The Smiling Madame Beudet (1923) User Reviews

Interesting and style-full feminist movie.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 8/10 · 2 March 2007]

"La Souriante Madame Beudet" is mostly interesting and a classic because of its unusual and daring theme, for its time. Back in the '20's women rights weren't exactly regarded as the most important or relevant things, to put it mildly. Women were often oppressed and restrained in their marriage, to mainly only household chores, as is shown in this movie about a woman who is trapped in a loveless marriage.

Of course there is not much to the story, it's just purely about its theme. The movie follows the life of the husband and wife over a couple of days, in which she gets humiliated and has to do humiliating chores for her husband. She starts thinking about taking revenge but the intelligent woman is soon stricken with remorse. The movie shows the position of the woman in everyday life and it of course does so by exaggerating things to make its point. Normally we only know French movies for its perfect and romantic love stories. This is a whole different piece of cake.

The movie is made in a style-full fashion, which makes the movie really interesting to watch, even for todays standards. The movie has some interesting camera positions, such as a couple of over-shoulder shots. But also the storytelling is interesting and style-full, such as in the sequences were the husband is faking emotions and in the background the mirror opens with a couple of hand-puppets playing the exact same scene, with the words 'all theater' appearing. It makes the imaginative Germaine Dulac directing also one of the highlights of the movie.

Alexandre Arquillière is brilliantly repulsive as the husband and Germaine Dermoz is great as the obviously more intelligent wife. There are a couple of more characters but the movie does a good job at concentrating mostly purely on the two main character were after all the movie and its plot is all about of course.

In todays perspective, the movie is both interesting and beautiful to watch.

8/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Madame Bovary doesn't fancy Faust

[viennasold · 7/10 · 4 July 2010]

'La souriante Madame Beudet' narrates, with great economy and visual inventiveness, two days in the life of an early-XXth century Madame Bovary. The acting here can be related to expressionism, notably for Monsieur Beudet who recalls the freaky Doctor Caligari in more ways than one.

The sharpness of the narration, deserved by the minimal plot, allows the director to focus on the important issues - namely routine, small-town bourgeois life and dreams.

The use of objects is here both highly symbolic and narrative, as the way characters interact with them tend to define the characters and emphasize on their differences - eg.: the flower pot's position on the marble table embodies on its own the wish for either order and its counterpart the routine, or the will to escape and disrupt the way things are.

Irony is here too - and used with appropriateness to serve the plot in a somewhat cruel way. The title itself, you would have understood, is fairly ironic.

All in all, 'La souriante Madame Beudet' is an impressive, highly enjoyable poem in motion - the opening scene displaying sun shades on the sea and then the Claude Debussy score is pure magic, both cinematic impressionism and visual example of what V. Woolf called 'stream of consciousness'.

7/10

A great french expressionist silent feature and unlikely first truly feminist film.

[SAMTHEBESTEST · 7/10 · 24 January 2021]

The Smiling Madame Beudet / La Souriante Madame Beudet (1923) : Brief Review -

A great french expressionist silent feature and unlikely first truly feminist film. Even with unlikely probability of being first feminist drama The Smiling Madame Beudet can be termed as one at least for the French cinema. I remember watching D. W. Griffith's feminist films (in dramatic mode) made before this so i won't count it as one. The film is about a woman trapped in loveless marriage and it also explores several devastating moments from the woman's life. However, the captured version is soulless at the beginning, it gathers a solid momentum and connectivity in last 10 minutes. Those dream sequences, delusional obsession and never smiling face of the woman (even in the last frame of her) should be considered as a part of great filmmaking. And it is directed by pioneering 'avant-garde cinema' director Germaine Dulac, who, in my opinion wasn't able to put that famous non-narrative structure in this film. It was far away from intricate storytelling but that ultimately gave it an advantage to carry that it is rather more convincing and intense, exactly what the context required from it. The husband's character was well written if you see his own joke becomes the biggest turnaround of his life and at the same time the wife remains still even after wrong surmise and big tragedy. In a way i would have loved to see that much anticipated "Smile" on her face as mentioned in the title but there was not a single frame for it. Instead, it went in completely opposite direction to catch the realistic expressionism. So, yes it becomes an innovative product overall which is deservingly known by art cinema lovers and i would like to carry forward the recommendation.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest

