The Public Woman (French: La femme publique) is a 1984 French erotic drama film, directed by Andrzej Żuławski, starring Valérie Kaprisky, Lambert Wilson and Francis Huster as the lead actors. The film had a total of 1,302,425 admissions in France where it was the 28th-highest-grossing film of the year. The film being recorded inside the film is based on inspired by Fyodor Dostoevsky's 1872 novel Demons.
Contents
Awards
César Awards, France, 1985
Nominated
Best Actress - Valérie Kaprisky
Best Supporting Actor - Lambert Wilson
Best Adaptation - Andrzej Żuławski and Dominique Garnier
Montréal World Film Festival 1984
Won Most Popular Film - Andrzej Żuławski
Won Special Prize of the Jury - Andrzej Żuławski
DVD releases
The film had its English-speaking debut on DVD in late 2008, when new label Mondo Vision released the film as its debut title. The disc features a commentary from Andrzej Żuławski and a video interview, where he discusses Polish cinema and the film's production. The film is also available on DVD, blu-ray and 4K from LCJ Editions in France, IVC in Japan, and Minerva Pictures in Italy, but lack these extras.
Reception
Jeremiah Kipp of Slant Magazine gave the film four out of four stars. He praised the film's emotional intensity, camerawork, cinematography, and the main character's portrayal. Variety noted that Kaprisky "gives her all as the aspiring thesp without much personality" and praised the cinematography; however, the review pointed out that there was a "monstrous political plot that never is adequately explained" and that the film has "little method or meaning".
