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Querelle

Querelle

Drama · Crime · 1982

French sailor Querelle arrives in Brest and starts frequenting a strange whorehouse. He discovers that his brother Robert is the lover of the lady owner, Lysiane. Here, you can play dice with Nono, Lysiane's husband: if you win, you are allowed to make love with Lysiane; if you lose, you have to make love with Nono... Querelle loses on purpose.

Movie details

Querelle

“It will take you into a surreal world of passion and sexuality, further than most would dare to go.”

1982 Drama · Crime 1h 49m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.6 / 10

Community rating

French sailor Querelle arrives in Brest and starts frequenting a strange whorehouse. He discovers that his brother Robert is the lover of the lady owner, Lysiane. Here, you can play dice with Nono, Lysiane's husband: if you win, you are allowed to make love with Lysiane; if you lose, you have to make love with Nono... Querelle loses on purpose.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Querelle?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Written by

Burkhard Driest · Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Brad Davis

Brad Davis

Querelle

Franco Nero

Franco Nero

Lieutenant Seblon

Jeanne Moreau

Jeanne Moreau

Lysiane

Laurent Malet

Laurent Malet

Roger Bataille

Hanno Pöschl

Hanno Pöschl

Robert / Gil

Günther Kaufmann

Günther Kaufmann

Nono

Burkhard Driest

Burkhard Driest

Mario

Court is in session

Put Querelle on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.