Les Bonnes Femmes (The Good Girls) (1960)
Movie Info
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Cast
as Ginette
as Jane
as Jacqueline
as Rita
as Rita
as Monsieur Belin
as Marcel
as André Lapierre
as Albert
as Mme Louise
as Henri
as Jane's Boyfriend
as The Stripper
as Henry's Father
as Henry's Mother
as The Conductor
Critic Reviews for Les Bonnes Femmes (The Good Girls)
All Critics (8) | Top Critics (1) | Fresh (6) | Rotten (2)
Chabrol's whiplash technique swings between blind exuberance and stunted introspection, sometimes in a single shot.
I regard Chabrol's last film as not just his masterpiece, but the high point of the new French cinema as a whole.
The girls' stories get gulped down too briskly, and the film is much more glamorized than the clerk subject demands, simply because Chabrol does what every New Waver does in a tight spot: he... begins mimicking the revered Hitchcock.
A caricature example of the new wave, full of sour laughs if you can keep awake long enough to spot them.
Chabrol's scathing commentary on bourgeoisie values, complicity and guilt.
...puts a universal face on lives of noisy desperation
Audience Reviews for Les Bonnes Femmes (The Good Girls)
Claude Chabrol's Les Bonnes Femmes is a scathing indictment of a patriarchal society that actively suppresses the female spirit. From the onset, Chabrol showcases a vacuous and grim Paris that is void of the charm and romantic sentiment that the city is associated with. Instead we are introduced to a group of women who are mired in an oppressive city in which men's impetus for courting is due to the thrill of the hunt rather than the longing for companionship. Even the smallest attempts in asserting feminine independence are ferociously mocked. When Jane, played brilliantly by Bernadette Lafont, reprimands her suitor for habitually calling her by the wrong name, she is ridiculed for her outburst and the men continue to tease the idea of the "eternal feminine." Chabrol also has a strip show taking place in the background during this scene to show how the objectification of women always looms around these characters. Even in some of the most seemingly arid scenes Chabrol always features a man in the scene looking over the women's shoulders or encroaching on their personal space. These women become so starved for genuine affection that they are willing to put up with a relationship which censors their individuality. Or in the case of Jacqueline (Clotilde Joano), are willing to assume that a mysterious stalker just might be a chivalrous paramour. Although Chabrol is accredited with being one of the premiere filmmakers of the French New Wave, his film doesn't feature many of the stylistic hallmarks that other films of this ilk utilize. While lovers of the French New Wave may be dismayed by the film's austerity, one should not let this take away from the fact that it is a wonderfully crafted film which features some incredibly poignant moments. It isn't an uplifting watch, but Chabrol's passion for this subject truly shines through. It is a film that demands your attention and it is one that should not be skipped over.
Super Reviewer
I wanted to know more about that Bernadette Lafont character, but they left her and failed to sub in anyone as interesting.
Super Reviewer
We are all aware of the genius of Godard and Truffaut, but Claude Chabrol's early film seems to be a bit of an unsung gem of the Nouvelle Vague. Four carefree young girls, including Bernadette Lafont and Stephane Audren, look for love and romance in a stunningly photographed Paris with some harsh consequences. Simply brilliant.
Super Reviewer
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