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The Mother and the Whore

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94% Tomatometer 35 Reviews 91% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
In this sexually frank French drama, the aimless young Alexandre (Jean-Pierre Léaud) juggles his relationships with his girlfriend, Marie (Bernadette Lafont), and a casual lover named Veronika (Françoise Lebrun). The dialogue-heavy film focuses intently on the love triangle, with Marie increasingly jealous of Alexandre's fling with Veronika. As the trio continues their unsustainable affair, the emotional stakes get higher, leading to conflict and unhappiness.
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The Mother and the Whore

The Mother and the Whore

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Critics Consensus

The Mother and the Whore (La Maman et la putain) finds writer-director Jean Eustache working at peak form to deliver a gripping statement on late 1960s French society.

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Critics Reviews

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Pauline Kael The New Yorker 09/21/2023
The film is designed to be a religious experience, but the musty answer it offers to the perils of sexual freedom is actually a denial of sexual freedom. Go to Full Review
Jake Cole Slant Magazine 06/18/2023
4/4
Jean Eustache obliquely puts on trail the self-reflexive cool of the early New Wave films. Go to Full Review
Richard Brody The New Yorker 03/27/2017
Eustache, in his tender and passionate depiction of their romantic roundelay, delivers nothing less than a comprehensive vision of France's post-1968 revolution-and it's a ferociously conservative view. Go to Full Review
Carlos Bonfil La Jornada Feb 11
This iconic film of the post French New Wave era is a reflection of the libertarian spirit of the May 1968 student protests, and also a disillusioned acknowledgment of their failure. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Mattie Lucas trans|cendental cinema Jan 16
3.5/4
As a portrait of shifting sexual mores following the free love movement of the 1960s and a piece of personal catharsis, The Mother and the Whore remains a landmark of the era. Go to Full Review
Janos Gereben Honolulu Star-Bulletin 09/24/2024
It is a thoroughly European work, thoughtful, realistic, sophisticated, without any compromise for effect or condescension to the audience with eye-catching action or simplified explanations. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Jean L. L Jan 18 Europe, as it could have been for an era. We lived that just a few years, and we were not a lot. Anyway,we had a chance to realize the dream to live " Jules et Jim" again. Thanxs to Jean Eustache. See more 07/19/2021 Fortunate that there's a great version with good English subs on YouTube. It's almost four hours of the most French thing ever put to film and it's pretty glorious not just in spite of but because of its absurdity. Tres bien. See more William L 10/28/2020 It has the faces of the French New Wave, and some substance for them to chew on, but I don't think this late entry in the movement deserves to be considered among the best. Radical in its "immoral" exploration of a rapidly changing culture, particularly its treatment of sexuality, La Maman et la Putain is still three and a half hours of a pseudointellectual bum trying to get laid with two different women; it's in black and white, is exceptionally dialogue-heavy, and has an avowed dedication to tedium. Its treatment of romance, full of flowery language and unprompted speeches, discussion of societal ills, and a range of partners feels painfully, almost stereotypically French. For the first hour or so (before the characters begin to have greater weight than a helium balloon), the film feels like a pretentious mess. Gradually, a greater value in its take on this dynamic period in 20th century French culture comes to be revealed, particularly in its sincere treatment of the feminine perspective and the lampooning of Léaud's archetypical Alexandre and Lebrun's extraordinary final tirade (the latter of which singlehandedly elevates the film), but the unnecessarily unwieldy length and lack of surface-level engagement renders it unlikely to lend itself to frequent repeat viewings. More like a "I've checked that box, at least"-type film. (3.5/5) See more 04/06/2018 I will never forget the night I saw this film. I was that rare evening at the movies that was as transforming as a great night of theater. The film was presented with an intermission, which allowed me to eavesdrop on many conversations, mostly of outrage and disbelief that a movie could be like this. French films at the time were generally considered to be too talky; this was the talkiest I had ever seen. Aggressively, played out in real time and utterly compelling. I have gone back twice over the next 40 years, always frightened that the people I had insisted come with me would think me crazy for loving it, but it has always repaid me in the way that great art is new with every encounter. See more 09/24/2015 ???????????? ????:?????????? ????? ???? ?? ???????? ?? ???????????, ?? ????????????, ?? ?????????? ? ??? ??????????:????? ??????????, ???? ??????? ???????? ??????? ??????????.???-?? ??????????-?????????? ??? ??? ???????, ?? ???, ??? ??? ??????? ??????????????? ??? ???? ???-?? ???? ???????? ?????? ????? ????????:??? ????? ???? ? ????? ??????????? ???????????????, ?? ?? ????????.????? ??????????? ????????????? ????? ??? ?? ??????:????? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ?????????? 80-90 ???????:?? ?????? ????????????, ?? ?? ???? ????? ?????: See more 06/13/2015 A classic? Honestly, I can't stand the garrulous dialogues. See more Read all reviews
The Mother and the Whore

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Movie Info

Synopsis In this sexually frank French drama, the aimless young Alexandre (Jean-Pierre Léaud) juggles his relationships with his girlfriend, Marie (Bernadette Lafont), and a casual lover named Veronika (Françoise Lebrun). The dialogue-heavy film focuses intently on the love triangle, with Marie increasingly jealous of Alexandre's fling with Veronika. As the trio continues their unsustainable affair, the emotional stakes get higher, leading to conflict and unhappiness.
Director
Jean Eustache
Producer
Pierre Cottrell, Vincent Malle, Bob Rafelson
Screenwriter
Jean Eustache
Production Co
Elite Films
Genre
Drama
Original Language
French (France)
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 25, 1974, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA)
$38.8K
Runtime
3h 30m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
35mm
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