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Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, Michel Piccoli, Geneviève Page, Francisco Rabal ... see more see more... , Macha Méril , Pierre Clémenti , Francis Blanche , Francoise Fabian , Maria Latour , Claude Cerval , Michel Charrel , Dominique Dandrieux , Marc Eyraud , Bernard Fresson , Iska Khan , Francois Maistre , Georges Marchal , Muni , Bernard Musson , Brigitte Parmentier , Marcel Charvey

Belle de Jour dramatizes the collision between depravity and elegance, one of the favorite themes of director Luis Buñuel. Catherine Deneuve stars as a wealthy but bored newlywed, eager to taste life ... read more read more...to the fullest. She seemingly gets her wish early in the film when she is kidnapped, tied to a tree, and gang-raped. It turns out that this is only a daydream, but her subsequent visits to a neighboring brothel, where she offers her services, certainly seem to be real. This illusion/reality dichotomy extends to the final scenes, in which we are offered two possible endings. Thanks to a question of copyright and ownership, Belle de Jour disappeared from view shortly after its 1967 release, not even resurfacing on videotape. When it was reissued theatrically in 1994, many critics placed the perplexing but mesmerizing film on their lists of that year's best films. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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R, 1 hr. 45 min.

Directed by: Luis Buñuel

Release Date: April 10, 1968

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DVD Release Date: January 22, 2002

Stats: 270 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (270)

  • 366weirdmovies
    February 6, 2012
    366weirdmovies
    Catherine Deneuve stars as a young housewife with masochistic fantasies who feels compelled to work as a prostitute during days while her husband is at work. An ambiguous, dreamlike ending caps this subtle, psychologically complex drama.
  • fb1216165431
    September 10, 2011
    fb1216165431
    Her name is "Belle De Jour," a "daylight beauty." An exploratory on fantasies and on the bourgeoisie, Belle De Jour is a surreal, artful erotica from Luis Buñuel affirmed by a mesmerizing performance from Catherine Deneuve, garbed in Yves Saint Laurent. Bizarre.
  • gokhale1
    May 25, 2011
    gokhale1
    Luis Bunuel's "Belle De Jour" is an enigmatic film..much like the mystical beauty at the heart of it.

    Ravishingly beautiful, but a woman of a few words and seemingly aloof, Severine (Catherine Deneuve) is what you would call the typical "bored housewife", but not for any faul... read moret of her husband's mind you. Pierre (John Sorel) is a handsome, loving husband and together they lead a luxurious life, yet Severine is somehow averse to the idea of sleeping with her husband. Hence, although they share the same bedroom, they don't share the same bed, much to Pierre's dismay, but he chooses to hang in there hoping Severine would come around and overcome her discomfort.
    Their family friend Henri (Michel Piccoli) openly flirts with Severine and she keeps rejecting his advances and asks him to keep his compliments to himself!

    So aloof is Severine, that sometimes her mind wanders off (and the audience has to watch carefully to find out "when"), and she has vividly erotic fantasies of masochistic nature. Given her quiet nature, some of these fantasies manage to shock....for instance, when she imagines herself being tied and stripped and whipped and molested by two carriage drivers in the middle of the woods!

    A chance information about an acquaintance entices her to explore something new...she decides to spend her afternoons in a high class brothel working as a prostitute!


    "Belle De Jour" is a complex film. This doesn't refer to its plot..that part is fairly simple. What is complex, then, is Severine's troubled psychology. Only through various images and Severine's mood and expressions, Bunuel tries to convey to us what exactly brews in her head. It is with great dexterity that Bunuel directs the scenes in the brothel. Just like her, we are in for a surprise, every time a new client comes in. Her interactions with the several clients with bizarre fetishes of varying proportions are showcased in some of the film's best scenes.

    Bunuel cleverly intersperses the narrative with fleeting shots depicting her (possibly traumatic) past...which give subtle clues about her behavioral traits. Some aspects of her psyche are revealed in some surreal sequences (some of the best I've seen in film).


    For the most part, Bunuel directs like a true master and builds the film beautifully as it takes the form of a potent psycho-sexual drama which works to mesmerizing effect. But he does not rely on gratuitous sex and nudity to accomplish his goal. In fact there is not a single scene with explicit nudity in "Belle De Jour". Bunuel instead relies on shocking images including the situations in the brothel, Severine's outlandish fantasies, the overall tension between some characters (including a lesbian subtext) and of course, the fine performances. Suffice to say, "Belle De Jour" is one of the boldest films I've seen, especially for its time.

    However, the episode involving a particularly violent client of Severine, Marcel (Pierre Clémenti) in the final act seems a bit forced and has the trappings of a pedestrian thriller, which could've been done away with or handled differently. The film would be just as effective, or even more, without this particular plot development. Nonetheless, it doesn't render this otherwise flawless film any less watchable.

