Try to reveal the true ending of "Beauty in the Day"

Gregory 2022-03-22 09:02:17

Because Buñuel interspersed and edited reality, dreams/fantasies, and memories, without distinction/hint, the audience had multiple interpretations of the content structure of "Beauty in the Daytime". Especially the two endings, which one is true?

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If you agree that Séverine, the heroine at the beginning, was insulted by the coachman as a dream/fantasy, then the Duke's Mansion and the happy ending at the end of the film are all dreams/fantasies. The basis is that the coachmen in these three scenes are all the same two people.

The driver and the hero and heroine of scene 1

The coachman who took the Duke & Séverine

Séverine and Pierre watch the carriage away at the end of the credits

So at the end Pierre learned the truth and shed tears as the real ending, and suddenly stood up from the wheelchair should be Séverine's fantasy.

The two coachmen in the duel scene should also be the two, but it cannot be confirmed because there is no clear front view of the coachman holding the shoulders.

The coachman A in the duel scene (should be the one who abused Séverine at the beginning)

Some people in the comments think that the whole film is Séverine's fantasy, but in fact it didn't go out for a day. In that case, the whole film is just a sexual fantasy of a middle-class wife, and Pierre standing up from his wheelchair may have a real ending.

It is difficult to choose between the two conclusions. In contrast, I prefer the first one. Because Marshall robs the building and asks for money in the bar in the film, it is not from Séverine's perspective, and it is difficult to count as Séverine's dream/fantasy.

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Extended Reading
  • Guiseppe 2022-04-24 07:01:16

    Archives. Paris fashion blockbuster, both men and women dress stylishly. I can't say I like the rhythm and some convoluted details of French literary films, I can only say I accept it. Dreams and reality. Sexual psychology is really a fun theme, and I feel like I can understand the heroine's thinking. However, due to my low understanding ability, I still have some doubts about this film...

  • Luther 2022-03-23 09:02:34

    I didn't expect to watch a refurbished movie on a big screen in a new type of auditorium, and the picture could not see the sense of age. It was the first time to watch a movie at a film festival. There is no way to compare, just watching erotic movies in the public can't experience the kind of calmness that private movie watching can't experience, the laughter and discussion during the movie watching, and the sparse applause at the end of the movie [2020-6 -11 Re-download CC Collector's Edition screenshots and see]

Belle de Jour quotes

  • Henri Husson: You should see a specialist about your obsessions.

    Renee: He's rich and idle. Those are his two main illnesses.

    Henri Husson: Don't forget the hunt. I also have a special weakness for the poor. I think of them when it snows, with no fur coats, no hope, no nothing.

  • Pierre Serizy: [referring to Husson] I like him. He's amusing.

    Séverine Serizy: He's strange.

    Renee: Worse than that.