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Une affaire de Femmes (1988)
aka: Story of Women
DIRECTOR: Claude Chabrol
CAST: François Cluzet; Nis Tavernier; Marie Trintignant; Lolita Chammah; Guillaume & Nicolas Foutrier;
SYNOPSIS
Set
in War II, during the France Occupation, Marie, a young woman with two children,
has carved out a life for herself during her husband's absence, barely managing
to feed her children, gleaning some happiness from jukeboxes and girlfriends,
and by performing and occasional amateur abortion for her neighbors. When her
shell-shocked husband returns from the labor camps, Marie takes matters into her
own hands and turns her skills into a booming abortion business, boarding prostitute
friends on the side and taking a collaborator for a lover. While Chabrol details
Marie's descent into amorality with brutal honesty, he nonetheless contextualizes
her sins and shows her truly as a victim of the chaos of France's confused response
to Nazi occupation.
NOTE
Isabelle
Huppert reunited with Claude Chabrol after their first film "Violette Noziere"
in 1978. There would be 4 more films thereafter. The film is also considered
as Isabelle strong return to French Cinema after severl years making films abroad.
The film started to shoot in April, 1988 and made it right on time to the Venice
International Film Festival in September. Cahiers du Cinema made two long interviews,
before and after the shooting, where Isabelle and Chabrol first time addressed
their complicity in filmmaking. - FORUM
QUOTE
Claude Chabrol
"Isabelle
Huppert Vue Par...."
She works in such a clear and evident
way, we never feel the effort, she's a chameleon, she's able to transform herself
without making a parade of it. Some actresses make "spectacles" in a
terrific way. Isabelle is always identified with the character, whomever she may
be like; not letting us think, though, that she brings the character into her.
On the contrary, in the small inner sphere, she keeps it as part of herself. It's
never "Isabelle Huppert as...", as if the character was played by her,
that's very rare.
AWARD
Best
Actress at 1988's Venice International Film Festival, shared with Shirley
MacLaine
Best Actress Nomination at 1989 Cesar Awards
TRIVIA
Before
"Story of Women", Chabrol and Isabelle thought about "Camille
Claudel" as their reunion after 10 years. But Isabelle Adjani was very
abscessed with this project at the time, Chabrol thus kindly gave it up. Both
films were successfully made. "Camille Claudel" won Best Actress at
1989's Berlin Film Festival and was the France's Selection for Oscar Best Foreign
Film; "Story of Women" won Best Actress at 1988's Venice Film Festival,
and a set of other international awards. But in France's domestic award: Cescar,
"Camille Claudel" had 13 nominations and won 5, including Best Film
and Actress; "Story of Women" only got 3 nominations (Best Actress and
Director). Adjani confronts and defeats Huppert in running for Cesar Award for
the first time.
REVIEW
Isabelle
and Chabrol: Returned to the Beloved, Cahiers
du Cinema, N°407/408, May, 1988
On Set: Story of Women,
Premier, N°135, June, 1988
Huppert Gagne, Jours
de France, August 15, 1988
Avec Beaucoup de Serenite, Cahiers
ud Cinema, September, 1988
La Petite Sirèn,
Studio, N°18, October, 1988
Au Renoir Les Enfants, Film
Comment, September/Octover, 1989
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