Overview
A provocative exploration of love and desire set against the backdrop of 1970s Paris.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Glacial
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- None
- melancholic
- intimate
- sardonic
- serious film study
- arthouse cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Jean Eustache's formally radical, emotionally abrasive portrait of post-1968 romantic disillusionment as a major French film and a masterpiece of the 1970s.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Alexandre, Marie, and Veronika spend much of the film debating love, sex, fidelity, and identity through extended dialogue.
Alexandre carries memories of May 1968 while living through the aftermath amid sexual liberation and emotional uncertainty.
Alexandre, Marie, and Veronika form a ménage à trois that exposes changing attitudes toward fidelity and possession.
The black-and-white imagery keeps attention on bodies, expressions, apartment conversations, and Parisian social spaces.
Films like The Mother and the Whore, and why
The 400 Blows
shared french new wave lineage, intimate relationship conflict, conversational naturalism, and romantic disillusionment
A Woman Under the Influence
shared long-form relationship drama, emotional volatility, improvisatory realism, and gender conflict
My Night at Maud's
shared french cinephile culture, romantic entanglements, philosophical conversation, and black-and-white intimacy
Weekend
shared post-1968 disillusionment, romantic instability, radical conversational form, and generational alienation
Movie Details
- Director
- Jean Eustache
- Release Date
- 1973-05-17
- Runtime
- 219 min
- Rating
- 7.3 / 10 (206)
Cast
- Jean-Pierre Léaud
- Bernadette Lafont
- Françoise Lebrun
- Isabelle Weingarten
- Jacques Renard
- Jean-Noël Picq
- Berthe Granval
- Geneviève Mnich
- Jessa Darrieux
- Marinka Matuszewski
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Mother and the Whore about?
- A radically extended Parisian relationship drama where post-1968 romantic freedom collides with jealousy, self-deception, and the need for emotional meaning.
- What is The Mother and the Whore like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Mother and the Whore as glacial, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as dense.
- Is The Mother and the Whore violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in The Mother and the Whore.
- What did critics think of The Mother and the Whore?
- Critics broadly regard Jean Eustache's formally radical, emotionally abrasive portrait of post-1968 romantic disillusionment as a major French film and a masterpiece of the 1970s.
- Which films are like The Mother and the Whore?
- Films with a similar feel include The 400 Blows, A Woman Under the Influence, My Night at Maud's, and Weekend.
- How long is The Mother and the Whore?
- The Mother and the Whore runs 219 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Mother and the Whore?
- In United States, The Mother and the Whore is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store.
