37°2 le matin
Encyclopedia
Betty Blue is a 1986
French
film. Its original French title is 37°2 le matin, which means "37.2°C in the Morning". (37.2°C [99°F] is the normal morning temperature of a pregnant woman.) The film was directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix
and stars Béatrice Dalle
as Betty. It is based on the 1985
novel of the same name by Philippe Djian
.
The film received both a BAFTA
and Oscar
nomination for Best Foreign Language Film
in 1986, as well as winning a César Award
for Best Poster. In 1992 it was awarded the Golden Space Needle of the Seattle International Film Festival
.
In 2005 a 'Director's Cut' was issued of this film, with about an hour of extra footage.
Zorg's boss asks him to paint the 500 shacks that populate the beach—a fact that he keeps from Betty who thinks they only have to do one. She attacks the project with enthusiasm that quickly turns to anger once she learns the actual number. In response, Betty covers the boss’s car with pink paint.
During a nasty fight, Betty accidentally discovers a series of notebooks that contain a novel Zorg wrote years ago. She reads it and falls in love with him even more. She then makes it her mission in life to type every hand-written page and get it published. Betty's free spirited nature and devotion to Zorg develop into alarming obsession, aggression and destructiveness, and the film alternates between comic and tragic modes.
1986 in film
-Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....
French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
film. Its original French title is 37°2 le matin, which means "37.2°C in the Morning". (37.2°C [99°F] is the normal morning temperature of a pregnant woman.) The film was directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix
Jean-Jacques Beineix
-Biography:In 1964, Jean-Jacques Beineix started his career as Jean Becker's assistant director on the famous French TV series, Les saintes chéries until the end of 1967. Then, in 1970 he worked for Claude Berri and in 1971 for Claude Zidi. In 1977, he directed his first short movie Le Chien de M....
and stars Béatrice Dalle
Béatrice Dalle
-Biography:Dalle was born in Brest, Finistère, France, as Béatrice Cabarrou. In 1985 she married the painter Jean-François Dalle but they divorced in 1988....
as Betty. It is based on the 1985
1985 in literature
The year 1985 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Isaac Asimov - Robots and Empire*Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale*Jean M. Auel - The Mammoth Hunters*Iain Banks - Walking on Glass...
novel of the same name by Philippe Djian
Philippe Djian
Philippe Djian is a popular French author of Armenian descent.Djian graduated from the ESJ Paris. After a period of wandering and odd jobs, he published a volume of short stories, 50 contre 1 , and then the novels Bleu comme l'enfer and Zone érogène before gaining fame with his subsequent novels...
.
The film received both a BAFTA
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
and Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nomination for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
in 1986, as well as winning a César Award
César Award
The César Award is the national film award of France, first given out in 1975. The nominations are selected by the members of the Académie des arts et techniques du cinéma....
for Best Poster. In 1992 it was awarded the Golden Space Needle of the Seattle International Film Festival
Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...
.
In 2005 a 'Director's Cut' was issued of this film, with about an hour of extra footage.
Plot summary
Betty (Dalle) and Zorg (Anglade) are passionate lovers who live in a shack on the beach. He works as a handyman who does odd jobs to pay the bills. As the film begins, they have only been dating for a week and are in a very passionate stage of their relationship. Zorg narrates the story of their relationship via voiceover. He describes Betty as “like a flower with translucent antennae and a mauve plastic heart”. She yearns for a better life and quit her last job as a waitress because she was being sexually harassed by her boss.Zorg's boss asks him to paint the 500 shacks that populate the beach—a fact that he keeps from Betty who thinks they only have to do one. She attacks the project with enthusiasm that quickly turns to anger once she learns the actual number. In response, Betty covers the boss’s car with pink paint.
During a nasty fight, Betty accidentally discovers a series of notebooks that contain a novel Zorg wrote years ago. She reads it and falls in love with him even more. She then makes it her mission in life to type every hand-written page and get it published. Betty's free spirited nature and devotion to Zorg develop into alarming obsession, aggression and destructiveness, and the film alternates between comic and tragic modes.
Cast
- Jean-Hugues AngladeJean-Hugues AngladeJean-Hugues Anglade is a French actor, film director and screenwriter, best known for his roles as Eric in Killing Zoe, Zorg in Betty Blue and Marco, the boyfriend of Nikita, in Nikita....
as Zorg - Béatrice DalleBéatrice Dalle-Biography:Dalle was born in Brest, Finistère, France, as Béatrice Cabarrou. In 1985 she married the painter Jean-François Dalle but they divorced in 1988....
as Betty - Gérard DarmonGérard DarmonGérard Darmon is a French movie actor and singer.Second husband to Mathilda May.He has three children: Virginie and the last two by Mathilda May, daughter Sarah and son Jules...
as Eddy - Consuelo De Haviland as Lisa
- Clémentine CélariéClémentine Célarié-Filmography:-References:...
as Annie - Jacques MathouJacques MathouJacques Mathou is a French actor, best known for his appearance in Delicatessen.-Filmography:* 1994 : Tombés du ciel, Policeman* 1991 : Delicatessen, Roger* 1990 : The Hairdresser's Husband, Mr Chardon* 1989 : Dédé, the priest...
as Bob - Vincent LindonVincent LindonVincent Lindon is a French actor who has been active for more than 25 years.Lindon was a lover of Princess Caroline of Monaco from 1990 to 1995. He is currently separated from his wife, the French actress Sandrine Kiberlain.-Selected filmography:-External links:...
as Richard, the young policeman - Jean-Pierre Bisson as The commissaire (in the complete version)
- Dominique PinonDominique PinonDominique Pinon is a French actor whose most famous roles have been in the films of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Jean-Jacques Beineix. In the theatre, he has appeared in the plays of Gildas Bourdet, Jorge Lavelli and Valère Novarina...
as The drug dealer (in the complete version) - Bernard Hug (in the complete version)
- Catherine D'At
- Claude Aufaure as The doctor
- Louis Bellanti as Mario
- Dominique BesnehardDominique BesnehardDominique Besnehard is a French actor. He has appeared in over 80 films and television shows since 1975. He starred in the 1983 film À nos amours, which was entered into the 34th Berlin International Film Festival....
as Client in pizzeria - Raoul Billerey as The old policeman