    At the center of this spellbinding experience, is the woman herself, Catherine Deneuve, the breathtaking beauty, who enchants us with her arresting performance as Severine. In spite of not being in agreement with her about some of the decisions she makes, one can't help but root for her. On some level, her character in "Belle De Jour" reminded me of her character in Roman Polanski's classic psychological thriller "Repulsion"..although both films as such are entirely different.


    It wouldn't be wrong to say that although there are plenty of films depicting a married woman and her repressed sexuality out there, only a handful few, like Luis Bunuel's "Belle De Jour" actually stand out, the reasons for which you'll find out when you are done watching it!
  • ebs90
    January 3, 2011
    ebs90

    Séverine and Pierre have just been married. He works most of the day at a hospital, and she stays home. She doesn't do the household chores; there's a maid to do that. Sometimes she plays tennis with her friend Renée. In all truth, she does nothing, and as the film begins her

    ... read moredescent into ennui is evident, and helpless. All the while, her relationship with Pierre is celibate, as she cannot bring herself to be intimate with him; for that reason her daydreams grow increasingly intense, erotic and even masochistic. She realizes she must find an outlet for her desires outside of the marital bed.

    One day, on a skiing vacation, Renée tells Severine that another 'respectable' housewife is known to be working at a brothel by day. Soon after, Pierre's friend Mr. Hussen, a man fascinated by Severine's virtue and by the idea of corrupting her, gives her the address of his "favorite whorehouse". And so Severine sets out to become Belle de Jour, for her own sake.


    The main story of Belle de Jour is not surrealistic itself; in fact it's quite "grounded" and connected to perfectly relatable feelings and motives from most characters. There are recurrent dreams but they can be told apart from 'reality' with few exceptions. However, this doesn't mean that Buñuel's social commentary isn't as biting as in the rest of his work: one of the things that he makes stand out in the film is the obvious double morale in Severine's bourgeois circle, in which it's perfectly okay for men to visit whorehouses, but almost criminal for a woman to freely decide to work in one.


    Michel Piccoli, although he's never been entirely of my liking, gives a great performance as the man whose mediocre 'libertinage' first shakes Severine's restless spirit. Jean Sorel is also very good as the innocent, unbearably understanding Pierre, and Macha Méril is lovely as always as Renée. However, Belle de Jour belongs to Deneuve and to Pierre Clémenti, who plays one of Severine's clients, a young criminal who falls madly in love? (or in lust?) with her. His performance is short but incredibly intense, tragic, and steals the show in all his scenes. He had that same menacing containment (a time-bomb quality) that Klaus Kinski became famous for. I think he's one of the main reasons to watch the film.


    Catherine Deneuve's performance is astonishing: she changes ever so slightly as she discovers herself; she struggles to be a 'good' prostitute and evolves gracefully into the girl with the highest demand. Her walk grows less stiff, her smile becomes easier, but she never loses that high-class elegance that caused such a stir in Madame Anais's establishment. She's nothing short of wonderful and I can't imagine anyone else in this part.


