Story of Women

1988 French drama film

Story of Women

Theatrical release poster

French| Une affaire de femmes
Directed by| Claude Chabrol
Screenplay by|

* Colo Tavernier O'Hagan
* Claude Chabrol

Based on| Une affaire de femmes
by Francis Szpiner
Produced by| Marin Karmitz
Starring|

* Isabelle Huppert
* François Cluzet
* Nils Tavernier
* Marie Trintignant

Cinematography| Jean Rabier
Edited by| Monique Fardoulis
Music by| Matthieu Chabrol

Production
companies

* MK2 Productions
* Films A2
* Les Films du Camélia
* La Sept
* Sofinergie Films

Distributed by| MK2 Diffusion

Release dates

* 2 September 1988 (1988-09-02) (Venice)
* 21 September 1988 (1988-09-21) (France)

Running time

| 108 minutes
Country| France
Language| French

Story of Women (French: Une affaire de femmes) is a 1988 French drama film directed by Claude Chabrol, based on the true story of Marie-Louise Giraud, guillotined on 30 July 1943 for having performed 27 abortions in the Cherbourg area, and the 1986 book Une affaire de femmes by Francis Szpiner.

The film premiered at the 45th Venice International Film Festival, in which Isabelle Huppert was awarded the prize for Best Actress.[1] It has been cited as a favorite by filmmaker John Waters, who presented it as his annual selection within the 2008 Maryland Film Festival.[2]

## Plot

[edit]

Under the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Paul Latour is a prisoner of war in Germany and his wife Marie lives hand-to-mouth with their two children in a squalid flat. A neighbour, whose husband is also in Germany, has fallen pregnant and is trying to lose the baby. Marie helps her successfully. Other women come to her and she starts charging.

While talking with Paul following his release, she reveals that a fortune teller saw "nothing but good things" in her future, along with a lot of women, which she would not clarify. Marie confesses to wanting to be a famous singer. She has, however, lost her love for her husband, who has been wounded and struggles to stay in employment, and rejects his crude and abrupt sexual demands.

Although he cannot find work, he rents a bigger flat at her prompting. Marie continues her illicit business and lets prostitutes use their bedrooms during the day. When one of the abortions goes wrong, the woman dies and her despairing husband commits suicide. Marie shrugs off the tragedy and hires a maid to help. She visits a music teacher, who tells her that she has a great voice.

She also starts a daytime affair with a collaborator and offers the maid a pay raise if she sleeps with Paul. Paul is unhappy with this arrangement and, after he returns home early and witnesses Marie and her lover asleep together, he sends an anonymous denunciation to the police, alerting them to her illegal activities.

A recent law of the Vichy régime, determined to enforce morality and stop population decline, has made abortion a treasonable crime. Marie is condemned to death and guillotined.

## Cast

[edit]

* Isabelle Huppert as Marie
* François Cluzet as Paul
* Nils Tavernier as Lucien
* Marie Trintignant as Lulu/Lucie
* Dominique Blanc as Jasmine
* Franck de la Personne as Martinet
* Guillaume Foutrier as Pierrot #1
* Nicolas Foutrier as Pierrot #2
* Aurore Gauvin as Mouche #1
* Lolita Chammah as Mouche #2
* Thomas Chabrol as the waiter
* Fabienne Chaudat as the saleswoman

## Release

[edit]

The film had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 1988.[1] It premiered in France on September 21, 1988.[3] In the United States, the film premiered on October 13, 1989 in New York City.[4] It began its theatrical run in the US in February 1990.

On October 8, 1988, during a screening of the film at a cinema in the Montparnasse neighborhood of Paris, an audience member died of a heart attack after Christian fundamentalist terrorists threw a tear gas canister into the crowd.[5]

## Critical reception

[edit]

In a positive review for The New York Times, Janet Maslin wrote "Isabelle Huppert has an uncanny ability to convey self-interest on the screen, a quality rendered even steelier by the utter indifference with which it is displayed."[4] She added, "Mr. Chabrol, whose career has had its distinct ups and downs and whose work has barely been shown here in recent years, makes a triumphant return to the kind of emblematic crime story that has long attracted him, in films as different as Violette (1978) and Le Boucher (1971)."[4]

