This film is currently unavailable
Belle de Jour
Luis Buñuel's provocative classic about a bored and neglected housewife (Catherine Deneuve) risks her reputation to take up a daring new hobby.
Director: Luis Buñuel
Overview
Catherine Deneuve gives an electrifyingly enigmatic performance as the happily married but bored Parisian who takes to spending her afternoons working at a high-class brothel. Elegance and depravity go hand in hand as Buñuel explores the psychological and moral ambivalence of bourgeois lives – and fantasies.
True to his surrealist roots, Luis Buñuel blurs the distinction between ‘reality’ and Séverine’s masochistic fantasies; he also eschews sensationalism, opting for subtle details all the more intriguing in their ambiguity. Like the production design and costumes, Sacha Vierny’s cinematography and Séverine herself, this provocative classic exudes elegance – but that, Buñuel reminds us, counts for little compared to the inner life...
sexual fetish theme and scenes
Related
The Exterminating Angel The Exterminating Angel
Drama 1962 93 mins Director: Luis Buñuel
Buñuel’s surreal, darkly satirical masterpiece about a group of wealthy dinner guests finding themselves inexplicably unable to leave the room.
In My Skin In My Skin
Drama 2002 95 mins Director: Marina de Van
Marina de Van’s deeply personal debut about a young woman's addiction to self-mutilation stretches the body horror genre in new ways.
Viridiana Viridiana
Drama 1961 91 mins Director: Luis Buñuel
Banned in Spain, condemned by the Vatican and celebrated at Cannes, Buñuel’s satire about an aspiring nun takes a stinging crack at society.
Simon of the Desert Simon of the Desert
Biopic 1965 45 mins Director: Luis Buñuel
Silvia Pinal's Devil torments and tempts a holy man in Buñuel’s final Mexican film, which features the most thrillingly unexpected ending.
20th Century Women 20th Century Women
Drama 2016 118 mins Director: Mike Mills
Annette Bening stars as a mum enlisting two friends (Greta Gerwig and Elle Fanning) to help her son navigate adolescence in Mike Mills’s comedy-drama.
Urchin Urchin
Drama 2025 99 mins Director: Harris Dickinson
The debut feature from actor Harris Dickinson sees a homeless addict get a shot at recovery and redemption.
Seven Samurai Seven Samurai
Drama 1954 207 mins Director: Akira Kurosawa
Farmers hire a band of samurai to defend them against marauding bandits in Kurosawa’s influential epic, a touchstone for action movies ever since.
Paris, Texas Paris, Texas
Drama 1984 145 mins Director: Wim Wenders
The late, great Harry Dean Stanton's finest role came as the near-mute Travis, on a journey across America to reunite his family, in Wim Wenders' moving tale of loss and redemption.
Romance Romance
Drama 1999 98 mins Director: Catherine Breillat
Shockingly explicit, Catherine Breillat’s critically acclaimed Romance is one of the most controversial films of modern cinema.
Little Joe Little Joe
Science Fiction 2019 105 mins Director: Jessica Hausner
Jessica Hausner’s cool, witty and unsettling sci-fi starring Emily Beecham and Ben Whishaw.
Lynn + Lucy Lynn + Lucy
Drama 2019 88 mins Director: Fyzal Boulifa
A lifelong friendship is tested by tragedy in this atmospheric and intense first feature from acclaimed British shorts director Fyzal Boulifa.
One Deadly Summer One Deadly Summer
Crime 1983 134 mins Director: Jean Becker
A summer of love turns into a dark tale of revenge. This compelling film by Jean Becker features a stunning Isabelle Adjani in one of her most extraordinary performances.
A Lizard in a Woman's Skin A Lizard in a Woman's Skin
Horror 1971 103 mins Director: Lucio Fulci
A woman accused of murder begins to lose grip on reality, in this psychedelic, Swinging London thriller from cult director Lucio Fulci (The Beyond).
The Exterminating Angel The Exterminating Angel
Drama 1962 93 mins Director: Luis Buñuel
Buñuel’s surreal, darkly satirical masterpiece about a group of wealthy dinner guests finding themselves inexplicably unable to leave the room.
Viridiana Viridiana
Drama 1961 91 mins Director: Luis Buñuel
Banned in Spain, condemned by the Vatican and celebrated at Cannes, Buñuel’s satire about an aspiring nun takes a stinging crack at society.
Simon of the Desert Simon of the Desert
Biopic 1965 45 mins Director: Luis Buñuel
Silvia Pinal's Devil torments and tempts a holy man in Buñuel’s final Mexican film, which features the most thrillingly unexpected ending.
Un Chien Andalou Un Chien Andalou
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1928 16 mins Silent Director: Luis Buñuel
A scabrous study of desire, the subconscious and anti-clericalism - Buñuel and Dalí’s provocative first film is a classic of Surrealist cinema.
The Exterminating Angel The Exterminating Angel
Drama 1962 93 mins Director: Luis Buñuel
Buñuel’s surreal, darkly satirical masterpiece about a group of wealthy dinner guests finding themselves inexplicably unable to leave the room.
In My Skin In My Skin
Drama 2002 95 mins Director: Marina de Van
Marina de Van’s deeply personal debut about a young woman's addiction to self-mutilation stretches the body horror genre in new ways.
Viridiana Viridiana
Drama 1961 91 mins Director: Luis Buñuel
Banned in Spain, condemned by the Vatican and celebrated at Cannes, Buñuel’s satire about an aspiring nun takes a stinging crack at society.
Simon of the Desert Simon of the Desert
Biopic 1965 45 mins Director: Luis Buñuel
Silvia Pinal's Devil torments and tempts a holy man in Buñuel’s final Mexican film, which features the most thrillingly unexpected ending.
The Ice Tower The Ice Tower
Fantasy 2025 117 mins Director: Lucile Hadzihalilovic
Marion Cotillard brings a thrilling magnetism to this snowbound tale of obsession and wish fulfilment between an actress and a young runaway.
Rhianna Dhillon's Fresh Starts Rhianna Dhillon's Fresh Starts
Short documentary 2026 11 mins Director: Henry Barnes and Maha Albadrawi
Critic and broadcaster Rhianna Dhillon selects her pick of the films that will help you make a change for 2026.