La Gueule ouverte
Encyclopedia
The Mouth Agape is a 1974 French drama film directed by Maurice Pialat
. It depicts, in a cinematic realist fashion
, a woman going through a terminal illness
and also dealing with the tumorous lives of her husband and son. It was one of the least commercially successful of Pilat's films. It was Pilat's third film of the ten that he directed before his death in January 2003. It is also known as The Gaping Mouth and The Gaping Maw.
The film starts Monique Mélinand, Philippe Léotard
, Hubert Deschamps, and Nathalie Baye
in the main roles. Néstor Almendros, also known for the films Sophie’s Choice
, The Blue Lagoon
, and Kramer vs. Kramer
, did the cinematography
. The title is a poetic reference to the open mouth position sometimes found in corpses. A French anarchist-oriented news-magazine
has the same name. So does a French alternative rock
group. There is no relationship whatsoever between the three.
. Her son Philippe (Philippe Léotard
), Philippe's wife Nathalie (Nathalie Baye
), and her husband Roger (Hubert Deschamps) attempt to comfort her as she navigates through her ordeal. However, those two closest men in her personal life begin to get more involved in their relationships with multiple mistresses
. Her husband flirts with customers in their clothing and haberdashery store while her son flirts with her nurses. The film incorporates elements of Mozart
’s opera Così fan tutte
to poetic effect, relating to these scenes. In the end scenes, she goes through several final, deepy emotional moments as the disease claims her life.
Some critics have viewed the film as semi-autobiographical, and it was described as such in a Masters of Cinema
re-release. Pialat’s mother died in the same real place as the one depicted in the film, and the Philippe character is somewhat similar to Pialat himself such that he could be an author surrogate
.
Critic Noel Megahey of the cinema website The Digital Fix has described the film as "of such intensity and uncommon brutal honesty about a subject that is usually treated with more delicacy and sensitivity that it can be difficult and challenging to the viewer" but "the effort is certainly rewarded". Critic Jonathan McCalmont of the arts website Ruthless Culture has labeled the film as one of Pilat's most "intrusive" works. McCalmont has also stated that "One of the things that is most fascinating about Pialat as a director is that though completely devoid of sentimentality, his work also shows a perpetual awareness of the temptations that it offers... [its] lack of sentimentality presents itself as a ruthless focus upon the present."
Critic Miguel Marías of the film journal Senses of Cinema
has praised the film, and commented that:
Maurice Pialat
Maurice Pialat was a French film director, screenwriter and actor noted for the rigorous and unsentimental style of his films...
. It depicts, in a cinematic realist fashion
Neorealism (art)
In art, neorealism was established by the ex-Camden Town Group painters Charles Ginner and Harold Gilman at the beginning of World War I. They set out to explore the spirit of their age through the shapes and colours of daily life...
, a woman going through a terminal illness
Terminal illness
Terminal illness is a medical term popularized in the 20th century to describe a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and that is reasonably expected to result in the death of the patient within a short period of time. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as...
and also dealing with the tumorous lives of her husband and son. It was one of the least commercially successful of Pilat's films. It was Pilat's third film of the ten that he directed before his death in January 2003. It is also known as The Gaping Mouth and The Gaping Maw.
The film starts Monique Mélinand, Philippe Léotard
Philippe Léotard
Philippe Léotard was a French actor, poet, and singer....
, Hubert Deschamps, and Nathalie Baye
Nathalie Baye
Nathalie Marie Andrée Baye is a French film, television, and stage actress. After having dance and dramatic education, Baye began acting in 1970. She has appeared in more than 70 films. She won four César Awards for Sauve qui peut , Une étrange affaire , La Balance , and Le Petit Lieutenant...
in the main roles. Néstor Almendros, also known for the films Sophie’s Choice
Sophie's Choice (film)
Sophie's Choice is a 1982 American romantic drama film that tells the story of a Polish immigrant, Sophie, and her tempestuous lover who share a boarding house with a young writer in Brooklyn. The film stars Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, and Peter MacNicol. Alan J...
