Belle de Jour

Belle de Jour

Year: 1967

Runtime: 101 mins

Language: French

DramaRomance

Buñuel’s erotic drama follows Séverine Serizy, a young housewife torn between masochistic fantasies and her life with husband Pierre. After friend Henri mentions a discreet, upscale brothel run by Madame Anaïs, she works there as Belle de Jour. When a client becomes obsessive, Séverine must confront her double life and try to return to normalcy.

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Timeline & Setting – Belle de Jour (1967)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Belle de Jour (1967). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Location

Paris, Ski resort

The action unfolds in Paris with key scenes at a discreet high-class brothel and a snowy ski resort. Paris serves as the domestic stage where Séverine maintains appearances, while the ski resort backdrop hints at escapist leisure. The brothel, run by Madame Anaïs, stands as the center of Séverine’s transformation into Belle de Jour.

❄️ Snowy setting 🗼 Paris nightlife 🏨 Brothel environment

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 15:29

Main Characters – Belle de Jour (1967)

Meet the key characters of Belle de Jour (1967), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Séverine Serizy (Catherine Deneuve)

A young housewife whose sexual life is constrained by social norms. She secretly pursues erotic fantasies and becomes Belle de Jour at a high-class brothel, leading a dangerous double life that tests her loyalties and self-image.

💃 Inner conflict 🔒 Secret life 💑 Marriage

Marcel (Pierre Clémenti)

A reckless young criminal who offers Séverine the thrill of danger and passionate pursuit. His jealousy and pressure threaten to expose her secret, pushing the relationship toward volatile consequences.

🎭 Roguish 🔫 Danger 💥 Jealousy

Pierre Serizy (Jean Sorel)

Séverine's husband, a respected doctor who loves his wife but remains unaware of her secret life. His life is gravely altered when violence spills over from Séverine's world, leaving him paralyzed and dependent.

💑 Husband 🩺 Doctor ⚖️ Vulnerability

Madame Anaïs (Geneviève Page)

Owner of a high-class brothel who runs a discreet operation and gives Séverine the pseudonym Belle de Jour. She offers guidance and a gateway to forbidden pleasures while maintaining firm control.

🏨 Brothel owner 🎯 Gatekeeper 💼 Discretion

Henri Husson (Michel Piccoli)

An acquaintance who admires Séverine but exposes his predatory curiosity. He flirts with her and later withdraws, complicating her emotional landscape and underscoring the fragility of desire.

💬 Desire 🥀 Ambition 🗝️ Temptation

Renée (Macha Méril)

Séverine's friend who previously introduced her to the world of pleasure through Henriette's circle. She serves as a catalyst for Séverine's choices and provides social context for the alternative life.

👭 Friendship 🧭 Social circle 🕯️ Secrets

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 15:29

Major Themes – Belle de Jour (1967)

Explore the central themes of Belle de Jour (1967), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🔒 Secret Life

Séverine sustains a double life, presenting a respectable housewife image while secretly exploring erotic fantasies as Belle de Jour. This hidden world creates tension between public propriety and private longing. The brothel becomes a sanctuary where social rules momentarily dissolve, exposing hidden desires.

🔥 Desire vs Duty

The narrative pits marital affection and domestic duty against raw sexual appetite. Séverine’s encounters challenge her sense of self and threaten the stability of her marriage. Pursuing freedom carries psychological and social costs that ripple through her life.

🎭 Identity & Illusion

The story blurs performance and reality as Séverine traverses roles—wife, lover, and Belle de Jour. The boundaries between fantasy and everyday life become cloudy, shaping how others perceive her. The ending leaves ambiguity about which experiences were real and which were imagined.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 15:29

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Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Movies about double lives and fractured identity like Belle de Jour

Characters unravel as they desperately maintain a secret life.If you were fascinated by the psychological unraveling in Belle de Jour, explore these movies about double lives and secret identities. These films feature characters caught between two worlds, leading to intense tension and a deep exploration of fractured selfhood.

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Narrative Summary

Stories in this thread often follow a character who constructs an elaborate secret life, which initially offers escape or fulfilment but inevitably begins to crumble. The central conflict is internal and external, as the character's deception threatens their relationships and sanity, leading to a climax of exposure or psychological breakdown.

Why These Movies?

These films are grouped by their shared focus on the theme of duality and the high-tension, emotionally heavy experience of watching a character's identity fracture. They typically feature a steady, methodical pacing that builds dread and a dark, unsettling tone.

Dark erotic psychodramas and movies about transgressive desire like Belle de Jour

Unflinching explorations of sexuality, fantasy, and psychological turmoil.For viewers who appreciated the intense, psychological exploration of desire in Belle de Jour, this collection highlights similar dark erotic dramas. These films are art-house explorations of sexuality, fantasy, and obsession, often with ambiguous endings and heavy emotional themes.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern involves a character's journey into a realm of sexual transgression, which blurs the lines between fantasy and reality. This exploration forces a confrontation with repressed parts of the self, leading to psychological consequences for the character and those around them, often culminating in an ambiguous or tragic resolution.

Why These Movies?

These films are united by their uncompromisingly dark tone, high intensity, and heavy emotional weight derived from themes of sexual obsession and psychological disintegration. They share a complex narrative structure, a steady, deliberate pacing that builds unease, and a focus on the interior world of desire.

Unlock the Full Story of Belle de Jour

Don't stop at just watching — explore Belle de Jour in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Belle de Jour is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Belle de Jour Summary

Read a complete plot summary of Belle de Jour, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

Belle de Jour Summary

Belle de Jour Timeline

Track the full timeline of Belle de Jour with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

Belle de Jour Timeline

Belle de Jour Spoiler-Free Summary

Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of Belle de Jour that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.

Belle de Jour Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Belle de Jour

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Belle de Jour: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

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