Hellé is a young deaf-mute living among the mountains. She’s ignored by everyone except, now and then, the local woodsmen, who use her for their pleasure. She has no education, no knowledge of right or wrong. One summer, a young man comes to spend the holidays in her village.
Cinematography
Alpine landscapes shot like fever dreams, beauty and menace intertwined.
Acting
Gwen Welles communicates everything without a single word. Devastating.
Director
Roger Vadim
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of 1970s European cinema's obsession with 'natural' mute women—see also Emmanuelle Arsan's work. Deeply weird trend.
Gwen Welles learned basic sign language for the role but mostly improvised gesture; Vadim preferred 'pure' communication without system.
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