The Smiling Madame Beudet

[jboothmillard · 6/10 · 26 February 2017]

Literally all I knew about this French short silent film is that it appeared in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I would never have known about it otherwise, I hoped it would be worthwhile. Basically Madame Beudet (Germaine Dermoz) is an intelligent woman, she lives a quiet mundane life, the most exciting thing that ever happens is receiving the mail, and she is trapped in a loveless marriage. Her husband Monsieur Beudet (Alexandre Arquillière) frequently plays stupid practical jokes on her, one of the most frequent being to have an empty revolver and threatening to shoot himself. One day, while her husband is away, following an argument for refusing to join him to a night at the opera, Madame Beudet secretly places bullets into the gun, hoping that when he plays the same practical joke again he will accidentally kill himself. However Madame Beudet is filled with guilt and has a sleepless night, she tries to retrieve the gun and remove the bullets, but the next morning her husband already has the gun in his hand. Monsieur Beudet thinks the gun chambers are empty as usual, and this time he aims the gun at her and fires, the bullet misses her, he thinks she was trying to commit suicide, he embraces Madame Beudet, saying "How could I live without you?". Also starring Jean d'Yd as Monsieur Labas, Madeleine Guitty as Madame Labas and Raoul Paoli as Le Champion de Tennis. It is a somewhat forgotten film, hence not many critical reviews, it is a simple story of a woman who has become tired of her husband's foolish antics, it is considered as one of the earliest "feminist" films, it is interesting enough that it probably should be seen by more who appreciate early cinema, a watchable impressionist silent film. Good!

the right to be a nonconformist, independent and happy human ( woman ) being.

[FerdinandVonGalitzien · 7/10 · 31 May 2006]

"La Souriante Madame Beudet" is another remarkable film directed by Damen Dulac, one of the most outstanding avant-garde French directors of the time and the subject of some previous reviews of her principal silent films by this German Count in his modern diary some months ago. This one is a film that has all of the characteristics of her other films insofar as their likeness of cinema innovations and the display of strong, independent and decisive female characters.

The film depicts the story of Madame Beudet, a modern frenchified woman who likes to play at the piano longhaired composers' oeuvres ( Debussy ), read novels ( Flaubert, probably… ) and modern magazines. She is married with a textile businessman. He is a rude and ordinary man who absolutely bores his wife because he has different cultural interests than her, like going to the theater to watch "Faust" ( obviously Madame Beudet as a perfect French chauvinist doesn't like that German play ).

When Monsieur Beudet is fed up with the differences between them, he makes a fake attempts to commit suicide in front of her with a revolver that is not loaded… But one day, his wife places bullets in the barrel...

The most remarkable aspect of this film it is the will that Madame Beudet displays to put an end to an unhappy marriage. She is an intelligent, cultivated person that can't stand such bored life. She rebels against marriage's conventions, affirms the right to live her own life, to claim a happy life via an inward rebellion that only has success in her dreams ( displayed in the film with trick and special effects ). So the chance to get her freedom thanks to her husband's continuous fake suicide attempts seems to be the perfect excuse for her to make her dreams come true.

But in spite of her desires and plots against her husband, at the end Madame Beudet will succumb to remorse. Even with those inner claims of independence, she accepts her particular condemnation as shown in the last sequence of the film…walking about the streets with her husband, crestfallen.

Bu in spite or thanks to such an ending, Damen Dulac achieve her inward intentions displayed in this film: the right to be a nonconformist, independent and happy human ( woman ) being.

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must check if their musket is, sure enough, not loaded.

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien

Dulac's memorable classic!

[Sylviastel · 8/10 · 8 October 2006]

I studied Women and Film with author, Dr. Sandy Flitterman-Lewis at Rutgers University and this is one of the many films that we watched in the viewing. Germaine Dulac provided us a glimpse into the life of women in France during Pre-World War II era and Post World War I world. Paris was a city who loved the arts at the time and was thriving with literary salons and American expatriates as well. Germaine Dulac never captured as much attention but she should have been on league with her male counterparts like Jean Epstein and others. Sadly, the war and the depression may have ended her career like so many others. We can only imagine what might have been if Germaine Dulac had been given the same advantages that her male counterparts received during that time. But she was one of the lucky ones to get the experienced to direct such films like this that are controversial and eye opening as well. Language is not necessary since sound didn't come until the 1930s and Germaine's career went elsewhere.

