Film still of Belle de jour © RR
Restoration of Luis Buñuel’s masterpiece in Cannes Classics
Filmed mainly in Paris, during the time of Gaullism (1966), the legendary Belle de Jour was adapted from a novel by Joseph Kessel, with the screenplay written by Jean-Claude Carrière. Luis Buñuel's masterpiece tells the famous story of a bourgeois woman fascinated with the idea of prostituting herself, and features the star Catherine Deneuve, who had recently shone in Les Demoiselles de Rochefort. Some anecdotes from the great masochistic success of the Spanish surrealist.
Joseph Kessel
A famous reporter, Joseph Kessel is an emblematic figure of the Sixties. His novel, which takes place in 1923 when surrealism was just emerging, recounts the wanderings of a bourgeois woman who prostitutes herself in brothels. Luis Buñuel had the idea of adapting it to the current times, without costumes.
The Bourgeoisie
Luis Buñuel came from a traditional bourgeois family. Belle de Jour is a film about the bourgeoisie, filmed in a city where all the social classes are represented: Paris. The film director poses the question: What is the bourgeoisie in Paris today? Although the film is set in a closed space, the Paris setting also has its importance.
The daylily
La Belle de Jour (daylily) only flowers during the day. Séverine Sérizy, the young bourgeois woman embodied by Catherine Deneuve, only offers her charms between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. in the brothel of Madame Anaïs.
A presentation of STUDIOCANAL. Digitalization of the original negative and 4K restoration performed by Hiventy for STUDIOCANAL with the backing of the CNC, the Cinémathèque française, the Franco-American Cultural Fund and YVES SAINT LAURENT. Theater distribution: Carlotta.
