Céline et Julie Vont en Bateau (Celine and Julie Go Boating) poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Juliet Berto, Dominique Labourier, Bulle Ogier, Marie-France Pisier, Barbet Schroeder ... see more see more... , Philippe Clevenot (II) , Michael Graham Cox , Jérôme Richard , Jean Douchet , Jean-Marie Senia

A story about story-telling, Jacques Rivette's self-referential classic centers on the fanciful world of two women literally lost in the stories they tell each other. Celine (Juliet Berto) and Julie (... read more read more...Dominique Labourier) go from sharing a story about a haunted house to being part of a story about a haunted house -- or is it a real haunted house that has been called up by the story? The film blurs the line between the telling of the story and the story itself, as Celine and Julie, like Alice in Wonderland, become part of a surreal, drug-induced parallel universe; also like Alice, they ultimately become the heroines of the story that first imprisoned them. Rivette celebrates the magic of stories, and more broadly of imagination, adventure, and friendship, as essential elements of life; the themes are familiar from his other movies, but the tone is more playful. This enigmatic and fanciful film is not for all tastes, but, for its many devotees, it is one of the most distinctive and imaginative movies ever made. ~ Leo Charney, Rovi

Flixster Users

91% liked it

1,977 ratings

Critics

95% liked it

20 critics

R, 3 hr. 10 min.

Directed by: Jacques Rivette

Release Date: September 1, 1974

Invite friends to see

Stats: 146 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

Céline, Jacques & Julie
Upload a Photo | View All Céline et Julie Vont en Bateau (Celine and Julie Go Boating) Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (146)

  • rubystevens
    February 9, 2009
    rubystevens
    a mindfuck of lynchian proportions. and absolutely charming. thx s..
  • harrycaul
    February 7, 2009
    harrycaul
    Céline, a flamboyant magicienne, and Julie, a librarian with an interest in the occult, stumble into a perpetually recurring murder-mystery in an old house, starring two women, a man and a little girl. Taking it in turns to collect the pieces of the puzzle, which may or ma... read morey not be a figment of their imaginations, the friends resolve to prevent the murder from taking place.

    It is entirely appropriate that Juliet Berto's Céline is a magician, because the movie itself is an amazing conjuring trick; when it's over, you'll probably find yourself wondering how you've been kept spellbound for three hours by little more than Rivette's inventiveness and the infectious enthusiasm of Berto and Dominique Labourier's performances. The film works equally well as a playful experiment in cinematic form, a tribute to childlike imagination and a feminist buddy movie. The only thing at odds with the prevailing spirit of feminism, and perhaps the best evidence that the film was, after all, directed by a man, is a pointless bit of nudity, but I'm happy to write that off as dated Seventies permissiveness rather than titillation. In any case, who the hell am I to complain, right?! The greatest tribute I can pay this three-hour-plus film is to say that, when Céline and Juile's game finally comes full circle and begins again, I always want to carry on watching. Endlessly fascinating, truly magical and a lot of fun!
  • fb1142797643
    March 30, 2011
    fb1142797643
    Sort of a cross between "Alice in Wonderland" and "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," "Céline and Julie Go Boating" is a peculiar film that defies convention in multiple ways. Even its length (192 minutes) is a challenge. "Surreal" is an overused term, but it certainl... read morey applies in this case.

    The story opens with Julie (Dominique Labourier) sitting in a park. Tellingly, she is reading a book about magic. A confused-looking woman (Juliet Berto, best known for various Jean-Luc Godard films) stumbles past and drops her sunglasses. As helpful Julie chases after her with the retrieved glasses (the Alice/White Rabbit parallel is intentional), the woman lurches through the streets and drops further items. Soon, we realize that she's knowingly teasing.

    Julie and the woman we eventually know as Céline engage in these hide-and-seek games for several scenes, but finally engage each other in conversation. Céline moves into her new friend's apartment, and the giggling begins.

    This odd bonding ritual is drawn out for over an hour of screen time. In fact, 11 minutes pass before anyone even speaks. Some background information emerges -- Julie is a librarian, while Céline is a cabaret magician -- but the central plot takes quite awhile to emerge. Accordingly, this is a film where reading a few reviews beforehand can be a major help. Because otherwise, you may need to watch it again. And remember, it's over three hours.

    Bearing this in mind, take some advice: Be patient through the first third, because the heart of the story is not so much about the two women's relationship. Or their giggling. The real intrigue begins when they start sharing visions of a past saga within a large, nearby manor. Widower Olivier (director Barbet Schroeder, demonstrating why he didn't make his fortune as an actor) has a young, sickly daughter named Madlyn. His sister-in-law also lives in the home, and aims to win the vacant role of wife and mother. Another resident female, employed to watch Madlyn, shares the same competitive goal. However, there's a problem: The departed wife made Olivier promise not to remarry, for fear of disorienting their child.

