Femmes Femmes (1974) | Region-Free (Blu-Ray)

Title: Femmes Femmes (1974)

Alternate Title: Women Women

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music

Plot Synopsis:
Two aging actresses, Hélène and Sonia, share an apartment overlooking the Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris. As they grapple with their fading careers and unfulfilled dreams, they immerse themselves in fantasies and memories, blurring the lines between reality and illusion. Their co-dependent relationship is marked by theatrical performances, alcohol consumption, and a shared longing for past glories. The film delves into themes of aging, friendship, and the relentless pursuit of artistic recognition.

Cast and Crew:

• Director: Paul Vecchiali
• Writers: Paul Vecchiali, Noël Simsolo
• Cast:
  • Hélène Surgère as Hélène
  • Sonia Saviange as Sonia
  • Michel Delahaye as The Doctor
  • Noël Simsolo as Ferdinand
  • Michel Duchaussoy as Lucien

IMDb Link:
Femmes femmes (1974)

Reviews from Letterboxd:

1. nrh – ★★★★★
   “Life descends on the little apartment you call your home; bats are in the closet, lizards on the sheet, fridge is full of empty bottles, cemetery is outside the window. A miracle of co-dependent intimacy, the best musical of the ’70s, more terrifying than Salò (in which these characters return). ‘Happy end.’ I spilled cheap wine on my keyboard while writing this.”
2. rischka – ★★★★★
   “We definitely need more female buddy films about hysterical alcoholic actresses.”
3. Jude – ★★★★★
   “Women left behind by the world (and by art) performing their lives long after they’ve ceased to be able to live them. Ambient decay and spilled wine, a doctor who looks sicker than his patients and a mother left with a headless doll to raise in place of a daughter. Headshots of actresses line the walls, their gazes averted such that they might appear demure in another context, but Vecchiali’s intercutting uncovers something vulnerable and embittered underneath the layers of fashionably caked-on makeup and soft focus. Rituals of numbing, empties arranged like little shrines in holy rites of loathing. Maybe it’s easier to talk about the bats and the lizards and incomparably more difficult to write about Hélène washing Sonia’s legs or trying to refill a full glass while Sonia screams ‘Happy end! Happy end! Happy end! Happy end! Happy end!’ ‘I’m here! I’m here! I’m here!'”

Meta Description:
“Femmes Femmes” (1974), directed by Paul Vecchiali, is a French comedy-drama that explores the intertwined lives of two aging actresses in Paris. As they navigate their fading careers and personal struggles, the film delves into themes of friendship, illusion, and the relentless pursuit of artistic recognition.