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Plot

Also known as The Storm Within, Les Parents Terribles was adapted by director Jean Cocteau from his own stage play. Yvonne de Bray plays a manipulative, possessive mother, married to weakling Marcel Andre. At present, Yvonne is violently opposed to the impending marriage between her son Jean Marais to Josette Day. It gets more complicated than that: Day is Andre's mistress, who in turn is coveted by de Bray's sister Gabrielle Dorzat. These stunning revelations loosen the hold that De Bray has on her household. Her power gone, she seeks solace in self-destruction. Utilizing several of the original stage production's cast members, Les Parents Terrible was one of Cocteau's personal favorites (that's his voice as off-screen narrator); the property was ineffectively remade in England as Intimate Relations (1953).
MPAA Rating:
Not Yet Rated
Genre(s):
Foreign
Run Time:
105min.
Theatrical Release Date:
06/26/1995
Director(s):
Jean Cocteau
Starring:
Jean Marais , Josette Day , Yvonne de Bray , Gabrielle Dorziat , Marcel André
Themes:
Infidelity,Crumbling Marriages,Mothers and Sons
Tone:
Stylish,Drab,Intimate,Confrontational,Poignant,Somber,Talky
Keywords:
apartment,conflict,desire,engagement,extramarital-affair,family,family-disapproval,husband-and-wife,love,love-triangle,mistress,mother,relationship,son,suicide
Language:
French