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Les biches literally means the does , but it s also the French equivalent of chicks or birds , as well as a blatant pun on the sexual orientation initially displayed by wealthy bourgeoise Frédérique (Stéphane Audran) when she plucks Parisian pavement artist Why (Jacqueline Sassard) literally off the street, seduces her, and whisks her away to off-season Saint-Tropez for a life of idle decadence in the company of her raffish gay friends. There, they meet architect Paul (Jean-Louis Trintignant), whose initial interest in Why is cruelly exploited by a jealous Frédérique for her own selfish ends. But Why is no longer the virginal innocent that she was at the start, and it s at this point that Claude Chabrol s film stops being an elegant comedy of manners (with a then-groundbreakingly casual attitude towards homosexuality) and starts turning the psychological screws with the millimetre precision characteristic of the man often dubbed the French Hitchcock .
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A delicious blend of macabre, beguiling and wicked plotting --Film4.com
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Les Biches lacks the thriller element that is to the fore in slightly later films like Juste Avant La Nuit and Que La Bete Meure. The meandering story follows the subtly shifting relationships between the main characters; Chabrol does not exercise the same explicit control over his actors seen in those later films. But it is a no less mesmerising experience for that. The viewer identifies with "Why", the ingénue introduced into the decadent moneyed bohemia over which Stephane Audran reigns. We too look for emotional and moral moorings amid the studied amorality of this set. We follow "Why" as she is inveigled into different relationships, begins to try out different identities and eventually comes to act and to define herself. Chabrol immerses the viewer in the amorality of this milieu and slowly, subtly allows an imperfect and utterly unconventional morality to grow unexpectedly and organically through the course of the film. Les Biches is as unsettling and engrossing as any of his work.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Brittle, complicated, almost timeless, Claude Chabrol's sublime "Les Biches" (not what you think, btw...but meaning "The Does" as in a female deer), released in 1968 resonates with subtext and reverberates with thought and meaning from which several subsequent directors have shamelessly borrowed: particularly Robert Altman in his much maligned, though glorious "Three Women" and Barbet Schroeder's more pedestrian "Single White Female."
Frederique (the iconic Stephane Audran) is rich, bored, mostly gay and looking for diversion when she comes upon street artist Why (Jacqueline Sasssard...and yes that is her name) who draws chalk Does on the Paris streets, is homeless, begs for money and sleeps with whomever can offer her a bed for the night. F is more than eager to offer Why a bed, a home in St. Tropez and a life filled with luxuries. But what Frederique is not willing to offer Why is her freedom. F is the master/hunter and Why is the slave/prey: or is it vice versa as throughout this film their roles change,flip then flop then flip again.
Chabrol is dealing with so many things here: the ability to receive or give love unselfishly, the doubling or taking on the persona (shades of Bergman's "Persona" ) of the object of your love, the stain and ruin of jealousy and on and on.
"Les Biches" is simple and stubbornly straightforward on one level yet feverishly complicated on most. Is Love hard as a *itch or soft as a Doe? Look elsewhere if you are looking for the easy answer: You won't find it in "Les Biches."
Frederique (the iconic Stephane Audran) is rich, bored, mostly gay and looking for diversion when she comes upon street artist Why (Jacqueline Sasssard...and yes that is her name) who draws chalk Does on the Paris streets, is homeless, begs for money and sleeps with whomever can offer her a bed for the night. F is more than eager to offer Why a bed, a home in St. Tropez and a life filled with luxuries. But what Frederique is not willing to offer Why is her freedom. F is the master/hunter and Why is the slave/prey: or is it vice versa as throughout this film their roles change,flip then flop then flip again.
Chabrol is dealing with so many things here: the ability to receive or give love unselfishly, the doubling or taking on the persona (shades of Bergman's "Persona" ) of the object of your love, the stain and ruin of jealousy and on and on.