    A live-in nurse treats Madlyn and, more importantly, serves as the portal through which Céline and Julie observe the family tensions. She is alternately portrayed by both Céline and Julie during these scenes. This is not the only blurring of the two's identities -- they intentionally impersonate each other for sport at other times.

    A crime occurs in Olivier's home, and the two eavesdroppers seek to find who did it and, if possible, to intervene before it happens. The story leaves realism further and further behind as it unfolds. Additional spoilers should be avoided, but do pay close attention to appearances of hard candy.

    This can be a wearying film -- did I mention the giggling? -- but it turns more engrossing as time passes. In fact, the final half-hour is so delightful that previous frustrations are mostly forgotten. The ending is perfection.

    Jacques Rivette's direction is an abrupt clash of styles, in accordance with the two parallel tales. The contemporary scenes have the loose, documentary-like rawness of the French New Wave, while the manor sequences are almost gothic in comparison. The performances of Berto and Labourier are equally jarring when matched with the actors in the fantasy. Meanwhile, there is essentially no musical score. It's a tricky mix -- part old-fashioned melodrama and part Luis Buñuel-like surrealism. Perhaps it's no coincidence that Buñuel made "That Obscure Object of Desire" just three years later, casting two actresses to portray a single domestic worker. Sound familiar?
  • gator681
    November 14, 2006
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]"Celine and Julie Go Boating" is a surreal movie directed by Jacques Rivette about two friends, Celine(Juliet Berto), a stage magician, and Julie(Dominique Labourier), a librarian, living in Paris. They hang out together all the time, sometimes at each other... read more's workplace, and also impersonate each other on occasion. The movie has an infectious sense of playful fun until it gets bogged down in a prolonged episode at a haunted house. Overall, the movie is very entertaining for a while but it cannot sustain it for all of the three hour plus running time. And it is not quite on the level of the surreal movies Luis Bunuel was making in the 70's.[/font]
  • littlecharmer1959
    March 18, 2009
    littlecharmer1959
    Watching 'Celine and Julie Go Boating' may well have been the most bizarre, wonderful and memorable three hours of my life.
  • HuskersNC949597
    April 19, 2011
    HuskersNC949597
    I was looking forward to a rollicking maritime adventure and instead I get women ingesting "candies" and hallucinating a soap opera. I had to wait until the last 3 minutes for them to finally get in the damn boat!

View All Céline et Julie Vont en Bateau (Celine and Julie Go Boating) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff
November 12, 2007
Variety Staff, Variety

An over indulged, overlong film that has some gem-like moments but also repetitiveness and preciosity. Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
November 12, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

Jacques Rivette's 193-minute comic feminist extravaganza is as scary and unsettling in its narrative high jinks as it is exhilarating in its uninhibited slapstick. Full Review

Nora Sayre
May 9, 2005
Nora Sayre, New York Times

When this movie sags, it becomes a series of skits, but the best parts do achieve the spontaneity and impudent freshness that this director relishes. Full Review

Joseph Jon Lanthier
April 30, 2012
Joseph Jon Lanthier, Slant Magazine

If cinema can indeed "think," Jacques Rivette's Céline and Julie is an epistemological treatise. Full Review

David Fear
June 11, 2008
David Fear, Time Out New York

Jacques Rivette's free-form dissertation on the interzone between performance and spectatorship is the ideal filmgoing experience, even as the 'story' transcends all long-standing rules of narrative e... Full Review

Andrew Pulver
November 12, 2007
Andrew Pulver, Guardian [UK]

Dialogue is minimal and events, such as they are, are propelled by a whimsicality characteristic of its era. Full Review

Donica O'Bradovich
November 12, 2007
Donica O'Bradovich, TV Guide's Movie Guide

A witty salute to theater, female bonding, hallucinogenic candy, and those old standbys, fantasy and reality. Full Review

Keith Uhlich
November 6, 2006
Keith Uhlich, Slant Magazine

Jacques Rivette's masterpiece is a deceptively light-hearted confection that begins and ends (or, rather, begins again) at the entrance to a Parisian wonderland. Full Review

Dave Calhoun
June 24, 2006
Dave Calhoun, Time Out

A pleasant folly. Full Review

Peter Bradshaw
May 6, 2006
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]

A defiantly unhurried and opaque film in our consumer-friendly commercial cinema. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Ghosts of Mississippi
    Ghosts of Mississippi (33%)
  • Mulholland Drive
    Mulholland Drive (50%)
  • Desperately Seeking Susan
    Desperately Seeking Susan (100%)

More Movies like Céline et Julie Vont en Bateau (Celine and Julie Go Boating)

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

Céline et Julie V... : Watch Free on TV

Céline et Julie Vont en Bateau (Celine and Julie Go Boating) Trivia

Movie Quizzes

No quizzes for Céline et Julie Vont en Bateau (Celine and Julie Go Boating). Want to create one?

Video Clips

No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Meet Other Fans

Add Céline et Julie Vont en Bateau (Celine and Julie Go Boating) to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

littlecharmer1959 Skin by littlecharmer1959
8 Profiles
Add to Profile

More Skins