"Les Biches" **** (out of ****)A beautiful socialite named Frederique (Stephane Audran) notices a young artist (Jacqueline Sassard) drawing a picture of a doe on the sidewalk. The two ladies soon speak and it is clear there is an attraction between them. And so starts Claude Chabrol's deadly game between lovers in "Les Biches".
Much has always been made of the film's title. Some people may have the urge to call the film "les bitches". This is not correct. It is difficult to write down the pronunciation of the word but translated it has a double meaning. "Biches" means doe, as in the animal or young girl in slang. Though when the title credits roll and the film's title appears the translation underneath reads "bad girls".
It is hard to say what exactly Chabrol had in mind with the film's title though if we accept the idea "bad girls" Chabrol makes it quite clear why one would consider them that.
"Les Biches" was released in 1968. Chabrol hadn't quite made the masterpieces he would become universally known for. At this time under his belt were titles such as "Les Bonnes Femmes" and "Le Beau Serge" (regarded by many as the first film of the French New Wave). But his masterpieces would come after this film. "Les Biches", Chabrol says, was "the first film which I made exactly as I wished." This film would set Chabrol in the direction most of his films would follow. Showing us the private lives of the rich and the deep dark secrets which lie within them. His film "A Double Tour", made before "Les Biches" was another early example but "Le Beau Serge" and "Les Bonnes Femmes" were looks at the lower, working class.
In "Les Biches" Chabrol takes aim at the wealthy. To say a murder happens in the film is not a spoiler. This is a Claude Chabrol film after all. Murder is second nature in his plots. But "Les Biches" is not so much about murder. It is a power struggle for control. The film is about seduction, love, jealousy and identity thief. It is about people who say one thing and do another, characters which are question marks. This point is perfectly illustrated in the young artist's name, Why.
"Les Biches" follows both Frederique and Why as they travel to Frederique's winter estate in St. Tropez along with two male guest, Robeque (Henri Attal) and Riais (Dominique Zardi), a homosexual couple. At first "Les Biches" does not seem to lead on it is a thriller. The film just seems to be about the relationship between the women but one day a man, Paul (Jean-Louis Trintignant) enters the picture. At first he seems bewitched by Why, when the two meet at a Frederique's house, during a poker game. They spend a night together. This causes Frederique to become jealous. She steals Paul away from Why, apologizing all the time.
Nearly all the performances in the film are perfect. Stephane Audran, whom at the time was married to Chabrol, is amazing to watch. At the same time her face reveals nothing yet we understand her so well. Not since Isabelle Huppert has someone been able to do that so well. Audran was such an important ingredient in Chabrol's film. Her sleek beauty was perfect for Chabrol's sinister look at the upper class.
Trintignant and Sassard are also right on with their performances. Sassard at first seems to be the innocent fool getting swept into a lifestyle well over her head and Trintignant as the unsuspecting man caught in the middle of a menage a trois.
But if there is one place Chabrol goes wrong it is with the gay couple. I've seen "Les Biches" several times. It was one of the first Chabrol films I ever saw. I always thought of the film as a masterpiece, one of the master's great films, but, it wasn't until recently I noticed how out of place Robeque and Riais are. Chabrol uses the characters as a sort of comic relief but they are not needed. Usually a filmmaker will use humor to release some tension created in scenes to give the audience a break from the action. But the way Chabrol works there is no such tension. It all builds up slowly in very subtle ways. We don't need a break from it. These characters belong in a different film. I cannot think of another film where Chabrol uses such over-the-top characters. I don't know why I wasn't bothered by it before but it is the only thing about the film I don't like.
But that is a small criticism when there is so much to praise about the film and discuss. While the gay relationship is treated as a joke, the lesbian relationship is taken very serious. From the women's first meeting in the park until the end we sense Frederique is in control. This is mostly done by her clothes, for instance in early scenes she wears men's hats. At the poker game, where Paul is introduced, it is Frederique who is playing cards with the men, while Why is sent to get drinks. And even though there are some erotic scenes, the camera lingers on Why's body as she takes a bath. Chabrol is ultimately interested in the struggle for power between the two. Is Frederique really in control or does Why let her think she is?
It all ends in a way some viewers might find anticlimactic. It seems heavily influence by Ingmar Bergman's "Persona" in fact, released two years earlier. It leaves many questions open but I don't think Chabrol could have ended the film any better. It seems to represent a vicious pattern in human behaviour. This is not a film I would recommend one begin their Chabrol collection with, "Le Boucher" may be a better place to start, but "Les Biches" truly is one of the masterpieces of cinema.
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