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Surviving the reign of the father: the family and the law in Georges Franju?s feature films

2004; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 4; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1386/sfci.4.3.209/0

1758-9517

Kate Ince,

Communism, Protests, Social Movements

AbstractThis article examines the patriarchal family as an institution in Franju's feature films. For his feature films Franju usually chose narratives that privilege the law-driven, institutional character of the patriarchal family, and although his questioning of it is not as coruscating as his critiques of the Army and the Church in Hotel des Invalides and La Faute de l'Abbe Mouret/The Sin of Father Mouret, there are still some suggestive overlaps between his depictions of these three institutions. The films examined here are five of Franju's first six features, La Tete contre les murs/The Keepers/Head Against the Walls (1958), Les Yeux sans visage/Eyes without a Face (1959), Therese Desqueyroux (1962), Judex (1963), and Thomas l'Imposteur/Thomas the Imposter (1965). The conclusion of my discussion is that the patriarchal families shown in these films may not be open to thoroughgoing restructuring, but are certainly not shown to be particularly secure.