Starring: Jean-Hugues Anglade, Beatrice Dalle, Gerard Darmon
Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix
The film: Director Jean-Jacques Beineix (right) stamped his class all over French cinema in the 1980s, first with Diva (1982) and then with Betty Blue (37.20 Le Matin) in 1986. The films were similar in that they both explored the dark side of the human mind - but while Diva was a thriller, Betty Blue delved into the depths of erotic drama.
Once viewed, the opening scene of Betty Blue is never forgotten. We find Zorg (Jean-Hugues Anglade) and Betty (Beatrice Dalle) in flagrante delicto and we learn via voice-over that the couple have only just met. Thus Beineix sets the framework of their wild, passionate relationship - one that continually threatens to consume the couple. Zorg, a maintenance man who looks after a series of bungalows in the French countryside, falls under the mysterious Betty's spell and he becomes increasingly obsessed with her.
When Zorg gets into a fight with his boss, they are forced to leave and Betty takes a job in a restaurant, along the way convincing Zorg he has potential as an author and should shop his work around.
When Zorg's work is met with everything but enthusiasm, the relationship comes under strain and it starts to become clear that all is not exactly right in Betty's little world. Beineix drags you along for the ride with Zorg and Betty and lets you take a window seat to watch as things go wrong. It is at times beautiful, at times tragic, but at all times mesmerising.