In the Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas wrote, "As a mature work of a master, 'Story of Women'...has a terrific sense of immediacy, an enormous vitality and a deep and broad perspective. It's as if Chabrol is reminding us that social change, inevitably slow and painful as it is, is possible even in the face of seemingly immutable human nature."[6] He continued: "Timely--and scathing--as 'Story of Women' is regarding abortion and women's rights, it is above all a terse, tragic yet exhilarating evocation of the most painful period in modern French history."[6] He also praised Huppert's performance, saying she "has that rare gift that Garbo had in sublime abundance: She is able to give you a complete woman, yet remain a radiant enigma in her beauty and dignity".[6]

## Accolades

[edit]

Award  | Category  | Nominee  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

Bogotá Film Festival | Best Actress  | Isabelle Huppert | Won  |
Best Screenplay  | Colo Tavernier O'Hagan, Claude Chabrol | Won
Boston Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Won  | [7]
Cahiers du Cinéma's Annual Top 10 Lists | Best Film  | Claude Chabrol  | Nominated  | [8]
César Awards | Best Actress | Isabelle Huppert  | Nominated  | [9]
Best Supporting Actress | Marie Trintignant | Nominated
Best Director | Claude Chabrol  | Nominated
Golden Globe Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Nominated  | [10]
Kansas City Film Critics | Best Foreign Language Film  | Won  | [11]
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Claude Chabrol  | Won[a] | [12]
National Board of Review Awards | Best Foreign Film | Won  | [13]
Top Foreign Films | Won
New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Won  | [14]
Sant Jordi Awards | Best Foreign Actress  | Isabelle Huppert  | Won  |
Valladolid International Film Festival | Best Actress  | Won  | [15]
Silver Spike for Best Film  | Claude Chabrol  | Won
Golden Spike for Best Film  | Nominated
Venice International Film Festival | Volpi Cup for Best Actress | Isabelle Huppert  | Won[b] | [6][1][15]
Filmcritica "Bastone Bianco" Award - Special Mention  | Claude Chabrol  | Won
Golden Ciak for Best Film  | Won
Golden Lion | Nominated

The film was ineligible for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film as France had submitted Camille Claudel.[14]

## See also

[edit]

* Isabelle Huppert on screen and stage
* 1988 in film
* List of French films of 1988

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Tied with Terence Davies for Distant Voices, Still Lives
2. ^ Tied with Shirley MacLaine for Madame Sousatzka

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Ermanno Olmi Wins Prize At Venice Film Festival". The New York Times. 10 September 1988. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
2. ^ "MARYLAND FILM FESTIVAL". Baltimore Sun. 1 May 2008. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
3. ^ "Une affaire de femmes". JP Box Office. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
4. ^ a b c Maslin, Janet (13 October 1989). "Review/Film; Huppert as an Abortionist, in Chabrol's 'Story of Women'". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
5. ^ Greenspun, Roger (25 October 1988). "Police Suspect Arson In Fire at Paris Theater". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
6. ^ a b c d Thomas, Kevin (26 October 1989). "MOVIE REVIEW : 'Women': Study of Corruption, Hypocrisy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
7. ^ "Past Winners". thebsfc.org. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
8. ^ "Cahiers du Cinéma 1988". mistdriven.com. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
9. ^ "14th César Awards". Allociné. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
10. ^ "Story of Women". Golden Globes. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
11. ^ "KCFCC Award Winners – 1980-89". Kansas City Film Critics Circle. 14 December 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
12. ^ "1989". lafca.net. Archived from the original on 13 October 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
13. ^ "1989 Archives". National Board of Review. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
14. ^ a b "Crix '89 Picks a Wide-Ranging Mix". Variety. 20 December 1989. p. 7.
15. ^ a b "Story of Women (1988) Awards". mubi.com. Retrieved 10 May 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Story of Women at IMDb
* Story of Women at Rotten Tomatoes
* Brutal Facts: The price of abortion in Une affaire de femmes at The Point

