LA MAMAN ET LA PUTAIN
Type: journey into masculine and feminine
Director: Jean Eustache. With Jean-Pierre Léaud, Bernadette Lafont, Françoise Lebrun, Isabelle Weingarten, Jacques Renard, Jean-Noël Picq
Jean-Pierre Léaud, Bernadette Lafont and Françoise Lebrun in the film “La Maman et la Putain”
Invisible for years, one of the most important films of the Nouvelle Vague is finally back available in an impeccable 4K restoration. Don’t be fooled by the title which summarizes – with a language that had not yet come to terms with the politically correct – the two poles of the feminine in the traditional vision of the male.
Actually in the film there is neither one nor the other but Marie (Bernadette Lafont) and Veronika (Françoise Lebrun), the two women dribbling the heart (and body) of a confused Alexandre (Jean-Pierre Léaud) and who will confront his struggle to be more authentic and above all more responsible.
Jean-Pierre Léaud and Bernadette Lafont in the film “La Maman et la Putain”
At the beginning the film starts as a brilliant comedy, full of misunderstandings and amusing paradoxical dialogues to then become a chamber drama where the three characters rather than baring their bodies end up baring their respective souls.
Likewise don’t let the duration scare you (209 minutes), necessary to delve beyond the appearance of things (just think of the final scene of Marie who closes off in her solitude) nor from certain easy statements (for example on abortion or on Sarte’s philosophy): it is cinema in its purest state, in which it is nice to get lost.
For those who want to (re)discover a masterpiece.
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