, The Blue Lagoon
The Blue Lagoon (1980 film)
The Blue Lagoon is a 1980 American romance and adventure film directed by Randal Kleiser. The screenplay by Douglas Day Stewart was based on the novel The Blue Lagoon by Henry De Vere Stacpoole. The film stars Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins...
, and Kramer vs. Kramer
Kramer vs. Kramer
Kramer vs. Kramer is a 1979 American drama film adapted by Robert Benton from the novel by Avery Corman, and directed by Benton. The film tells the story of a married couple's divorce and its impact on everyone involved, including the couple's young son...
, did the cinematography
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
. The title is a poetic reference to the open mouth position sometimes found in corpses. A French anarchist-oriented news-magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
has the same name. So does a French alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
group. There is no relationship whatsoever between the three.
Plot
Monique Mélinand portrays a woman in the late stages of terminal illnessTerminal illness
Terminal illness is a medical term popularized in the 20th century to describe a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and that is reasonably expected to result in the death of the patient within a short period of time. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as...
. Her son Philippe (Philippe Léotard
Philippe Léotard
Philippe Léotard was a French actor, poet, and singer....
), Philippe's wife Nathalie (Nathalie Baye
Nathalie Baye
Nathalie Marie Andrée Baye is a French film, television, and stage actress. After having dance and dramatic education, Baye began acting in 1970. She has appeared in more than 70 films. She won four César Awards for Sauve qui peut , Une étrange affaire , La Balance , and Le Petit Lieutenant...
), and her husband Roger (Hubert Deschamps) attempt to comfort her as she navigates through her ordeal. However, those two closest men in her personal life begin to get more involved in their relationships with multiple mistresses
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
. Her husband flirts with customers in their clothing and haberdashery store while her son flirts with her nurses. The film incorporates elements of Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
’s opera Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
to poetic effect, relating to these scenes. In the end scenes, she goes through several final, deepy emotional moments as the disease claims her life.
Reception and legacy
La Gueule ouverte was one of the least commercially successful of Pilat's films.Some critics have viewed the film as semi-autobiographical, and it was described as such in a Masters of Cinema
Masters of Cinema
The Masters of Cinema organization began as a website dedicated to the most well-regarded film directors in the world. Founded by a diverse international group of like-minded film enthusiasts: Jan Bielawski, a mathematician; Doug Cummings, a graphic artist and freelance critic; Trond Trondsen, a Ph.D...
re-release. Pialat’s mother died in the same real place as the one depicted in the film, and the Philippe character is somewhat similar to Pialat himself such that he could be an author surrogate
Author surrogate
As a literary technique, an author surrogate is a fictional character who expresses the ideas, questions, personality and morality of the author...
.
Critic Noel Megahey of the cinema website The Digital Fix has described the film as "of such intensity and uncommon brutal honesty about a subject that is usually treated with more delicacy and sensitivity that it can be difficult and challenging to the viewer" but "the effort is certainly rewarded". Critic Jonathan McCalmont of the arts website Ruthless Culture has labeled the film as one of Pilat's most "intrusive" works. McCalmont has also stated that "One of the things that is most fascinating about Pialat as a director is that though completely devoid of sentimentality, his work also shows a perpetual awareness of the temptations that it offers... [its] lack of sentimentality presents itself as a ruthless focus upon the present."
Critic Miguel Marías of the film journal Senses of Cinema
Senses of Cinema
Senses of Cinema is a quarterly online film magazine founded in 1999 by filmmaker Bill Mousoulis. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Senses of Cinema publishes work by film critics from all over the world, including critical essays, career overviews of the works of key directors, and coverage of many...
has praised the film, and commented that:
See also
- End-of-life care
- Artistic realismNeorealism (art)In art, neorealism was established by the ex-Camden Town Group painters Charles Ginner and Harold Gilman at the beginning of World War I. They set out to explore the spirit of their age through the shapes and colours of daily life...
- French films of 1974French films of 1974A list of films produced in France in 1974.-1974:-External links:* at the Internet Movie Database**...
- List of Masters of Cinema releases