Good example of French impressionistic style

[Josef Tura-2 · 6/10 · 2 December 1999]

This film is only useful to those studying the French impressionistic style of film making or the issues surrounding women early this century. As a film it is throughly uninspiring. I saw it in film class and it demonstrated what I had been learning about but I would not recommend it to anyone who does not have an academic interest of some sort.

Its plot is simply recounts a few days in the life of a repressed French housewife. Its main focus is how Madame Beudet views her life and her histrionic husband. As you might have guessed the title is meant to be sarcastic.

Well-Made but Rather Shallow

[Michael_Elliott · 26 May 2018]

La souriante Madame Beudet (1923) ** (out of 4)

Germaine Dulac directed this French film about a husband (Alexandre Arquilliere) who likes to play a trick on his wife (Germaine Dermoz), which is him pulling a gun from his desk, holding it to his head and pulling the trigger. Of course, the gun is empty but this drives his wife to a panic and eats away at her.

THE SMILING MADAME BEUDET is pretty much a Feminist movie that doesn't have much of a story to it and I must say that it struggled to hold my attention throughout its rather short 42-minute running time. There are some good things to be found here including the cinematography as well as the direction, which I would say was strong and especially with some of the more nightmare-ish moments where the film slips into avant-garde territory.

With that being said, there's no question that the story itself is quite lacking as we basically just see a very unhappy housewife who is being tortured by this sick prank of her husbands. There's absolutely no character development on either character. There's really no drama either. There's just not that much that happens throughout the film except for the husband playing his joke on his wife.

I did think the two actors were good in their roles and as I said the film was well-made but it's just way too shallow to really work.

Smilling Madame Beudet

[marmar-69780 · 7/10 · 25 December 2020]

Smilling Madame Beudet was a good short film that is first in history to have a real feminist message in it and it probably inspired many films in future because of that.In this film we are watching a woman that is unhappy in marriage and she wants to get rid of her husband but unfortunetly for her she fails in the end.Characters were her just little explored cause runtime is short but it worked very well in end.Smilling Madame Beudet was a good short film but it wasnt one of best that i seen

The Smiling Madame Beudet

[dansolo-20563 · 5/10 · 26 November 2020]

Some of the visual effects this film had were pretty impressive for the time it was made, but that's just about where my praise ends. Very strange and over the top film with a nonsensical plot. Sometimes I'm not quite sure what the screen was trying to tell me; maybe I'm just slow but in my eyes this attempt at a more visual, less narratively driven film fell flat.

Iconic Dulac

[martinpersson97 · 10/10 · 29 July 2023]

Germaine Dulac is definitely one of the pioneers of early cinema, and this piece is ever recommended for any lover of film and people interested in film history.

It is a very beautifully and well composed piece with incredible cinematography, cutting and editing, and some stellar acting through the interesting silent medium.

Overall, it is a beautifully put together piece that is ever a joy to watch, and ever interesting. Very much one of the important pieces of the 1920s, and one that is definitely recommended for any lover of film. I would very much recommend that you give this a watch if you are interested in film!

Technically well-shot, but not impressive

[Zepfanman · 6/10 · 12 February 2014]

The film with English subtitles is currently on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VA8NBhipvs

This is the 2005 Arte version, which appears to be the most commonly available. Soundtrack by Manfred Knaak, performed by the Kontraste ensemble, 38 minute runtime. IMDb lists the film as 54 minutes long; I'm curious if this is a longer version of the film or just a slower film speed.

As for my opinion of the film itself, I did not find it very engaging or entertaining. Much of my impression of silent films is influenced by the soundtrack and I found this small orchestral score to be average at best. I appreciate the historic value of the film as (one of?) the first woman- centered film(s) and it was technically well-shot.

Could be interesting

[sevdakarababa-71077 · 5/10 · 7 May 2018]

Its in the 1001 movie list allright, did i like it? no! It must be very special in that time diffrent kind of perspective, im sure about it and its diffrent. Personally i dont like this kind of movies its boring. Do i wanna see one woman bored her life and from her husband, she is definitly in depression, all they she is alone, nothing to do. Of course she will drive a crazy. I dont like couple relations critisizm movies. Doesnt matter from which year its just boring as like their life.

