The Mother and the Whore (1973)
La maman et la putain (original title)Reference View | Change View
- 3h 37min
- Drama, Romance
- 17 May 1973 (France)
- Movie
- 3 wins & 1 nomination.
- See more »
Photos and Videos
Complete, Cast awaiting verification
| Bernadette Lafont | ... |
Marie / Alexandre's live-in girlfriend
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| Jean-Pierre Léaud | ... |
Alexandre
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| Françoise Lebrun | ... |
Veronika / Alexandre's live-in girlfriend
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| Isabelle Weingarten | ... |
Gilberte / Alexandre's ex-girlfriend
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| Jacques Renard | ... |
L'ami d'Alexandre / Alexander's friend
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| Jean-Noël Picq | ... |
Le fan d'Offenbach
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| Jessa Darrieux | ... |
L'amie à la main blessée
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| Berthe Granval | ... |
L'amie de Marie / Mary's friend
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| Geneviève Mnich | ... |
L'amie de Veronika / Veronika's friend
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Marinka Matuszewski |
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| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Jean-Claude Biette | ... |
Un homme aux Deux Magots (uncredited)
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| Pierre Cottrell | ... |
(uncredited)
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| Jean Douchet | ... |
Un homme au Café de Flore (uncredited)
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Douchka | ... |
(uncredited)
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| Bernard Eisenschitz | ... |
Maurice (uncredited)
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| Jean Eustache | ... |
Le mari de Gilberte / Gilbert's husband (uncredited)
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| Caroline Loeb | ... |
Une jeune fille qui lit le journal en terrasse (uncredited)
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| Noël Simsolo | ... |
Un homme au Café de Flore (uncredited)
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| André Téchiné | ... |
Un homme aux Deux Magots (uncredited)
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Directed by
| Jean Eustache | ||
Written by
| Jean Eustache | ... | (scenario and dialogue) |
Produced by
| Marcel Berbert | ... | co-producer (uncredited) |
| Claude Berri | ... | co-producer (uncredited) |
| Alain Coiffier | ... | co-executive producer |
| Pierre Cottrell | ... | executive producer |
| Christian Fechner | ... | co-producer (uncredited) |
| Vincent Malle | ... | co-producer: V.M. Productions (uncredited) |
| Bob Rafelson | ... | producer (uncredited) |
| Jean-Pierre Rassam | ... | co-producer (uncredited) |
| Barbet Schroeder | ... | co-producer (uncredited) |
Cinematography by
| Pierre Lhomme | ||
Editing by
| Denise de Casabianca | ||
| Jean Eustache | ||
Editorial Department
| Monique Prim | ... | assistant editor |
Costume Design by
| Catherine Garnier | ... | (as Catherine) |
Production Management
| Claude Bertrand | ... | production manager |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
| Luc Béraud | ... | assistant director |
| Rémy Duchemin | ... | assistant director |
Sound Department
| Nara Kollery | ... | sound mixer |
| Paul Lainé | ... | sound recordist |
| Jean-Pierre Ruh | ... | sound recordist |
Camera and Electrical Department
| Michel Cénet | ... | assistant camera |
| Pierre Lhomme | ... | camera operator |
| Bernard Prim | ... | still photographer |
| Jacques Renard | ... | assistant camera |
Script and Continuity Department
| Irina Charitonoff | ... | script girl (as Irène Lhomme) |
Thanks
| Catherine Garnier | ... | dedicatee |
Production Companies
- Elite Films (co-production)
- Ciné Qua Non (co-production)
- Les Films du Losange (co-production)
- Simar Films (co-production)
- V.M. Productions (co-production)
Distributors
- Planfilm (1973) (France) (theatrical)
- Gala Film Distributors (1974) (United Kingdom) (theatrical) (subtitled)
- Sandrew Film & Teater AB (1974) (Sweden) (theatrical)
- New Yorker Films (1974) (United States) (theatrical) (subtitled)
- Euro Space (1996) (Japan) (theatrical)
- Artificial Eye (1998) (United Kingdom) (VHS) (subtitled)
- New Yorker Films (2001) (United States) (VHS) (subtitled)
- Good Movies (2001) (Argentina) (theatrical) (subtitled)
- Kinokuniya (2003) (Japan) (DVD)
- Artificial Eye (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
- Les Films du Losange (2022) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
- ARTE (2000) (France) (tv)
- ARTE (2013) (France) (tv)
- Canal+ (1997) (France) (tv)
- Ciné+ (2022) (France) (tv)
- Culturebox (2023) (France) (tv)
- Filmin (2022) (Spain)
- Fox Video (1993) (United Kingdom) (VHS) (English subtitles)
- Leopardo Filmes (2022) (Portugal)
- The Criterion Channel (2024) (United States) (tv) (streaming)
Special Effects
Other Companies
- Les Films Michel François (titles)
- Studios de Billancourt (sound post-production)
Storyline
| Plot Summary |
In Paris, Alexandre, an unemployed young man with memories of the May 1968 events in France, attempts to persuade his former love, Gilberte, to marry him. Gilberte opts to instead marry another man. Alexandre is involved with a live-in girlfriend called Marie, and is interested in films such as The Working Class Goes to Heaven. One day, after an unsuccessful reconciliation with Gilberte at the highly popular Les Deux Magots café, he meets Veronika, a Polish French twenty-something nurse. In the midst of the sexual revolution, Veronika is highly promiscuous, and begins to make advances on Alexandre. During the summer of 1972, Alexandre and Marie are nude in bed in their apartment when Veronika visits. Marie lets her in and Veronika insults both of them, but acknowledges she is not pure herself. The three begin a ménage à trois and sleep in the same bed, with Veronika assuring Alexandre she and Marie both love him, and telling him to be more happy with his situation and life. Although Marie affirms her indifference to Alexandre's affairs, she quickly changes her mind when she sees how close he becomes to Veronika. This leads to a growing estrangement between her and Alexandre. As the three sit together, Veronika attempts to reassure Marie about her looks and body. Tearfully, Veronika speaks about how she believes no women are truly whores, and how love is meaningless unless it produces a child. |
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| Parents Guide | View content advisory » |
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Did You Know?
| Trivia | This film is based on the real-life relationship between director Jean Eustache and actress Francoise Lebrun (who plays Veronika). The character based on her is named Gilberte in the movie and is played by Isabelle Weingarten. See more » |
| Goofs | As Alexandre stands at the cafe 14 minutes into the movie, looking back, a pedestrian approaches after crossing the street, sees the camera, and self-consciously dodges to his right. See more » |
| Movie Connections | Featured in European New Wave (2011). See more » |
| Soundtracks | Ich weiß, es wird einmal ein Wunder gescheh'n See more » |
| Quotes |
Veronika:
Why shouldn't women be able to say they want to fuck? See more » |