Overview
A young woman's secret life leads her to explore her deepest desires and fantasies.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- surreal
- provocative
- elegant
- classic cinema evening
- arthouse film night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as an elegantly photographed, entrancing, psychologically elusive landmark whose refusal of easy interpretation is central to its power.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Séverine's vivid sexual fantasies are interwoven with her marriage and prostitution without consistently marked transitions.
Séverine remains a doctor's chaste wife while secretly working afternoons as a prostitute under the name Belle de Jour.
The film's elegant, bright photography contrasts with Séverine's kinky fantasies, sexual frustration, and dangerous double life.
Séverine's conventional marriage and affluent social identity conceal desires that find expression in the brothel.
Films like Belle de Jour, and why
Last Year at Marienbad
shared erotic psychodrama, surreal fantasy, marital alienation, and ambiguity around subjective reality
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
shared surrealism, repressed desire, bourgeois social critique, and an enigmatic female protagonist
Persona
shared exploration of female sexual identity, transgressive desire, and psychologically elusive imagery
Nymphomaniac: Vol. I
shared erotic repression, double lives, and unsettling intersections between fantasy and conventional marriage
Movie Details
- Director
- Luis Buñuel
- Release Date
- 1967-05-24
- Runtime
- 101 min
- Rating
- 7.3 / 10 (1044)
Cast
- Catherine Deneuve
- Jean Sorel
- Michel Piccoli
- Geneviève Page
- Pierre Clémenti
- Françoise Fabian
- Macha Méril
- Muni
- Maria Latour
- Claude Cerval
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Belle de Jour about?
- A chaste doctor's wife secretly enters a Paris brothel, where erotic fantasy and respectable marriage become inseparable.
- What is Belle de Jour like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Belle de Jour as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Belle de Jour violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Belle de Jour.
- What did critics think of Belle de Jour?
- Critics broadly regard the film as an elegantly photographed, entrancing, psychologically elusive landmark whose refusal of easy interpretation is central to its power.
- Which films are like Belle de Jour?
- Films with a similar feel include Last Year at Marienbad, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Persona, and Nymphomaniac: Vol. I.
- How long is Belle de Jour?
- Belle de Jour runs 101 minutes.
- Where can I watch Belle de Jour?
- In United States, Belle de Jour streams on HBO Max.
