''Maîtresse'' (English: "mistress" or "teacher") is a 1975 French

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film co-written and directed by

Barbet Schroeder Barbet Schroeder (born 26 August 1941) is an Iranian-born Swiss film director and producer who started his career in French cinema in the 1960s, working with directors of the French New Wave such as Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette and Eric Rohm ...

, starring

Bulle Ogier Bulle Ogier (born Marie-France Thielland; 9 August 1939) is a French actress and screenwriter. Career She adopted the professional surname Ogier, which was her mother's maiden name. Her first appearance on screen was in ''Voilà l'Ordre'', a s ...

and, in one of his earliest leading roles,

Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor. An icon of French cinema, considered a world star in the same way as Alain Delon or Brigitte Bardot, he has completed over 250 films since 1967, most of which as ...

. The film provoked controversy in the United Kingdom and the United States due to its graphic depictions of

BDSM BDSM is a variety of often Eroticism, erotic practices or Sexual roleplay, roleplaying involving Bondage (BDSM), bondage, Discipline (BDSM), discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given ...

Plot

Olivier, a naive provincial, comes to Paris and looks up a friend, who enlists him to sell books door to door. Ariane, an attractive young woman in her dressing gown asks them in to help, as the bath she was running has overflowed. Asked about the apartment beneath, she says the owners are away. That night the two break in to rob the place, and find it is the torture chamber of a professional

dominatrix A dominatrix ( ; or dominatrices ), or domme, is a woman who takes the dominant role in BDSM activities. The BDSM practice is called female dominance, or femdom. A dominatrix can be of any sexual orientation, but this does not necessarily l ...

. In fact it is Ariane's workplace and she catches the intruders, asking Olivier for brief help with a client and paying him afterwards. Olivier becomes her live-in lover, thinking he will be the strong man for a vulnerable woman, but she is older, tougher, and a lot wiser. She tries to keep her work separate, but he struggles over the number of other men who call and the things she does with them. Eventually, his blundering efforts to take charge lead to a crisis. Her wealthy protector, who has allowed her to enjoy herself by taking a lover and running her own business, shuts it down and takes her to his country house to be with her child. When Olivier tracks her down, she takes him for a drive through the woods and crashes the car as they are making love on the move. Both emerge laughing from the smoking wreckage.

Cast

as Ariane *

as Olivier *

André Rouyer André Rouyer (20 June 1929 – 28 January 1994) was a French film actor, born in Argentan. He appeared in 60 films between 1956 and 1994. Selected filmography * '' Forgive Us Our Trespasses'' (1956) * ''Rapt au deuxième bureau'' (1958) * ...

as Mario * Nathalie Keryan as Lucienne *

Roland Bertin Roland Bertin (16 November 1930 – 20 February 2024) was a French stage and film actor. He appeared in at least 100 films and television shows from 1970 onwards. Bertin died on 20 February 2024, at the age of 93. Selected filmography * '' Le ...

as man in cage * as Emile *

Holger Löwenadler Holger Carl Minton Löwenadler (1 April 1904 – 18 June 1977) was a Swedish film actor. He starred in Ingmar Bergman's '' A Ship to India'' (1947). He appeared in '' Divorced'' (1951), which was written by Bergman. Other appearances inclu ...

as Gautier

Release in the United Kingdom

''Maîtresse'' was first submitted to the

British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is a non-governmental organization, non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films exhibited ...

(BBFC) in 1976. Examiners' reports agreed that the film was well made and not exploitative, but under their censorship standards of the time it had to be refused a certificate: "the actual scenes of fetishism are miles in excess of anything we have ever passed in this field". This meant that it could not be shown in a public cinema and instead was given showings in private cinema clubs. However, in 1980, the film was subsequently re-examined for public release by the BBFC, and in February 1981 was granted an 'X' certificate in a cut version. To gain the certificate, a total of 4 minutes and 47 seconds' footage was removed from three scenes, most notably the scene in which Ariane nails a client's scrotum to a plank of wood, an act that was not simulated (and was not performed onscreen by Bulle OgierBulle Ogier interview, ''Films Illustrated'' magazine, October 1980.). In 2003, the film was submitted for a third time, and was passed for an 18 certificate with all previous cuts waived. In November 2012, ''Maîtresse'' was released in a new Blu-ray Disc/DVD dual-format edition by the

BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, d ...

, its first appearance on Blu-ray Disc. The film was rated X in the United States. It was rated R18 in New Zealand for sexual violence, sex scenes and offensive language.

References

External links

* *
''Maîtresse''
– an essay by

Elliott Stein Elliott Stein (December 5, 1928 – November 7, 2012) was an American film critic, historian, programmer, and scriptwriter. In the 1950s, he managed ''Janus'', a literary review in Paris, and was a film critic there from 1960 to 1970. He also wr ...

at the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of arthouse film distributo ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maitresse 1975 films 1970s French-language films BDSM in films Films directed by Barbet Schroeder Films set in Paris Films shot in Paris Gaumont (company) films 1970s French films Films scored by Carlos d'Alessio Les Films du Losange films

Plot

Cast

Release in the United Kingdom

See also

References

External links