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Les Biches

Les Biches

Movie · 1968 · 4 people

Claude Chabrol directed Les Biches (The Does), a 1968 French-Italian drama, from a screenplay he wrote with Paul Gégauff. It runs about a hundred minutes. It is regarded as the first film of the French New Wave to treat love between women openly, and it is also counted among erotic and LGBT-themed films. In France it drew an audience of 627,164.

At its centre is Frédérique, a wealthy woman who takes in a young homeless woman she meets on the street. Their closeness turns into a strained love triangle when an architect named Paul enters their lives. Stéphane Audran plays Frédérique and Jacqueline Sassard the young woman, with Jean-Louis Trintignant also starring. The cast includes Nane Germon, Serge Bento, Henri Attal and Dominique Zardi as well. The triangle ends in a violent outcome.

Though the film credits no literary source, it is loosely based on Patricia Highsmith's 1955 novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, with the genders of the main characters switched. Gégauff had already adapted the novel as Purple Noon in 1960. André Génovès produced it and Pierre Jansen wrote the music. Audran won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 18th Berlin International Film Festival for the role.

DirectorClaude Chabrol

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Jean-Louis Trintignant Jean-Louis Trintignant Character Actor · died at 91 Henri Attal Henri Attal Actor · died at 67 Dominique Zardi Actor · died at 79 Claude Chabrol Claude Chabrol Director · died at 80

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Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Les Biches, which Chabrol wrote with Paul Gégauff, is a tight chamber drama of about a hundred minutes. What holds the balance between its three characters is less dialogue than looks, distances and silences; Chabrol chooses to distil tension slowly rather than ratchet it up. Stéphane Audran's Frédérique, the role that won her the Silver Bear in Berlin, anchors the film with a cool, mesmerising command. Loosely drawn from Highsmith's novel with the genders switched, the structure rebuilds themes of identity and possession from an intriguing angle. My reservation: in the middle stretch the narrative nearly marks time, and atmosphere begins to stand in for dramatic progress. A film that rewards patience, but openly demands it.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

Les Biches is regarded as the first French New Wave film to treat love between women openly, which alone makes it valuable for reading the social limits of 1968. At its heart is the bond between wealthy Frédérique and the homeless young woman she meets on the street, a bond that carries a class gap within it. One has everything, the other nothing, so their closeness is unequal from the start. The triangle that forms when Paul steps in says as much about power and dependence as about desire. With more than 627,000 admissions in France, it clearly found a wide audience despite the boldness of its subject.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

Let me say it up front: this is not one for family viewing. It has an erotic side, it tells an adult love triangle, and the story ends in violence. It is not something to sit down to with children, or even teenagers. For adults, especially those fond of older French cinema, it deserves an evening of its own. The pace is quite calm, too; it asks for patience.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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