Day Lily

Paper by Sofia Nagel. Viewed on DVD.

In Belle de Jour (Luis Buñuel, 1967), Séverine Serizy (Catherine Deneuve) evades her mundane existence by escaping to an inviting and salacious alternate reality; a merry-go-round of domination, sex and unbridled temptation. Séverine has a passionless marriage to Pierre (Jean Sorel). As a physician, Pierre spends long hours at the office leaving Séverine alone to her thoughts. She dreams of a different life for herself; where she engages in unchaste and lascivious acts. Through flashbacks, the oppressive religious environment that Séverine grew up in is revealed; combined with her refusal to take communion as a child. The viewer learns that she was also tragically sexually abused as a young girl. Séverine desires to be punished for her sins. The opening dream sequence establishes the tone for the film and sets recurring themes; such as bells ringing and cats meowing. It ardently expresses how Séverine feels and what she desires. Séverine and her husband’s strained relationship is also made evident; his devotion and her iciness. Séverine is tightly bound and longs to be unlaced. This scene is the backbone for the film; the audience can learn so much about Séverine from this particular scene. When the viewer witnesses Séverine enjoying being whipped, the entire film takes a different turn. Without this scene, the film would be far less powerful.

In the opening scene, Séverine dreams that she has been taken out to the country. Séverine rides alongside her husband in an elegant horse carriage. The two men driving look formal and distinguished. Séverine and Pierre are dressed well; Pierre wears a black suit while Séverine is dressed in a red coat with gold buttons. They could easily be going on a romantic getaway. She sits with remarkable posture and poise. She’s aloof yet taunts you with her beauty and sexuality. The brown horses trot along; carrying them further into the country. The camera is set that we are on the carriage ourselves, viewing the mist coming from the trees and feeling the overwhelming sense of doom. Pierre speaks to Severine, “I love you more every day.” She responds that she loves him as well. He then goes on to say that he wishes she weren’t so cold; she’s upset by this. Pierre continues whispering sweet nothings and speaking of his tenderness for Severine; she stops him, “What good is your tenderness to me?” Pierre appears hurt and tells Séverine how cruel she can be. Pierre tells the men to stop the carriage. Pierre raises his voice and tells Séverine to get out; she inquires why; he refuses to answer. The coachmen grab her alongside Pierre. She begins to shriek, “It’s not my fault! I can explain everything!” The men push her further into the forest and drag her by her long, blond hair to an isolated area. They bind her hands onto a tree so that her arms are above her. Her mouth is covered with a scarf; making speaking impossible. Pierre rips her dress, exposing her back. The coachmen begin to whip her ruthlessly. She pleads to Pierre while he watches. At first seemingly in pain, a subtle hint of enjoyment shows on Severine’s porcelain face. Pierre stops them. The coachmen then comes behind to Séverine and caresses her neck, she lustfully looks back while Pierre watches. Séverine wakes to Pierre asking what she’s thinking about. She’s laying innocently in her bed; looks to him and tells him that she was thinking about them.

There are many dream sequences in the film so the opening scene is vital to comprehend Belle de Jour. We learn that Séverine is distant, aloof, and wants something else from her husband; as is made evident when she appears to be enjoying being tortured. Belle de Jour came out during the sexual revolution – when women were first using birth control and having sex for their own enjoyment. There were a lot of conflicted emotions that came along with that from both men and women. Catholic guilt also plays a heavy role. Séverine was most likely an example of many women who fought between either doing what they wanted or following the conventions that they were raised with. The significance of dreaming is heavily expressed in Luis Buñuel films. In Belle de Jour, Séverine contemplates what role she wants to play and what role she has in society. There is a clash between her reality and her dream life. Severine’s internalized world is more important than the one she is living in reality. It also truly depicts what Séverine wants and how she feels about herself. She’s ridden with guilt. Séverine believes that the sexual assault was her fault, which is why she wouldn’t take communion. She feels that she has the need to be punished and if no one else is going to do it; she’ll damn well find a way to inflict it upon herself. When the carriage abruptly stops and Séverine is taken out and screams that it wasn’t her fault; she’s defending the horrors of her past and what she believes she needs to atone for. Another example of why this scene is so pivotal for the rest of the film is when Severine’s mouth is covered with a scarf to stop her from speaking; it’s similar to her not opening her mouth as a child to take communion. She’s forced to be silent. This is shown in her daily manner. Séverine is an ice-princess, is very shy, and seldom asserts herself. Throughout Belle de Jour , Luis Buñuel toys with what is more important; our innermost wants that we dare tell no one, or our realities and how we choose to act in them.

Séverine acts upon her capricious fantasies after her husband’s friend Henri Husson (Michel Piccoli) suggests that she meet a madame at a high-class brothel. Séverine is initially appalled yet her curiosity begins to stir. She eventually goes to the brothel nervously and naively. She meets with Madame Anaïs who gives her the push that she needed. Séverine asserts that must be home before 5pm. Anaïs suggests that she be called Belle de Jour, the beauty of the day. Séverine grows immensely because of working in the brothel. She becomes more warm and open. She speaks to the other women there and becomes less frigid about sex. She becomes close with the other escorts she works with and becomes more comfortable with herself and her sexuality. In the beginning of her journey, she is shut-off sexually and seemingly always stuck in her own world. Séverine enjoys the nature of being belittled because of how low her confidence is. Séverine is one of the most and insecure characters who attempts to find a way to band-aid the pain from her past. On a fateful day, Husson comes to visit the brothel, where he is a well-known customer. He sees Séverine yet no longer desires her. Her innocence and purity are what attracted him to her in the first place. They are now gone. This is another example of Catholic guilt; of a man not wanting a woman because he believes she is soiled or ruined goods. He planted the seed to prostitute herself yet rejects her. The sexual politics in Belle de Jour are intriguing to observe as well. Séverine is both very submissive and enjoys dominance yet by the end of the film, the power is in her hands.

Séverine believes she is not worthy of her husband’s devotion and undivided attention. She believes she needs to be punished and to be used by men. That’s what she believes she deserves and what she is most familiar with. Her relationship with her husband is far different from her controlling relationship with her father conveyed through the flashbacks. All of the dream sequences are remnant of the initial one. The ringing of bells, the cats meowing; the different things that stir an emotion in Severine. The initial dream allows us to view Séverine’s innermost wants and needs and lets the audience know what Séverine sees when she looks in the mirror.

While working, Séverine meets a young gangster called Marcel (Pierre Clementi). Despite having awful teeth, he’s alluring and titillating. Séverine enjoys him; even not charging him for her services. When Séverine leaves for a few weeks to be with her husband; Marcel becomes irate. He becomes obsessed with her even stalking her to find out where she lives. Marcel threatens to tell Severine’s husband what she does during the day if she doesn’t see him again. Marcel leaves and waits below their stairs, he shoots Pierre before ultimately being shot down by the police. Pierre remarkably survives yet is paralyzed. Husson one day comes to visit. Séverine and he speak; Séverine informs him that she is no longer working as an escort. Husson decides to tell Pierre and Séverine doesn’t object. After Husson leaves, Séverine feels her conscience is cleared. She takes care of his every whim, ultimately atoning for her sins.