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Claude Chabrol

* Le Beau Serge (1958)
* Les Cousins (1959)
* Web of Passion (1959)
* Les Bonnes Femmes (1960)
* Wise Guys (1961)
* The Third Lover (1962)
* Landru (1963)
* Ophélia (1963)
* Code Name: Tiger (1964)
* Marie-Chantal vs. Doctor Kha (1965)
* Six in Paris (segment "La Muette") (1965)
* Our Agent Tiger (1965)
* Line of Demarcation (1966)
* The Champagne Murders (1967)
* The Road to Corinth (1967)
* Les Biches (1968)
* The Unfaithful Wife (1969)
* This Man Must Die (1969)
* Le Boucher (1970)
* The Breach (1970)
* Just Before Nightfall (1971)
* Ten Days' Wonder (1971)
* Dr. Popaul (1972)
* Wedding in Blood (1973)
* Nada (1974)
* Pleasure Party (1975)
* Innocents with Dirty Hands (1975)
* Death Rite (1976)
* The Twist (1976)
* Alice or the Last Escapade (1977)
* Blood Relatives (1978)
* Violette Nozière (1978)
* The Horse of Pride (1980)
* The Hatter's Ghost (1982)
* The Blood of Others (1984)
* Cop au Vin (1985)
* Inspecteur Lavardin (1986)
* Masks (1987)
* The Cry of the Owl (1987)
* Story of Women (1988)
* Quiet Days in Clichy (1990)
* Dr. M (1990)
* Madame Bovary (1991)
* Betty (1992)
* The Eye of Vichy (1993)
* Hell (1994)
* La Cérémonie (1995)
* The Swindle (1997)
* The Color of Lies (1999)
* Merci pour le Chocolat (2000)
* The Flower of Evil (2003)
* The Bridesmaid (2004)
* Comedy of Power (2006)
* A Girl Cut in Two (2007)
* Bellamy (2009)

Awards for Story of Women

* v
* t
* e

Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film

1975–2000|

* And Now My Love (1975)
* Face to Face (1976)
* That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)
* Madame Rosa (1978)
* Soldier of Orange (1979)
* No Award (1980)
* The Tin Drum (1981)
* Pixote (1982)
* Mad Max 2 (1983)
* Fanny and Alexander / The Fourth Man (1984)
* The Official Story / Ran (1985)
* Vagabond (1986)
* Goodbye, Children (1987)
* Wings of Desire (1988)
* Distant Voices, Still Lives / Story of Women (1989)
* Life and Nothing But (1990)
* The Beautiful Troublemaker (1991)
* The Crying Game (1992)
* Farewell My Concubine (1993)
* Three Colours: Red (1994)
* Wild Reeds (1995)
* La Cérémonie (1996)
* The Promise (1997)
* The Celebration (1998)
* All About My Mother (1999)
* Yi Yi (2000)

2001–present|

* No Man's Land (2001)
* And Your Mother Too (2002)
* The Man on the Train (2003)
* House of Flying Daggers (2004)
* Hidden (2005)
* The Lives of Others (2006)
* 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)
* Still Life (2008)
* Summer Hours (2009)
* Carlos (2010)
* City of Life and Death (2011)
* Holy Motors (2012)
* Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013)
* Ida (2014)
* Son of Saul (2015)
* The Handmaiden (2016)
* BPM (Beats per Minute) / Loveless (2017)
* Burning / Shoplifters (2018)
* Pain and Glory (2019)
* Beanpole (2020)
* Petite Maman (2021)
* EO (2022)
* Anatomy of a Fall (2023)
* All We Imagine as Light (2024)

* v
* t
* e

National Board of Review Award for Best International Film

1934–1975|

* Man of Aran (1934)
* No Award (1935)
* Carnival in Flanders (1936)
* The Eternal Mask (1937)
* La Grande Illusion (1938)
* Port of Shadows (1939)
* The Baker's Wife (1940)
* Pépé le Moko (1941)
* No Award (1942–1949)
* The Titan (1950)
* Rashomon (1951)
* The Sound Barrier (1952)
* A Queen Is Crowned (1953)
* Romeo and Juliet (1954)
* The Prisoner (1955)
* The Silent World (1956)
* Ordet (1957)
* Pather Panchali (1958)
* Wild Strawberries (1959)
* The World of Apu (1960)
* Die Brücke (1961)
* Sundays and Cybèle (1962)
* 8½ (1963)
* World Without Sun (1964)
* Juliet of the Spirits (1965)
* The Sleeping Car Murders (1966)
* Elvira Madigan (1967)
* War and Peace (1968)
* Shame (1969)
* The Wild Child (1970)
* Claire's Knee (1971)
* The Sorrow and the Pity (1972)
* Cries and Whispers (1973)
* Amarcord (1974)
* The Story of Adele H. (1975)

