure. Husson mentions a high-classbrothel to Séverine at 11 Cité Jean de Saumur. He also confesses his desire for her, but Séverine rejects his advances.
Haunted by childhood memories, including one involving a man who appears to touch her inappropriately, Séverine goes to the high-class brothel, which is run by Madame Anaïs, who names her "Belle de Jour." That afternoon Séverine services her first client. Reluctant at first, she responds to the "firm hand" of Madame Anaïs and has sex with the stranger. After staying away for a week, Séverine returns to the brothel and begins working from two to five o'clock each day, returning to her unsuspecting husband in the evenings. One day, Husson comes to visit her at home, but Séverine refuses to see him. Still, she fantasizes about having sex with him in her husband's presence. At the same time, Séverine's physical relationship with her husband is improving and she begins having sex with him.
Séverine becomes involved with a young criminal, Marcel, who offers her the kind of thrills and excitement of her fantasies. One day, Husson visits the brothel and discovers Séverine, who asks him not to tell her husband about her secret life. He agrees and rejects her services, stating he is no longer attracted to her. Séverine decides to leave the brothel, with Madame Anaïs' blessing as she believes it is due to Marcel becoming increasingly jealous and demanding. After one of his associates follows Séverine to her home, Marcel visits her and threatens to reveal her secret to her husband. Séverine pleads with him to leave, which he does, referring to her husband as "the obstacle".
Marcel waits downstairs for Pierre to return home and shoots him three times. Marcel then flees but is shot dead by police. Séverine's husband survives but is left in a coma. The police are unable to find a motive for the attempted murder. Sometime later Séverine is at home taking care of Pierre, who is now paralysed, blind and in a wheelchair. Husson visits Pierre to tell him the truth about his wife's secret life; she does not try to stop him. After Husson leaves, Séverine returns to see Pierre crying. In an ambiguous ending which is hinted to be another of her fantasies, Pierre then gets out of the wheelchair, pours himself a drink and discusses holiday plans with Séverine.
In 1966, Buñuel was contacted bythe Hakim brothers, Robert and Raymond, Egyptian-French producers who specialized in sexy films directed by star filmmakers,[7] who offered him the opportunity to direct a film version ofJoseph Kessel's novelBelle de Jour, a book about an affluent young woman who leads a double life as a prostitute, and that had caused a scandal upon its first publication in 1928.[8] Buñuel did not like Kessel's novel, considering it "a bit of a soap opera",[9] but he took on the challenge because: "I found it interesting to try to turn something I didn't like into something I did."[10] So he and Carrière set out enthusiastically to interview women in the brothels of Madrid to learn about their sexual fantasies.[11] Buñuel also was not happy about the choice of the 22-year-oldCatherine Deneuve for the title role, feeling that she had been foisted upon him by the Hakim brothers and Deneuve's lover at the time, directorFrançois Truffaut.[12] As a result, both actress and director found working together difficult, with Deneuve claiming, "I felt they showed more of me than they'd said they were going to. There were moments when I felt totally used. I was very unhappy,"[13] and Buñuel deriding her prudery on the set.[14]
Principal photography lasted from 10 October 1966 to 12 December 1966.[15]
Much of Deneuve's wardrobe was designed byYves St. Laurent andRoger Vivier.
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes,Belle de Jour holds an approval rating of 95% based on 60 reviews, with an average rating of 8.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "The radiantly filmedBelle de Jour entrances even as it resists easy interpretations."[17]Roger Ebert ofRogerEbert.com gave the film 4 stars out of 4 and included it into his Great Movies list.[18]
In 2010,Belle de Jour was ranked No. 56 inEmpire magazine's list of the 100 Best Films of World Cinema.[19]
| Year | Award | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Venice Film FestivalGolden Lion Award | Luis Buñuel | Won |
| 1967 | Venice Film Festival Pasinetti Award for Best Film | Luis Buñuel | Won |
| 1968 | Bodil Award for Best European Film | Luis Buñuel | Won |
| 1968 | French Syndicate of Cinema Critics Award for Best Film | Luis Buñuel | Won |
| 1969 | BAFTA Award Nomination for Best Actress | Catherine Deneuve | Nominated |
American directorMartin Scorsese promoted a 1995 limited re-release in America[20] and a 2002 release on DVD.
The 2006 filmBelle Toujours, by Portuguese directorManoel de Oliveira, is a sequel toBelle de Jour. Set 30 years after the first film, it follows an encounter between the characters of Séverine and Henri.[21]Michel Piccoli reprised his role as Henri, whileBulle Ogier replaced Catherine Deneuve as Séverine.
Brooke Magnanti, a former London escort who penned the 2005 bookThe Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl, used "Belle de Jour" as her alias and pen name. The books were later adapted into the 2007 TV seriesSecret Diary of a Call Girl starringBillie Piper as de Jour.[22]
