Jeffrey Berris
After World War I, there was a change in the values, lifestyles, and tendencies of people in Paris and other European cities. The twenties period caused a shift after the War in the French ideals of the upper and middle classes. This shift altered people’s personalities towards an “aspiration to joy and debauchery”. The Smiling Madame Beudet is based around the idea that Madame Beudet was living a miserable and dull life in her current marriage. Madame was fed up with Monsieur Beudet as she was constantly drifting off into dream like states viewing a happier life. Just by viewing the movie without any context, all of the arrangements on screen (setting, movement, performance, makeup, and costume), would open our eyes to the reality that Madame is dreaming and aspiring for joy throughout the whole movie. This can be seen particularly in the movements and performances of the actors.
In our eyes, it was intentional on Dulac’s part to make Madame miserable in order to clearly state that happiness was something the upper class in 1920s France placed a large amount of importance on. After the war, “they had seen so many disabled people and a lot of them lost part of their family. After five years of distress and austerity they wanted the war to be the “der des ders” (last of the last). A new period full of lightness and distractions was about to begin for a better society.” The scene in which Madame is in a dream state is an artful and different way that Dulac was able to express her vies for happiness. Through the actress’s expressions, movements, and performance, we can tell that when indulged in the dream, she appears much happier.
Rohan, Anne. “Cultural Paris.” The Parisian Life In The 1920’s. 2012. Accessed October 26, 2015.