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The Public Woman
La Femme publique
1984 113 min France 18+
★6.6
Drama
Director: Andrzej Zulawski
Trailers
Description
An inexperienced young actress is invited to play a role in a film based on Dostoyevsky's 'The Possessed'. The film director, a Czech immigrant in Paris, takes over her life, and in a short time she is unable to draw the line between acting and reality. She winds up playing a real-life role posing as the dead wife of another Czech immigrant, who is manipulated by the filmmaker into commiting a political assassination.
Starring
Francis Huster
Actor
Valérie Kaprisky
Actor
Lambert Wilson
Actor
Awards
César Awards 1985
— Best Supporting Actor
César Awards 1985
— Best Actress
César Awards 1985
— Best Adapted Screenplay
Key opinion
La Femme publique is a raw, self-reflexive work that explores the blurred lines between cinematic manipulation and reality. Through a recursive structure inspired by Dostoevsky, the film acts as both an intense character study and a cynical commentary on the death of auteur cinema.
| Cinematography | The film employs an aggressive visual language, utilizing distorted camera angles, constant movement, and fragmented editing to simulate a state of creative crisis. | |
| Acting | Franciszek Pieczka delivers a magnetic and diabolical performance as the manipulative director-figure, capturing the complex duality of a "spiritual pimp." | |
| Adaptation | The complex, recursive narrative structure mirrors Dostoevsky’s 'Demons,' rewarding viewers familiar with the source material while leaving others confused by its fragmented plot. | |
| Acting | Valérie Kaprisky’s performance as the exploited actress is highly polarized; some praise her raw, sexualized intensity, while others find her dramatic range limited. |