Boule de Suif (Russian: Пышка) is a 1934 Soviet drama silent film directed and written by Mikhail Romm. It is an adaptation of eponymous short story by Guy de Maupassant.
A group of French capitalists leave Rouen, occupied by Prussia during the Franco-Prussian War. They are accompanied by a pretty woman.
Contents
Plot
Set in France during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the film follows a group of travelers fleeing the warzone in a stagecoach heading to unoccupied France. Among the passengers is Elizabeth Rousset, a patriotic French prostitute nicknamed "Boule de Suif" ("Butterball"). She is treated with disdain by the other passengers, a mix of nuns, aristocrats, and bourgeoisie. When the stagecoach is stopped by a Prussian officer, he demands a sexual favor from Elizabeth. As a staunch patriot, she refuses, viewing him as an enemy invader.
The officer retaliates by preventing the stagecoach from continuing its journey. The once-hostile passengers suddenly feign kindness toward Elizabeth, pressuring her to submit to the officer’s demands so they can proceed. Reluctantly, Elizabeth agrees. The next morning, after her sacrifice has allowed the journey to resume, the passengers revert to their judgmental and hypocritical behavior, openly mocking her. The only act of kindness comes from a young German soldier escorting the stagecoach, who offers Elizabeth a loaf of bread in silent recognition of her sacrifice.
Cast
Galina Sergeyeva as Mlle. Elizabeth Rousset (Boule-de-suif)
Andrey Fayt as Prussian Officer
Faina Ranevskaya as Mme. Loiseau
Pyotr Repnin as Lamadon, miller
Tatyana Okunevskaya as Mme Carre-Lamadon
Mikhail Mukhin as Count de Breville
Anatoliy Goryunov as Louiseau, wine merchant
Karl Gurnyak as German soldier
Valentina Kuznetsova as Maid
Vladimir Lavrinovich as Cornudet
Vladimir Osenev as German soldier (uncredited)