Drama,Romance
Italy,France
Belle de Jour is a 1967 French-Italian film directed by Luis Buñuel and starring Catherine Deneuve as Séverine Serizy. The film explores the theme of female sexuality and the repression of desire in bourgeois society.
Séverine is a bored housewife who fantasizes about being dominated and humiliated by men. She loves her husband Pierre, but cannot bring herself to have sex with him and instead finds release in her daydreams. When she hears about a high-class brothel, she becomes curious and eventually decides to work there during the afternoons while her husband is at work.
As Belle de Jour, she becomes popular with the clients at the brothel, including a young gangster named Marcel and a wealthy older man named Monsieur Husson. However, when Marcel becomes possessive and jealous of Séverine, she decides to quit the brothel. She eventually tells Pierre about her secret life, but he is unable to fully understand her desires.
Belle de Jour is a visually stunning film, with Buñuel's surrealist touches adding to the dreamlike quality of Séverine's fantasies. It was controversial upon its release for its provocative approach to sexuality, but has since been recognized as a landmark of European cinema.
