The Mother and the Whore

Without question, the most popular and successful of Eustache's films, The Mother and the Whore was a revelation when first released. It captured the sensibilities of young French cafe culture, and distilled them through the persona of a young man played by Jean-Pierre Léaud (the hero of Truffaut's 400 Blows and numerous other Truffaut pictures). He lives with one woman (Lafont), a boutique owner who supports him financially, and loves another (Lebrun), an easygoing nurse. But what he loves more than anything is to hear himself talk. The three-and-a-half-hour-long movie revels in talk as this man ponders life, philosophy, the sexual revolution, the workers' revolution, love, death, and so on. He smokes, drinks, flirts, and talks –­ and the movie is exquisitely of its time.