"Les Biches" is simple and stubbornly straightforward on one level yet feverishly complicated on most. Is Love hard as a *itch or soft as a Doe? Look elsewhere if you are looking for the easy answer: You won't find it in "Les Biches."
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Les Biches is from the early middle period of Claude Chabrol's long career in film making. It is interesting but somewhat inexplicable. It features longtime French leading man Jean-Louis Trintignant as Paul Thomas, an architect who comes between wealthy playgirl Frederique (Stephane Audran) and her latest plaything, street artist "Why" (Jacqueline Sassard) with disastrous consequences.
Audran, who was Chabrol's wife at the time, sports spit curls down the side of her ears like sideburns which is apropos since her character is bisexual. She is a woman with a steely imperial manner who enjoys conquests above all. First she picks up Why, beds her, and then when Paul arrives on the scene showing an interest in Why, she seduces Paul and dumps Why.
The question is why? In the central scene (as far as the plot goes) the three get drunk with seemingly obvious intent only to have Frederique nix the menage a trois and shut the bedroom door on Why. Why, who has been desperately trying to look like Frederique, sits outside the bedroom door and listens to the drunken lovers inside and sucks on her fingers.
Obviously Paul would have gone along with this juicy arrangement, and certainly Why wanted it desperately. But Frederique is malicious and all conquering. Paul, who is anything but a heroic character does not insist on Why's joining them in bed not because he is madly, exclusively in love with Frederique but more likely because Frederique is the better catch because of her wealth. He is a cautious, opportunistic man.
The dialogue is sharp and witty but reserved and terse. One striking feature is the way the eyes of the women are so heavily made up. Clearly this signals a film made in the sixties. The scene in which Frederique hosts a poker game certainly anticipated the popularity of the game today. Interesting are the sycophantic gay guys that Frederique keeps around her chateau in St. Tropez for amusement.
The finish of the film is a bit of a surprise and really not that well foreshadowed. Also the title, Les Biches (translated as "Bad Girls" in English) is a bit of mystery. More appropriate might be "L'imperatrice petite" with the focus where it should be on the character of Frederique.
Audran, who was Chabrol's wife at the time, sports spit curls down the side of her ears like sideburns which is apropos since her character is bisexual. She is a woman with a steely imperial manner who enjoys conquests above all. First she picks up Why, beds her, and then when Paul arrives on the scene showing an interest in Why, she seduces Paul and dumps Why.
The question is why? In the central scene (as far as the plot goes) the three get drunk with seemingly obvious intent only to have Frederique nix the menage a trois and shut the bedroom door on Why. Why, who has been desperately trying to look like Frederique, sits outside the bedroom door and listens to the drunken lovers inside and sucks on her fingers.
Obviously Paul would have gone along with this juicy arrangement, and certainly Why wanted it desperately. But Frederique is malicious and all conquering. Paul, who is anything but a heroic character does not insist on Why's joining them in bed not because he is madly, exclusively in love with Frederique but more likely because Frederique is the better catch because of her wealth. He is a cautious, opportunistic man.
The dialogue is sharp and witty but reserved and terse. One striking feature is the way the eyes of the women are so heavily made up. Clearly this signals a film made in the sixties. The scene in which Frederique hosts a poker game certainly anticipated the popularity of the game today. Interesting are the sycophantic gay guys that Frederique keeps around her chateau in St. Tropez for amusement.
The finish of the film is a bit of a surprise and really not that well foreshadowed. Also the title, Les Biches (translated as "Bad Girls" in English) is a bit of mystery. More appropriate might be "L'imperatrice petite" with the focus where it should be on the character of Frederique.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Les Biches
Personally I thought this film was absoulute rubbish, but it was purchased for a friend, not me, not guilty.
Published on 3 Mar 2010 by Ms. Dawn E. Frary
les biches.
very cool and solid only the french could make a film this cool and artistic,all the characters play deep mind games and you become drawn in. Read more
Published on 1 Oct 2009 by Ms. Rebecca J. Connelly
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