Shot at Duras' own country house, she creates a cycle of a Laconic domestic ritual amidst the threat of impending doom. Two women (Jeanne Moreau and Lucia Bosé) share a home with their children. Barely able to contain their indifference to life, they are distracted by the expulsion of one child from school, escaped convicts lurking in the neighborhood, and a bumbling washing machine salesman (Gérard Depardieu) who keeps pestering them. The social violence is not depicted in the image, yet it is wholly present in the scenes. As Duras once noted, people tend to return home to commit suicide, a comment which resonates with the notion of home as a charged place in this film. Scholar Emma Wilson translated one of her notes, "In a house, horror of the family is also inscribed, the need for retreat, a whole set of suicidal feelings."
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RMB 20 / Adult
RMB 10 / UCCA Member
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Director: Marguerite Duras
Starring: Jeanne Moreau, Gérard Depardieu
Genre: Drama
Country: France
Year: 1972
Runtime: 83 min.
Ambassade de France en Chine
INSTITUT FRANCAIS