Rent Mouchette (1967)
3.8 of 5 from 97 ratings
1h 18min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
In a rural community of grinding economic and spiritual poverty, where poaching and delivering bootleg liquor supplement meagre incomes and love is absent, Mouchette is endlessly abused. She cares selflessly and without thanks for her family as her mother slowly dies, whilst she is humiliated by a teacher for singing out of tune, is called a slut by a shopkeeper and even, as she is about to speak to a young man who smiled at her on the dodgems, is slapped by her harsh, judgemental father. Finally, having sought to help the epileptic poacher Arsene, she is raped by him. Even then, she later protects him. Mouchette may not understand all that she experiences but nor is she a helpless victim. She cares for her mother and especially for her infant sibling. Ostracised by her cruel classmates, she retaliates, throwing mud at them. She also avenges herself against the woman who speaks with pious reverence of the dead and who offers Mouchette a funeral shroud for her mother and a dress for herself. - Actors:
- Nadine Nortier, Jean-Claude Guilbert, Marie Cardinal, Paul Hébert, Jean Vimenet, Marie Susini, Liliane Princet, Suzanne Huguenin, Marine Trichet, Raymonde Chabrun
- Directors:
- Robert Bresson
- Producers:
- Anatole Dauman
- Writers:
- Georges Bernanos, Robert Bresson
- Studio:
- Nouveaux Pictures
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama
- Collections:
- 10 Films to Watch if You Like: EO, A Brief History of the Tradition of Quality, Cinema Paradiso's 2024 Centenary Club: Part 1, Cinema Paradiso's 2025 Centenary Club: January - March, Films to Watch If You Like..., A Brief History of Film...
- Countries:
- France
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 10/03/2014
- Run Time:
- 82 minutes
- Languages:
- French LPCM Stereo
- Subtitles:
- English
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.78:1 / 16:9
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- 'Zum Beispiel Bresson' An award-winning documentary by Theodor Kotulla (31 mins approx)
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Reviews (1) of Mouchette
Death by a Thousand Shrugs - Mouchette review by griggs
It doesn’t feel like you watch this so much as you get pinned in place by it. No melodrama, no rescue — just Bresson showing how a kid gets worn down by a thousand small cruelties.
Mouchette isn’t destroyed by one single incident. It’s the whole setup: poverty treated like a character flaw, constant judgement from adults and peers, meanness dressed up as “discipline”, and any “help” served with a side of superiority. Even when she lashes out, it’s survival — that’s what a cornered child looks like when she’s had enough of being measured and found wanting.
Nadine Nortier is terrific: all glare, stiffness, and exhausted pride. Bresson’s style is spare but never empty — it keeps you close, and it keeps you honest. By the end, you’re not debating her decisions. You’re furious at how many people decided she didn’t matter.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.