Daydreams of a desperate housewife

[Lavinia15 · 6/10 · 2 May 2006]

Madame Beudet (Germaine Dermoz) lives in the province and her sneering, uncouth husband makes her life hell. He has bad table-manners and even his best friends find his habit of parodying suicide with an unloaded gun very dumb. He ridicules his wife who reads poetry and plays Debussy. He haunts her even in her dreams. All sorts of visions prey on Madame's mind and she sees herself loading the gun...with an unexpected but perhaps inevitable result.

One of those silent treasures that ARTE presents once a month. An impressionist film with well-contrived lighting-effects and emphatic performances. Don't miss it!

Dulac's Impressionist Film Uses Jean Epstein Elements

[springfieldrental · 7/10 · 22 December 2021]

French female director Germaine Dulac appeared to take Jean Epstein's articles to heart when she released 1923's "The Smiling Madame Beudet." Like Epstein, her plot is threadbare, about an unhappy wife who first intends to kill her husband, seeing an opportunity in his habit of taking a gun whenever he's frustrated and pretending to shoot himself in the head. She places a real bullet in the chamber of his gun, but realizes through a dream it's not the right thing to do. She attempts to extract the bullet but is thwarted by constant interruptions.

"The Smiling Madame Beudet" has been cited as cinema's first feminist film because the protagonist isn't taking an unhappy marriage passively. Dulac, a leading figure of feminist rights and activism in France, wrote of the downtrodden position of contemporary women. With support from her husband Louis-Albert Dulac, an agricultural engineer, whom she divorced in 1920, she embarked on a 30-film career from 1915 through 1935. Her most important work was "The Smiling Madame Beudet," (who ironically is not once seen smiling in the 40-minute picture).

Through close-up images of the husband (Alexandre Arquilliere) and wife (Germaine Dermoz), Dulac is able to convey the anger coming from the spouse while Madame Beudet's blank face shows an apathy towards him. Her expressions become more animated as the movie progresses, reaching a peak as the final sequence unfolds.

Since every scene takes place in the interior of their home and office, "The Smiling Madame Beudet" doesn't reflect the gritty exterior atmosphere of Epstein's "The Faithful Heart." But the realism shown by Dulac of the marriage is as realistic as Epstein's film, hitting to the core the many frustrations couples have in communicating with one another. So important is Dulac's movie that it is included in "1001 Movies you Must See Before You Die."

The Smiling Madame Beudet review

[JoeytheBrit · 7/10 · 28 June 2020]

A mildly chaotic drama from feminist Germaine Dulac that begins discordantly thanks to a noticable clash of styles between its lead actors but which eventually develops an effective sense of pathos.

An underrated gem

[blessyabraham-11533 · 8/10 · 28 October 2022]

I was deeply impressed by the very Hitchkockian vibes of a pretty simple tale of a dysfunctional marriage. The psychological state of the female lead is very well captured in the movie, to the point that you want to support her murderous endeavour. The actress entrances with her melancholy and repressed anger. The actor who plays the husband is equally compelling. Though meant to be a slovenly uncaring character, the film very cleverly exaggerates these characateristics to show how monstrous and ugly he seems to his more sensitive wife. As we see him through the eyes of the wife, he transforms into a real life monster which in turn transforms the tale of being trapped in a stagnant marriage as a true horrifying reality.

Confusing if you are not French

[WiseJake · 5/10 · 29 April 2007]

I am an American movie lover and I was thrilled to see this movie available for streaming on the internet. However, as I am not French, I had no idea what was going on for at least 3/4 of the film. What I did understand was: "OK, so we've got Madame Beudet and Monsieur Beudet. They are not happily married because they have greatly different cultural interests..." That's about it.

This film does not actually have much going for it except for the fact that it is the first feminist cinema masterpiece. If you are interested in the history of film, you should probably see this, but if not you should watch something else (by the way, this is VERY obscure, not on DVD or VHS).

P.S. I think that Monsieur Beudet looks like that drunk general in Dances with Wolves when he has that gun to his head.