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Betty Blue
(37°2 le matin)

Screening on Film
Directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix.
With Béatrice Dalle, Jean-Hughes Anglade, Gérard Darmon.
France, 1986, 35mm, color, 130 min.
French with English subtitles.
Print source: HFA

I is for Insanity

Beineix’s torrid tale of passion focuses on the reckless relationship between a Riviera handyman who dreams of becoming a writer and a disgruntled waitress careening toward madness. While she takes him on a journey that opens new possibilities for his staid, provincial life, their path ultimately leads to her own undoing. Explosively erotic, this is a flamboyant hymn to youthful abandon, emotional excess, and romanticized self-destruction. Although the film gained most of its notoriety for its graphic depiction of sexuality, Beineix’s work can now be seen, along with the films of his contemporary Léos Carax, as a hyper-realist view of the darker side of romance.

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