ABSTRACT
Diane Kurys's 1983 film Coup de foudre (Entre Nous) has a devoted following among many lesbians, despite—or perhaps also because of— the fact that the allusions to lesbianism occur from within the securely defined boundaries of female bonding and friendship. 1 Two women, Léna (played by Isabelle Huppert) and Madeleine (played by Miou-Miou), living in post-World War II provincial France discover an attraction for each other (an attraction that is definitely erotic though never explicitly sexual) and eventually leave their husbands to live together. As was widely publicized at the time of the film's release, the friendship of the two women has a strong autobiographical significance, for it corresponds to the experience of Kurys's own mother. At the conclusion of the film, when Léna (Kurys's mother) asks Michel (Kurys's father, played by Guy Marchand) to leave, their daughter— i.e., the fictional representation of Kurys herself—is seen watching them. Over the final shot of the film, of Madeleine walking with the children on the beach, a title appears, a very literal authorial signature: “My father left at dawn. He never saw my mother again. It's now been two years since Madeleine died. I dedicate this film to the three of them.” 2