    Belle de Jour is as close as I've seen Buñuel get to a character study. In a subtle way he seems to empathize with Severine and make her self-inflicted emotional confinement come across with the same urgency as she experiences it, so regardless of our personal views on prostitution we have no doubt that she is doing what she deems appropriate to save herself (in this case Buñuel tries to 'explain' Severine with some flashbacks from her childhood)... It is an unusual subject, but an important one nevertheless: it isn't rare that our biggest limitations should come from within ourselves.
  • kenstachnik
    December 13, 2010
    kenstachnik
    hypnotic and sexy
  • YLOWBSTARDreturns
    August 13, 2010
    YLOWBSTARDreturns
    Luis Bunuel's best film.
  • SirPant
    September 23, 2009
    SirPant
    This is a great film, one of many Luis Buñuel classics, erotic with the usual symbolic undertones, with the ever wonderful Catherine Deneuve.
  • matertenebraum
    December 31, 2008
    matertenebraum
    Sèverine is perfect, she's Catherine Deneuve. She consciously inhabits her subconscious and the comings and goings are tinted with pristine, erotic decadence. Her perfection includes outrage without rage, panic without fear. Having or not having is the question she never asks. He... read morer husband Pierre, the exquisite Jean Sorel, is like one of her garments. There, stunning, understated, reliable, existing without existing. Marcel, in the other hand, the riveting Pierre Clementi, seems determined to provoke. Provoke what? Where is that need creeping from? I love to meander through "Belle de Jour" allowing Luis Bunuel to have his fun. He deserves it. His puzzle is just that, a puzzle and his genius, challenge us to find the non existent pieces. The pieces are ours coming from our own wishes, wantings and longings.
  • fb208103125
    January 21, 2012
    fb208103125
    "Belle de jour" has a reputation that preceded it upon my initial viewing of the film, this being that it is one of the most artfully done and surreal erotic works in all of film. While the film itself is sexy in it's own perverse way it is more a realistic, if somewhat disturbi... read moreng, expression of sexual liberation and fantasy in this case of many different individuals. Not only is Belle de jour (The working name for Catherine Deneuve's character Severine) finding her sexual fantasies finally fulfilled in the brothel house in which she makes her way too after collapsing to her boredom and compliant existence, but also the customers who come to the brothel. Each has their own fantasies and ideas for indulging in these fantasies with the girls and express it in varied and at times downright disturbing ways. The film isn't one filled with nudity and pornographic portrayal but with just enough to skin and just enough lingering of the camera to realize what is happening and then we move on to the next event. It's a masterpiece in this regard, as it captures the disturbing and masochistic tendencies of Severine as Belle de jour who is finally content in her life after becoming a prostitute. She still has a husband, however physically lacking to her needs, that she loves and doesn't want to hurt and also a moral belief that what she is doing is wrong and she will indeed be punished for it. The film will meet this fate in a more literal way than one dealing with spiritual punishment as the gangster who has fallen for her shows up at her home and threatens her secret and in a very real way, her entire existence. The film ends with dire consequences for both Severine's husband and the gangster who is infatuated with her however, Severine herself essentially gets away with her sexual debauchery. What a great and surreal work where Catherine Deneuve portrays the title character flawlessly and is reminiscent of her character in "Repulsion" for Roman Polanski even though both works are different works entirely. I would highly recommend "Belle de jour" for anyone interested in cinema within a serious scope of realizing and appreciating technique and story as well as disturbing and surrealist ideals. This is a masterpiece by one of the greatest of French Director's Luis Bunuel's works and is thought provoking cinema on a hard to cover and display topic that is indeed captured with passion.
  • thirdway821
    April 13, 2012
    thirdway821
    I think is one of the best films about a housewife who decides to work at a brothel and explore her hidden masochistic fantasies. There is a early scene in the film where Séverine Serizy(Catherine Deneuve) is imagining two men is seen ripping of her clothes followed by whips(sin... read morece she is into bondage) and then throwing mud in her face while taunting out degrading words.

    Séverine loves her husband but not sexually and decides to go out and work at a brothel. Scared at first since she has never done anything like this becomes aquainted by Madame Anaïs(Geneviève Page) who takes Séverine under her wings while teaching her the game of brothel life. Soon Séverine rises the ranks and becomes a favourite, particularly to gangster who offers her the thrills and excitement contained in her fantasies. Their business relationship turns a bit sour as the young gangster becomes deadly due to his jealousy and threatning demands.

    It's a soft film and can be humourous and yet erotic too(but in a quiet way) Bunuel seems to have a knack for this kind of material and a foot fetish for Severine's feet..."Sniff, sniff".

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Critic Reviews

Philip Wuntch
August 3, 2006
Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News

A delicacy, a passionate and compassionate study of erotica. Full Review

Roger Ebert
July 1, 2006
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

It is possibly the best-known erotic film of modern times, perhaps the best. Full Review

Andrew Sarris
April 19, 2006
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

Of all the supposedly challenging attractions playing locally in our supposedly more enlightened era, the most compellingly erotic and entertaining spectacle is still provided by Belle de Jour Full Review

Michael Atkinson
April 11, 2006
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice

This silly little masterpiece regards Deneuve as the goddess of light she really was -- a figment of our collective appetite for the unreal. Full Review

Renata Adler
May 20, 2003
Renata Adler, New York Times

Every detail has been so carefully thought out that seeing it again is like seeing it in another key. Full Review

Edward Guthmann
June 18, 2002
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

A wise, enormously enjoyable film about the power of fantasy -- a toast to the importance of dreams. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Much of the film works because of the capable acting of Deneuve. Full Review

Rita Kempley
January 1, 2000
Rita Kempley, Washington Post

The director may have been ahead of his time, but he displays no more compassion for his characters than a psycho killer shows for his victims. Full Review

Sean Axmaker
March 10, 2012
Sean Axmaker, Turner Classic Movies Online

Luis Bunuel's cheerfully brazen satire of sexual repression, social decorum, and erotic fantasies is in the running for Bunuel's kinkiest film, and that's saying a lot. Full Review

Eric Melin
February 11, 2012
Eric Melin, Scene-Stealers.com

Something that keeps us on our toes in Belle de Jour comes from Luis Buñuel's refusal to spell out what is real and what is not. Must this be so clear to us when the fantasy life of Séverine means so ... Full Review

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  • What do the following characters have in common? Greta Garbo in Anna Christie (1930) Marlene Dietrich in Shanghai Express (1932) Catherine Deneuve in Belle de Jour (1967) Jane Fonda in Klute (1971) Elizabeth Shue in Leaving Las Vegas (1995)   Answer »
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