The Mouth Agape
La Gueule ouverte
France • 1974
Director
Synopsis
One of cinema’s greatest and most profound meditations on mortality, THE MOUTH AGAPE observes, with striking unsentimentality, the final days of a terminally ill woman (Monique Mélinand) as those around her—her philandering husband (Hubert Deschamps), aloof son (Philippe Léotard), and worried daughter-in-law (Nathalie Baye)—attempt to carry on with their lives as they await the inevitable. Through unflinching long takes, Pialat crafts a masterpiece of human observation that says as much about life as it does about death.
Synopsis
One of cinema’s greatest and most profound meditations on mortality, THE MOUTH AGAPE observes, with striking unsentimentality, the final days of a terminally ill woman (Monique Mélinand) as those around her—her philandering husband (Hubert Deschamps), aloof son (Philippe Léotard), and worried daughter-in-law (Nathalie Baye)—attempt to carry on with their lives as they await the inevitable. Through unflinching long takes, Pialat crafts a masterpiece of human observation that says as much about life as it does about death.
Credits
Crew
DirectorMaurice Pialat
WriterMaurice Pialat
CinematographerNéstor Almendros
EditorArlette Langmann, Bernard Dubois
ProducerMaurice Pialat, André Génovès, Micheline Pialat
Cast
Nathalie Bayeas Nathalie
Hubert Deschampsas Roger
Philippe Léotardas Philippe
Monique Mélinandas Monique