Quiet Days in Clichy (1970)

Studio: Blue Underground
Release Date: September 21, 1970
Blu Ray Release: January 25, 2011
Not Rated

Review by James Klein

"Yes, there was cunt in the air."

"She may have a feeble mind but she has great tits."

"The French are great people, even if they are syphilitic."

Henry Miller's Quiet Days in Clichy is a strange film, no question. It's an experimental soft core film that tries at times to be like Mark Lester's Hard Days Night in style or like The Graduate in substance. Give me a break. It's just a silly soft core film, make no mistake. However, parts of the film are funny at times and one can't help but laugh at some of the dialogue that is spoken. And strangely I found the film interesting. Director Jens Jorgen Thorsen at least tries to direct his actors to some degree. He also has a strange style to his film making that keeps the viewer from falling asleep.

The movie begins with a strange woman walking into the apartment of writers Joey and Carl and taking her clothes off, saying she charges a lot for a man to go to bed with her. As Joey steals money from a friend to give to the woman, the men have sex with her (with some very quick cuts of actual penetration). She threatens to use her gun on the men for some strange reason but when one of the men pours water on her, she comes to her senses and walks out of the apartment. This is all before the opening credits! Right away, we know we are in for a strange ride. As the title song is sung by Country Joe McDonald, images of various people in France are flashed on the screen with the word "cunt" written all over the pictures. Is this some hidden meaning like something out of maybe a Hunter S. Thompson or Kurt Vonnegut book? I haven't a clue but it made me laugh.

The movie focuses more on Joey as we see him try to write his book while various women enter his life. Some of the women he truly love and others are used as just a fuck. Either way, women seem to run his life or at least be on his mind 24/7. When he gives a beautiful woman all his money after he sleeps with her, Joey is left with no money and forced to eat garbage out of his garbage can. Joey and Carl at one point pick up a 14 year old runaway who is a complete ditz but as Carl says, "her brains are in her cunt." The two men are worried about being arrested but continue to sleep with her. I was hoping for the character of Joey to change or come to some realization about his life but I was out of luck. There is no change in any character or really a conflict. The climax of the film basically ends with various close ups of Carl's penis while the two men laugh at a naked woman leaving their apartment angrily after the two have an orgy.

The film is based on the controversial novel by Henry Miller, an intellectual author who mixed in graphic pornography within his novels. I have not read his book but if it's anything like this film, I assume he is something of a cross between Vonnegut and William S. Burroughs. And that best explains the tone and style of this film. The movie itself was banned in the U.S. upon first release and was thought to be lost until Blue Underground was able to get a hold of the only English language version of the film.

The blu ray is pretty good as the black and white images are crystal clear. The folks at Blue Underground also go out of their way to interview the musician Country Joe McDonald and also Henry Miller's publisher Barney Rosset. Sure, it would have been nice to get an interview with the director and just hear him explain what this film is really about or what was going through his head while making it. But I kind of enjoy the mystery behind the film. One is left with a "what the hell did I just watch" feeling.

Quiet Days in Clichy is sexist and at times misogynistic, obviously the target audience was men. This is not for everyone and if you prefer your films to have a coherent plot with likable characters dealing with a conflict, then this isn't your film. If you like erotic and experimental film making and want to take a trip down memory lane when film in the 1970's was just starting to change and break taboos, then you may enjoy this. One things for sure, Quiet Days in Clichy is for an acquired taste.

Special thanks to Greg Chick at Blu Underground http://www.blue-underground.com/