''The Lacemaker'' () is a 1977 French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Claude Goretta Claude Goretta (23 June 1929 – 20 February 2019) was a Swiss television producer and film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) w ...

and starring

Isabelle Huppert Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert (; born 16 March 1953) is a French actress. Known for her portrayals of cold, austere women devoid of morality, she is considered one of the greatest actresses of her generation. With 16 nominations and two win ...

and

Yves Beneyton Yves Beneyton (born 3 August 1946) is a French actor. Filmography External links * French male film actors French male television actors French male stage actors French male voice actors 1946 births Living people {{France- ...

. It is based on the 1974

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt ( , "The Goncourt Prize") is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward of only 10 euros, but resul ...

winning novel '' La Dentellière'' by Pascal Lainé.

Plot

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, the shy and virginal Béatrice (known as "Pomme") lives with her mother and works in a hairdressing salon, where her only friend is the lively Marylène. Left by her lover, Marylène suggests that the two girls take a holiday by the sea at

Cabourg Cabourg (; ) is a commune in the Calvados department, region of Normandy, France. Cabourg is on the coast of the English Channel, at the mouth of the river Dives. The back country is a plain, favourable to the culture of cereal. The town sits ...

. There Marylène soon goes off with a new man, leaving Béatrice on her own. Befriended by the shy student François, the two become lovers and Béatrice moves into his room in Paris. Though he introduces her to his well-off parents and his intellectual friends, she is unable to mix in their worlds. Her deep reserve begins to annoy him and they split up. Losing interest in life, she ends up in a mental hospital. Full of remorse, François visits her but she wants nothing: she has found a quiet place that suits her inwardness. In her silent anonymity, she is like the unknown girls in paintings such as

Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , ; see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. He is considered one of the greatest painters of the Dutch ...

's '' The Lacemaker''.

Cast

as Pomme *

as François * Florence Giorgetti as Marylène *

Annemarie Düringer Annemarie Düringer (26 November 1925 – 26 November 2014) was a Swiss actress. She was born in Arlesheim, Basel-Landschaft. The daughter of a Swiss industrialist, she graduated from Cours Simon, Paris in 1946, and from the Max Reinhardt Semi ...

as Pomme's mother (as Anne-Marie Düringer) * Renate Schroeter as Marianne (as Renata Schroeter) * Monique Chaumette as the mother of François * Jean Obé as the father of François * Christian Baltauss as Gérard, partner of Marianne *

Sabine Azéma Sabine Azéma (born 20 September 1949) is a French stage and film actress and director. Born in Paris, she graduated from the Paris Conservatory of Dramatic Arts. Career Her film career began in 1975. Azéma appeared in '' A Sunday in the C ...

as Corinne (as Sabine Azema)

Awards and nominations

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best Cinema of the United Kingdom, British and Worl ...

(UK) **Won: Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles (Isabelle Huppert) *

1977 Cannes Film Festival The 30th Cannes Film Festival took place from 13 to 27 May 1977. Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossellini served as jury president for the main competition. Italian filmmakers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top priz ...

(France) **Won Prize of the Ecumenical Jury (Claude Goretta; tied with J.A. Martin photographe) **Nominated:

Golden Palm The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

(Claude Goretta) *

César Awards The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Min ...

(France) **Nominated: Best Actress – Leading Role (Isabelle Huppert) **Nominated: Best Actress – Supporting Role (Florence Giorgetti) **Nominated: Best Film *

David di Donatello Awards The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (the Academy of Italian Cinema). There are 26 award ca ...

(Italy) **Won: Best Foreign Actress (Isabelle Huppert)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lacemaker, The 1977 films 1977 drama films French drama films 1970s French-language films Films directed by Claude Goretta Films based on French novels Films set in Paris 1970s French films Films scored by Pierre Jansen French-language drama films

Plot

Cast

Awards and nominations

See also

References

External links