The Mother and the whore = La Maman et la putan

Jean-Pierre Leaud is a young intellectual who has relationships with two very different women, the faithful Marie and the promiscuous Veronika. “The Mother and the Whore” is an exploration of contemporary sexual relationships which concentrates on the bohemian subcultures of the disillusioned left. Dialogue, argument and dialect are what this film focuses upon, allowing for a candid and radical re-examination of the meaning of commitment and desire, as well as examining the often cataclysmic effects of feminism on gender roles and expectations. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival, “The Mother and the Whore” remains one of the most important and most admired of “Nouvelle Vague” cinema. The irony being, of course, is that in its detached over-view of the games between men and women, and in it’s ruthless mocking of the insularity of the French intelligentsia, the film initiates a clear break with the passionate and romantic idealism of the sixties new wave.