Le - Bonheur 1965 [verified]
The conflict arises not from misery, but from an excess of desire. While on a work trip, François meets Émilie (Marie-France Boyer), a beautiful postal worker who closely resembles Thérèse. They begin a passionate affair. Crucially, François experiences no guilt. He does not love Thérèse less; rather, he views Émilie as an expansion of his joy. He famously compares his happiness to an orchard: it is a finite space, and Émilie is simply another tree bearing fruit.
: This paper argues that Varda critiques 1960s consumerism and the objectification of women by using the visual language of Pop Art and advertising.
Upon its release in France on January 2, 1965, Le Bonheur ignited a firestorm of controversy . The film’s refusal to impose a clear moral judgment on adultery shocked contemporary audiences and critics alike. A. H. Weiler’s review in The New York Times captured the era’s bewilderment, calling the film “at once joyful and moving but crucially immature, disturbing and tragic… blithely flouts moral values and Hollywood conventions” . le bonheur 1965
For those who have read this far and wish to experience the film, Le Bonheur is available in a stunning 4K restoration from The Criterion Collection (spine #737). When watching, pay attention to two specific moments:
But François believes in happiness as a mathematical equation. "When I’m with Thérèse, I’m happy," he says. "But when I’m with Émilie, I’m also happy." Émilie (Marie-France Boyer) is a postal clerk he meets by chance. Rather than hiding the affair with guilt, François approaches it with the logic of a child: if one piece of cake makes you happy, two pieces should make you twice as happy. He proposes a coexistence. Astonishingly, when he confesses to Thérèse—not with remorse, but with the pure, unassailable belief that she will understand—the film pivots on a moment of devastating silence. Thérèse walks to a pond, drowns herself, and disappears from the frame as quietly as a leaf falling. The conflict arises not from misery, but from
When he finally confesses the affair to Thérèse during a family picnic, she listens with quiet grace. They make love under the trees, and Thérèse wanders off while François sleeps. Shortly after, her lifeless body is pulled from a nearby lake. Whether her drowning was an accident or a tragic suicide is left deliberately ambiguous.
In the canon of cinema history, few titles are as deceptively simple—and as brutally ironic—as Agnès Varda’s 1965 film, Le Bonheur (translated into English as Happiness ). At first glance, the keyword "le bonheur 1965" might evoke images of the mid-1960s French golden age: the fading ripples of the New Wave, the rise of color photography in cinema, and an aesthetic of carefree summer light. Indeed, Varda’s film is drenched in sunshine, sunflowers, and the warm glow of a post-war European summer. But to stop at the surface is to miss the point entirely. Crucially, François experiences no guilt
To search for is to search for a film that looks like a Renoir painting but cuts like a scalpel. It is a film that asks: Is happiness a right? Can it be multiplied? And what is the cost of keeping the sun burning?
When Thérèse dies, the machinery of patriarchy does not break down. It simply replaces the missing part. Émilie wears the same clothes, performs the same chores, and loves the same children. The film argues that in a traditional patriarchal setup, a woman's individuality is entirely disposable as long as the man's illusion of a perfect home remains intact. Legacy and Impact
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