“La Souriante Madame Beudet” (The Smiling Madame Beudet) (1923) by Germaine Dulac is not quite an experimental or surrealist film, but we could not restrain ourselves from sharing it. The outstanding play of the actors, the meticulous attention to details in the shots, and psychological charge introduced by Germaine Dulac through intermediate shots are outstanding. It is also regarded as one of the first feminist films. Underlining the significance of agency which comes with control of your own body, time, and finances, so important for women, by, dare we say, its absence. Germaine Dulac, herself a journalist, a founder of a film company, a film director, and one of the most notable filmmakers in early cinema, certainly knew first hand the fight it takes to acquire this agency.
Enjoy the film, made available thanks to the great Internet Archive platform.
Still from “La Souriante Madame Beudet” (The Smiling Madame Beudet) (1923) by Germaine Dulac