La maman et la putain (1973)

Director:

Jean Eustache

Writer:

Jean Eustache (scenario and dialogue)

Release Date:

6 July 1973 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Voyeur | Sidewalk Cafe | Female Frontal Nudity | Anesthetist | Cafe

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Bernadette Lafont	...	Marie
Jean-Pierre Léaud	...	Alexandre
Françoise Lebrun	...	Veronika
Isabelle Weingarten	...	Gilberte
Jacques Renard	...	Alexandre's Friend
Jean-Noël Picq	...	Offenbach's Fan

Also Known As:

The Mother and the Whore (USA)

Runtime:

Argentina:217 min | Japan:217 min | UK:215 min | USA:210 min | France:217 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Portugal:17 (cut version) | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Sweden:15 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris 6, Paris, France

Company:

Elite Films

Trivia:

Jean Eustache wrote the role of Alexandre specifically for Jean-Pierre Leaud.

Goofs:

Continuity: While reading the book of Gestapo at his friend's home, Alexandre is holding a cigarette in his right hand in the close-up. In the next shot he is only holding the book.

Movie Connections:

References Quatre nuits d'un rêveur (1971)

Soundtrack:

Concerto for Group and Orchestra

One of the most moving films of the "past" century

La Maman et la Putain has to be watched as a movie that is both related to the time it was released (post-68) and eternal in many respects. True, the actors don't "act" ... True, they talk a lot... But what they talk about is just what makes life worth living... or dying. The very long monologue spoken by Françoise Lebrun is perhaps the most accurate and moving text that was ever written about womanhood, manhood and love. Not easy to translate accurately, though. This movie is a statement about the difficulty of being a man and a woman (or two women in this case). And IMHO, Jean Pierre Léaud is one of the greatest French actors.