La Souriante Madame Beudet

While at times slow, it's mostly a very fascinating experimental portrait of relationship struggles in a male dominated society. The dramatic tension in the second half is wonderful and complemented by Dulac's visuals.

What more could you ask from the medium than Madame Beudet? With an impressionist connection to Debussy, as it flaunts a few times, all the lights in the hallway are on. We know exactly where the plot will move, precisely so that the movie can rely on the flow that gets it to the end. The lights don't just outline the characters; they shimmer. The two-shots don't contain the characters; they block out the rest of the world. What a throbbing, aching story, emboldened by the high art of pantomime.

The dream sequences here add an intriguing layer to the story of a woman who feels trapped in her marriage. Dulac also works to isolate her in the frame, often using darkened or completely black backdrops to pull her away from her physical context. The tragic story highlights the filmmakers concerns about women and patriarchy in an effective manner, something that gains in power as the tension rises.

An early feminist film with experimental elements.

#24#, rw2, ratings, "Project 100-80-60-40-20"-1923#3

the expectation created in us both by hollywood but also by stories that preceded it like anna karenina and madame bovary is that the wife in distress who is unhappy with her marriage is bound to lose her life. she gets out of control, is hysterical, and often takes her own life. dulac chucks this expectation away and gives us an incredibly modern ending: the husband (jokingly) attempts murder, is failed, and life goes on, the couple sentenced to a mediocre and sad existence. incredible work.

Since most of the early B&W shorts I've seen are mostly comedies, I wasn't expecting a searing indictment of unhappy marriages with abusive husbands. While the story is a little short for its running time and the scene transitions don't always work, the lighting is quite good and Mme. Beudet's stony face (she rarely smiles) always lets you know what she's thinking. This must have been shocking to the audiences of the time.

very nice impressionistic vibes with debussy cut to the pictorialistic monet style reeds and nabis decor flower pot, but the dream sequence is far from proustian

Second half is pretty good, the best parts are the madame's tormenting dream sequences. Her husband is goddamn terrifying. Does drag on though, and it's not very special. Liked the end.

Considering it's only about half an hour long, the film manages to drag on and on. The terrible quality doesn't much help either.

An absolute knockout. Dulac squares the difference between her earlier dramas and her later surrealism to create a tight, anxiety-ridden character drama where you imagine both Lynch, Hitchcock and Cassavetes taking notes, so full of little details and inventive camera work. Tense, heartbreaking and bleakly hilarious.