1976–present|

* The Marquise of O (1976)
* That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)
* Autumn Sonata (1978)
* La Cage aux Folles (1979)
* The Tin Drum (1980)
* A Few Days from the Life of I. I. Oblomov (1981)
* Mephisto (1982)
* Fanny and Alexander (1983)
* A Sunday in the Country (1984)
* Ran (1985)
* Otello (1986)
* Jean de Florette / Manon des Sources (1987)
* Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
* Story of Women (1989)
* Cyrano de Bergerac (1990)
* Europa Europa (1991)
* Indochine (1992)
* Farewell My Concubine (1993)
* Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)
* Shanghai Triad (1995)
* Ridicule (1996)
* Shall We Dance? (1997)
* Central Station (1998)
* All About My Mother (1999)
* Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
* Amores perros (2001)
* Talk to Her (2002)
* The Barbarian Invasions (2003)
* The Sea Inside (2004)
* Paradise Now (2005)
* Volver (2006)
* The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
* Mongol (2008)
* A Prophet (2009)
* Of Gods and Men (2010)
* A Separation (2011)
* Amour (2012)
* The Past (2013)
* Wild Tales (2014)
* Son of Saul (2015)
* The Salesman (2016)
* Foxtrot (2017)
* Cold War (2018)
* Parasite (2019)
* La Llorona (2020)
* A Hero (2021)
* Close (2022)
* Anatomy of a Fall (2023)
* The Seed of the Sacred Fig (2024)

* v
* t
* e

New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best International Film

1937–1968|

* Mayerling (1937)
* Grand Illusion (1938)
* Harvest (1939)
* The Baker's Wife (1940)
* No Award (1941–1945)
* Rome, Open City (1946)
* To Live in Peace (1947)
* Paisan (1948)
* Bicycle Thieves (1949)
* L'amore (1950)
* Miracle in Milan (1951)
* Forbidden Games (1952)
* Justice Is Done (1953)
* Gate of Hell (1954)
* Umberto D. (1955)
* The Road (1956)
* Gervaise (1957)
* My Uncle (1958)
* The 400 Blows (1959)
* Hiroshima My Love (1960)
* The Sweet Life (1961)
* No Award (1962)
* 8½ (1963)
* That Man from Rio (1964)
* Juliet of the Spirits (1965)
* The Shop on Main Street (1966)
* The War Is Over (1967)
* War and Peace (1968)
* No Award (1969–1977)

1978–present|

* Bread and Chocolate (1978)
* The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1979)
* My American Uncle (1980)
* Pixote (1981)
* Time Stands Still (1982)
* Fanny and Alexander (1983)
* A Sunday in the Country (1984)
* Ran (1985)
* The Decline of the American Empire (1986)
* My Life as a Dog (1987)
* Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
* Story of Women (1989)
* The Nasty Girl (1990)
* Europa Europa (1991)
* Raise the Red Lantern (1992)
* Farewell My Concubine (1993)
* Three Colours: Red (1994)
* Wild Reeds (1995)
* The White Balloon (1996)
* Ponette (1997)
* The Celebration (1998)
* All About My Mother (1999)
* Yi Yi (2000)
* In the Mood for Love (2001)
* And Your Mother Too (2002)
* City of God (2003)
* Bad Education (2004)
* 2046 (2005)
* Army of Shadows (2006)
* The Lives of Others (2007)
* 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2008)
* Summer Hours (2009)
* Carlos (2010)
* A Separation (2011)
* Amour (2012)
* Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013)
* Ida (2014)
* Timbuktu (2015)
* Toni Erdmann (2016)
* BPM (Beats per Minute) (2017)
* Cold War (2018)
* Parasite (2019)
* Bacurau (2020)
* The Worst Person in the World (2021)
* EO (2022)
* Anatomy of a Fall (2023)
* All We Imagine as Light (2024)

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