Henry & June (1990)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Philip Kaufman

Writers (WGA):

Anaïs Nin (book)
Philip Kaufman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

5 October 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

A True Adventure More Erotic Than Any Fantasy

Plot:

In 1931 Paris, Anais Nin meets Henry Miller (Fred Ward) and his wife June. Intrigued by them both...

Plot Keywords:

Cult | French Restaurant | Paris | Lesbian Kiss | Lesbianism

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Fred Ward	...	Henry Miller
Uma Thurman	...	June Miller
Maria de Medeiros	...	Anaïs Nin
Richard E. Grant	...	Hugo Guiler
Kevin Spacey	...	Richard Osborn
Jean-Philippe Écoffey	...	Eduardo Sanchez (as Jean-Philippe Ecoffey)
Bruce Myers	...	Jack
Juan Luis Buñuel	...	Publisher / Editor (as Jean-Luis Bunuel)
Féodor Atkine	...	Paco Miralles (Spanish Dance Instructor)
Sylvie Huguel	...	Emilia
Artus de Penguern	...	Brassaï
Pierre Étaix	...	Henry's Friend No. 1
Pierre Edernac	...	Henry's Friend No. 2 - Magician
Gaëtan Bloom	...	Henry's Friend No. 3 - Magician
Alexandre De Gall	...	Henry's Friend No. 4 - Clown

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:R21 (cut) | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Canada:R | Chile:14 (DVD rating) | Chile:18 (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/18 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:NC-17

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Walrus & Associates

Trivia:

Fred Ward wore blue contact lenses over his brown eyes to better resemble Henry Miller.

Quotes:

Henry Miller: All right, I'll tell you. June appeared like an Angel, and I offered her a fool's faith. She was a taxi dancer. I paid my dime, she put her head on my shoulder, but then the lies began. She told me her mother was a gypsy and her father was a count. Later, I saw a film and realized she swiped her whole childhood right out of the film.
AnaÔs Nin: And so?
Henry Miller: So I married her.

Movie Connections:

Featured in This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006)

Soundtrack:

Barnacle Bill The Sailor

I've done the vilest things - the foulest things - but I've done them... superbly.

Anaïs Nin is hailed by many critics as one of the finest examples of writers of female erotica. She was one of the first women to really explore the realm of erotic writing, and certainly the first prominent woman in modern Europe to write erotica. Henry and June is based upon her life in Paris around 1931, and her relationship with Henry and June Miller. This relationship strongly influenced her as both a woman and an author.

Phillip Kaufman (Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Quills, Raiders of the Lost Ark) does a superb job of directing his own screenplay and presents a story that flows smoothly as it presents a picture of bohemian life in Paris that consumed the banker's wife.

I am not sure they could have found someone better than Fred Ward (Remo Williams) to play Henry Miller (Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, Black Spring). He just seemed to fit right in with the character.

Uma Thurman (Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction) was fantastic as his wife, June, the bi-sexual who fell in love with Nin. After realizing that she lost Nin to her husband, she left him. What was interesting was that Nin immediately left Miller to return to her husband. You really need a scorecard to figure out who is married to and sleeping with whom.

Nin was played by Portuguese actress Maria de Medeiros (Fabienne in Pulp Fiction). She was sensational as the woman who fell into the bohemian life and lifestyle.

There were brief appearances by Kevin Spacey as a lawyer who wanted to be a writer, and the person who introduced Nin to Miller.

The slice of life in Bohemian Paris in 1931 has to be seen to be believed. It was an exciting time and certainly an exciting place. To see a piece f some of the greatest writers in American erotica, even fictionalized, was also great.

Henry and June holds the distinction of being the first film to receive an NC-17 rating.