Le Bonheur

I'm not quite done with my Agnes Varda retrospective. In 1965, she made Le Bonheur, or Happiness. It confronts the age-old habit of French men taking mistresses, and the complete lack of guilt they feel. If Varda is accurate, the women aren't completely on board with this. If this film were made by a man it could be seen as completely outrageous, but since it is a woman at the helm, I think we can properly assume that this tale is told ironically.

The opening shot is of a sunflower, and I don't know if there's a scene in the rest of the film that does not feature flowers or nature. She uses vivid colors, and instead of fades to black they are to red, blue, or yellow. In calling this film Happiness, Varda is setting us up.

We are introduced to a very happy couple. Francois (Jean-Claude Drouot) is a carpenter, and his wife Therese (Claire Drouot, not sure if they are related) is a dressmaker. They have two beautiful children. They enjoy trips to the park. They seem to come out of a catalogue.

As the film goes on (it's only 80 minutes) we wait for conflict to erupt. It does when Francois spies a pretty blonde (Marie-France Boyer) in a post office. He flirts with her, and then they begin a relationship. Francois does not hide his marriage, and Boyer is besotted with him. He tells her she's better in bed than his wife. In a cringe-worthy moment given the time we live in, Boyer tells him that he is her happiness. It's a complete male fantasy, one that may have existed fifty years ago.

Francois feels no remorse over the relationship, and feels he can tell Therese and nothing will happen. After all, nothing has changed between them, has it? But Therese's happiness is also Francois, and her reaction to the news is tragic, and she drowns herself while holding flowers (a la Ophelia).

What's really creepy is that Francois, after a brief period of mourning, goes right on with Boyer, who steps in as mother. It's as if the women were interchangeable. You get the feeling that if he met someone else, Francois could go on doing this forever.

Le Bonheur is a movie that will infuriate women and should infuriate men. If you see it on a date, guys, be prepared to condemn Francois. He's a loathsome character.