Les Parents Terribles
UW Cinematheque 821 University Ave., UW Vilas Hall, Room 4070, Madison, Wisconsin
press release:
France | 1948 | DCP | 105 min. | French with English subtitles
Director: Jean Cocteau; Cast: Jean Marais, Josette Day, Yvonne de Bray
In this adaptation of director Cocteau’s play, middle-aged couple Yvonne and Georges set up an elaborate plot to thwart the romance between their 22-year-old son Michel (played by Marais, Cocteau’s muse and star of Beauty and the Beast) and Georges’s former mistress, Madeleine. Recruited to help is Léo, Yvonne’s sister who is another old flame of Georges’s. “Cocteau's dramatic model, as ever, never strays too far from Greek tragedy and resolves appropriately” (Glenn Kenny, The New York Times). A new 2K restoration will be screened.
New French Restorations: Each month of our fall calendar features recently rediscovered gems from French cinema history that will be shown in newly restored versions. Three of the selections, Agnes Varda’s One Sings, the Other Doesn’t, Diane Kurys’ Peppermint Soda and Jacques Rivette’s Duelle, show the directors working in the 1970s and delivering some of their finest achievements. Poet and filmmaker Jean Cocteau is represented by his post-war classic Les Parents Terribles, one of only a handful of features Cocteau ever directed.
All Cinematheque screenings are free and open to the public.