Product Details

• Actors: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claude Jade, Hiroko Berghauer, Barbara Laage, Danièle Girard
• Directors: François Truffaut
• Writers: François Truffaut, Bernard Revon, Claude de Givray
• Producers: François Truffaut, André Mucchielli, Hercule Mucchielli, Marcel Berbert
• Format: Color, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 2.0)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Fox Lorber
• DVD Release Date: April 23, 2002
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000JJHL
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #134,471 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Bed & Board: Domicile Conjugal" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The fourth film in François Truffaut's quasi-autobiographical Antoine Doinel cycle finds the idealistic child-man (played by Truffaut's alter ego and French new wave icon Jean-Pierre Léaud) married to his sweetheart Christine (Claude Jade) and still plugging away at odd jobs. When his experiments in the florist trade burn his bouquets to a smoky black ruin, he decides that it's time for another trade, and lands a job sending radio-controlled toy boats around a miniature harbor mock-up. It's about that time that he learns of his impending fatherhood, but he throws a monkey wrench into his new happiness when he becomes obsessed with a beautiful young Japanese woman (Hiroku Berghauer). Truffaut enlivens Doinel's courtyard apartment with the bustle and business of neighbors, creating a warm sense of community reminiscent of the works of Jean Renoir. He also pays homage to comic auteur Jacques Tati in meticulously constructed comic bits and a hilarious cameo by Tati's famous character, M. Hulot. However, he tempers the giddy screwball kookiness that characterized the previous film in the cycle, Stolen Kisses, with a less forgiving disposition toward Antoine's passionate irresponsibility and emotional impulsiveness. In one of Truffaut's finest moments ever, he plays out a conversation between the separated but still in love couple with a hard-earned sense of reflective maturity: "I love you," she confesses, "but I don't want to see you." It's a comedy with serious edges as Truffaut decides it's time for Antoine to grow up. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars delightful, November 11, 2009

By 

Arnold Cusmariu - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bed & Board: Domicile Conjugal (DVD)

Asked whether this film would be the last of the Doinel cycle, Truffaut answered (with Claude Jade standing next to him) quote, "with this film, he [Doinel] reached adulthood and there's no reason to go on." Of course, this is completely wrong. He did make another one, "Love on the Run," proving how difficult it is to predict the future course of a creative process. As for the other comment, it was probably meant tongue in cheek: Doinel does indeed "reach adulthood" agewise here but that's not the same thing at all as maturity, which is the point of the film, made with Truffaut's flawless Mozartean touch and clever cinematic style.

Having seen all five, what struck me is that, except for "400 Blows," the stories are as much about Doinel as about the women in his life, played by Marie-France Pisier, Claude Jade, and Dorothee, showing what a charmed life the fellow led and how lucky he was to have crossed paths with so many beautiful women, an autobiographical point because it's well known that Doinel=Truffaut. We come away from this film realizing that encounters with Beauty are not appreciated for what they really are, a favor from the gods. No sooner that his wife, the sweet, delightful, and adorable Christine (Jade), has a baby that Doinel decides to cheat on her with a Japanese woman! Truffaut doesn't properly resolve this matter until later, in "Love on the Run."

A word about the title. "Domicile Conjugal" is a rather literal title in French that does not mean "Bed & Board" or anywhere near that. And yet "Bed & Board" is entirely appropriate given how casually Doinel treats house and home with the lovely Christine and their baby. Bravo to whoever thought of the English title.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Light Romance but Nicely Done, May 17, 2008

By 

Randy Keehn (Williston, ND United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bed & Board: Domicile Conjugal (DVD)

I read a recent article in "The New Yorker" about the relationship between Godard and Truffaut. It was an interesting account of how their common interest in the cinema led to collaberation and mutual support. However, around 1968, they went their seperate ways. Without rewriting the article here, I was impressed how Godard expressed his dissatisfaction with Truffaut's movies. I forget the exact words he used to describe Truffaut's movies but it was along the lines of simplistic and/or apolitical...something to that effect. I mention this because a couple of days after finishing the article, I had a chance to watch "Bed and Board" and I, too, was surprized by the simplistic love story that unfolds in the movie. It has a lot of nice touches to it and I found it easy to watch. Afterwards I thought of it as a sort of "Barefoot in the Park" with a better script, better acting, and better direction. While I have a somewhat more reserved opinion of Francois Truffaut than others, I must admit "Bed and Board" was an excellent production. However, if it had been directed by some unknown or lesser known person, I wonder if I'd even give it enough thought to write a review. I'm glad I watched "Bed and Board" but I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to recommend it to anyone else; including you.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bed and Board, July 3, 2007

By 

John Farr - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bed & Board: Domicile Conjugal (DVD)

The fourth installment of Truffaut's Antoine Doinel cycle, which began with "The 400 Blows" (featuring Léaud as a child), this bittersweet romantic comedy is full of smartly observed details that will ring true to anyone who's ever cohabited with a cherished mate. Léaud is charming as always, and Jade's a dreamy vision. Hiroko Berghauer also enchants as the object of Doinel's potentially housebreaking infatuation. Watch for famed French comic-director Jacques Tati in a brilliant cameo as M. Hulot. A simple, artful take on the growing pains felt in love and marriage.