Boris Without Béatrice (French: Boris sans Béatrice) is a 2016 Canadian drama film written and directed by Denis Côté. Starring James Hyndman, Simone-Élise Girard and Denis Lavant, the film follows a wealthy entrepreneur and his bedridden wife. It was selected for Competition at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere.
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Synopsis
Boris Malinovsky is a wealthy entrepreneur whose wife, Béatrice, a government minister, has become bedridden after a nervous breakdown. During Béatrice’s illness, Boris has affairs with Helga and with her caretaker Klara. After meeting a mysterious stranger, Boris is told that he may be responsible for Béatrice’s condition.
Cast
The cast includes:
James Hyndman as Boris
Simone-Élise Girard as Beatrice
Denis Lavant as a mysterious stranger
Dounia Sichov as Helga
Isolda Dychauk as Klara
Production
The film was produced by Metafilms, with financial participation from Telefilm Canada and SODEC. It was written and directed by Denis Côté. Filming took place from 22 July to 24 August 2015 in the Montreal region and the Eastern Townships.
Release
The film was selected for Competition at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere in February 2016. It had its Quebec premiere at the Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois on 18 February 2016, and was released theatrically in Quebec on 4 March 2016. It was later released on DVD by K-Films America on 14 June 2016.
Reception
Critical response
Guy Lodge of Variety described the film as a "brittle, no-joke comedy of unchecked privilege". He wrote that although the film withheld moral judgment from its characters, its portrait of Boris remained difficult to engage with because of the character’s rigidity and the low stakes of his story.
David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter described it as a "painfully mannered fable" about entitlement, wealth and complacency. He praised James Hyndman’s performance and the film’s visual elegance, but wrote that it was "a laborious film that dulls the human drama at its core".
The New York Times wrote that the film appeared to address "the hubris of the modern business tycoon", but found that it "never coalesces into more than a self-amused goof".