Les Biches

R

Released Sep 26, 1968

1h 44m

Drama

List

79%

Tomatometer

14 Reviews

67%

Audience Score

500+ Ratings

The door to a labyrinth of trysts and betrayals is opened when the wealthy and bisexual Frederique (Stéphane Audran) seduces young Parisian street artist Why (Jacqueline Sassard) and then takes her to a villa in St. Tropez to spend the winter. There, architect Paul Thomas (Jean-Louis Trintignant) becomes involved with both women. When Frederique realizes that Why is deeply in love with Paul Thomas, she becomes envious, and begins a series of erotic mind games involving all three lovers.

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Renata Adler

New York Times

What is extraordinary is the portrayal of a kind of deviate Dolce Vita, in which the waif comes to regard her former lovers, male and female, as parental figures, to whom she becomes quite filially attached.

May 9, 2005

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Claude Chabrol's Les Biches depends almost entirely on style, and as style it succeeds. He is not so much interested in his story as in how to tell it.

Rated: 3.5/4

Oct 23, 2004

Full Review

Justine Smith

Vague Visages

The symbolic resonance of the film’s title and the dreaminess of its structure is appealing. The performances are rich, however self-effacing they may be, and the chemistry amongst the leads is undeniable...

Nov 21, 2023

Full Review

Paul Schrader

Los Angeles Free Press

It passes over us with the full weight of its two hours. Les Biches is a sleeper, that is, it's soporific.

Jul 1, 2020

Full Review

Jesús Fernández Santos

El Pais (Spain)

The love of the girls loses its tension and both passions are left unbalanced, leading to the movie's deterioration. [Full Review in Spanish]

Jul 23, 2019

Full Review

Penelope Houston

The Spectator

The whole film has a sleek, well-fed look to it, as though Chabrol himself were purring with satisfaction at his own dexterity. As well, on the whole, he might.

Jul 11, 2019

Full Review

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Tic Toc M

My favorite Claude Chabrol film and one of my favorite French films, period. I saw this for the first time a few years ago, just randomly put it on with no expectations, and was totally blown away. I love when that happens! It's not for everyone, but I found it captivating from the very first scene, enigmatic, unpredictable, and also sexy, stylish...and extremely beautiful. Very 1968, one of my favorites of the year. The beauty and prettiness of the two leads is almost overwhelming.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/16/23

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Audience Member

What a waste of time! I think this is one of the weakest movies of claude chabrol.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

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Audience Member

Probably seen as racy for its time, Claude Chabrol's tale of a love triangle between two women and a man is actually anything but. Instead, it drifts along in that French way, hinting at dominance and submission, aggression and passivity -- although the title doesn't mean The Bitches but rather The Does. Indeed, we see the young woman (called "Why") drawing a doe on the pavement during the prologue to the film. Across the film, she changes her personality as she is adopted and then rejected by both the woman (Frederique, Stephane Audran) and the man (Jean-Louis Trintignant). The ending, perhaps inevitable, doesn't quite come off, because this personality transformation doesn't quite feel right. Still, the film is odd and even bewitching at times, since it doesn't telegraph where it is going.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A very simple story. Not much goes on; and the story is odd. The acting was fair. We have apparent lesbian lovers who develop a relationship with the same guy. One female character is a bit older. She was old enough to know herself and her sexual preferences. But, she gives up women to turn to a hetero relationship ... go figure. Some women seem to have a plastic, moldable, sexual orientation. Something is not rite there. This is an old story. Its interesting that men rarely, if ever, go from gay relationships to hetero ones. Ive never heard nor read of a documented case like that. There did not seem to be much dramatic tension. So, when the ending comes, it is a bit out of place.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The bisexual relatiuonship between two women living in a St. Tropez villa. This is one of the works that represents best director Claude Chabrol and his sexy, seductive, intense and trendy thriller with shades of alienation and which also represented the European class and vogue of the time.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

major mind games and power play here. well, ménage-a-trois (sort of ) don't usually have happy endings. quite beautifully shot and stylish, but disturbing. and not one of those i' d rewatch. couldn't shake off this vacous feeling after the credits rolled.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

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Claude Chabrol

Director

Stéphane Audran

Frédérique

Jacqueline Sassard

Why

Jean-Louis Trintignant

Paul Thomas

André Génovès

Producer

Pierre Jansen

Original Music

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Synopsis

The door to a labyrinth of trysts and betrayals is opened when the wealthy and bisexual Frederique (Stéphane Audran) seduces young Parisian street artist Why (Jacqueline Sassard) and then takes her to a villa in St. Tropez to spend the winter. There, architect Paul Thomas (Jean-Louis Trintignant) becomes involved with both women. When Frederique realizes that Why is deeply in love with Paul Thomas, she becomes envious, and begins a series of erotic mind games involving all three lovers.

Director: Claude Chabrol
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: French (Canada)
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 26, 1968, Original
Release Date (DVD): Mar 23, 2004
Runtime: 1h 44m