Jackson Booth-Millard I found this French film listed in the book 1001 Movies You Movies You Must See Before You Die, I remembered both because of the memorable title, and the fact that it was one of the longest films, at three and half hours long, I was hoping it would be worthwhile. Basically in Paris, unemployed young man Alexandre (Jean-Pierre Léaud), who has memories of the civil unrest during May 1968. He is trying to persuade his former love Gilberte (Isabelle Weingarten) to marry him, Gilberte instead chooses to marry another man, Alexandre meanwhile is involved with a live-in girlfriend called Marie (Bernadette Lafont). At the highly popular Les Deux Magots one day, Alexandre tries an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile with Gilberte, there he meets Polish French twenty-something nurse Veronika (Françoise Lebrun), she is highly promiscuous and makes advances towards him. During the summer of 1972, Alexandre and Marie are naked in bed together in their apartment, when Veronika visits, Marie lets her in, Veronika insults both of them, but acknowledges she is not pure herself. The three begin a ménage à trois (household of three), a domestic arrangement for the three of them to have a sexual relationship with each other and sleep in the same bed. Veronika assures Alexandre she and Marie both love him and tell him to be happier with his situation and life. Although Marie maintains her indifference to Alexandre's affairs, she quickly changes her mind when she sees how close he getting to Veronika, Marie and Alexandre grow estranged. The three of them sit together, Veronika tries to reassure Marie about her looks and body, she tearfully speaks about her belief that no women are truly whores, and that love is meaningless unless a child is produced. Also starring Jacques Renard as Alexandre's Friend. Léaud gives a good performance as the womanising lothario, it is a pretty simple story of a man who can manipulate two women into loving him, one a good nurturing woman, the other a woman who turns to prostitution, it is very long, but there are some fairly memorable scenes, and it does represent the sexual revolution of the time well, all together it is a worthwhile drama. Very good!

alicec123 Well, of course not, women are overly sensitive and needy on average, which is interestingly portrayed from mother to whore, though not pseudo-artistically, extravagantly, or blatantly dwelt on. Unlike many of you I have only seen La Maman et La Putain twice. As many good films, I noticed my opinion of it improved after a second viewing. All that I know is what I have seen and have yet to delve into further exploits until I myself have acquired the dvd. I have yet to figure out precisely why I enjoy this movie so much, but really, what do I care why? Though I'm sure I could and will form some wonderful explanation. All right, so you may disagree, perhaps it is a bit boring at times, I'm not an expert. The blonde reminds me of a lovely Grushenka.

frankgaipa Since my third or fourth viewing some time ago, I've abstained from La Maman et la putain while I wait for the DVD. In the meantime, I've read the french screenplay as well as Alain Philippon's monograph on Jean Eustache. The latter ends with a frustrating filmography, eleven films, fiction, doc, and in-between, impossible to see or, in the cases of Mes petites amoureuses and Le Père Noël..., re-see.A few questions that hit me this moment: Polish Véronika's French is plenty colloquial (un maximum d' "un maximum d'"). Even so, does she have an accent? I think I can tell she does. What does the absence of color add, especially at the single spot the fringe of the city is glimpsed? How does this fringe differ from the sleep and journey that separates worlds of The Tempest and The Winter's Tale? Ditto Alphaville. We may imagine the elapsed years since have done it, but does Eustache deliberately circumscribe the film's milieu? Is this an enchanted isle? Is Alexandre's a fairy tale? Alexandre's always choreographing himself, worrying about how or where to stand or walk, what to say when, announcing these decisions to who have to care less than he does what he does. Or is this his way of trying to choreograph others by doing it to himself? How different is he from Vertigo's Scottie? (I say, I think, very.) What's the difference, and is there one, between Eustache's Léaud, and Truffaut's, and Godard's? How different is the present Léaud? Isn't he still doing it, whatever it is, in recent roles, Irma Vep, Le Pornographe, whatever, approaching old age? Once I arrived early for one in a series of mostly Antoine Doinel (Léaud's character) Truffaut films. For a long while, every three or five minutes, down the aisle would come a twenty-something male in scarf, tweedy coat, Léaud hair, with a direction-seeking nose. I have no idea whether this was conscious or unconscious mimicry. I was that age, but have no idea what I myself looked like then. No scarf, at least. I do have a brother, though, who seems to have learned his carriage from Bresson.

billcody I was dragged to this movie about four years ago by a French actress friend of mine.For the first half hour I was sitting in my uncomfortable seat at the New Beverly theater in Hollywood, hating this film, hating myself and even hating the French actress. And then...I don't know what happened but I was pulled into the film in a way that I hadn't been in years. And this was despite the fact that one of the projectors broke and they had to do each changeover by hand. I was in the theater for close to four hours, but it was worth it. I believe that great movies pull you inside a world, make you a part of it and then drop you off to talk about with your friends over coffee or a drink. This film did that. It was one of the best filmgoing experiences I have ever had.