La Dentellière

The Lacemaker | Die Spitzenklöpplerin

Homage 2022

Beatrice is an assistant at a Paris hairdressing salon. The shy 18-year-old lives modestly with her single mother. Her only friend is a co-worker with an active love life. When the two go on a seaside holiday together, Beatrice meets upper-class philosophy student François and falls in love. Back in Paris, she moves in with him, renovates the apartment, and keeps house. But François soon begins to have misgivings. He is embarrassed by his girlfriend’s lower social status and lack of education. He prepares to break up with Beatrice … She acknowledges that she will never figure out what he is thinking. In her first international film hit, Isabelle Huppert is plain and withdrawn playing a young woman – with freckles, intractable red hair, and an almost childlike gravity – who suffers in silence before cracking under the pressure of her first love. La Dentellière represents both a prophesy and a promise. “She was one of those souls who must be patiently questioned, upon whom you must know how to turn your glance”, a coda at the end of the film tells us. That applies equally to the character and the young actor who has just spent several minutes staring steadfastly into the camera.

by Claude Goretta
with Isabelle Huppert, Yves Beneyton, Florence Giorgetti, Annemarie Düringer, Renate Schroeter, Christian Baltauss, Michel De Ré, Jean Obé, Monique Chaumette, Sabine Azéma Switzerland / France / Federal Republic of Germany 1977 French 107’ Colour Rating R12

With

Isabelle Huppert
Yves Beneyton
Florence Giorgetti
Annemarie Düringer
Renate Schroeter
Christian Baltauss
Michel De Ré
Jean Obé
Monique Chaumette
Sabine Azéma

Crew

Director	Claude Goretta
Written by	Claude Goretta, Pascal Lainé based on the novel by Pascal Lainé
Cinematography	Jean Boffety
Editing	Joële Van Effenterre
Music	Pierre Jansen
Sound	Pierre Gamet, Bernard Chaumeil
Production Design	Claude Chevant, Serge Etter
Costumes	Serge Etter
Make-Up	Claude Chevant, Florence Fouquier
Producer	Yves Peyrot, Yves Gosser

Produced by

Action Films

France 3

Citel Films

Janus Film und Fernsehen Vertriebsgesellschaft

ZDF

Additional information

DCP: Jupiter Films, Paris