ABSTRACT
Having just murdered her father François de Cortemare (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu), Béatrice de Cortemare (Julie Delpy) sits in profile with her bloody hand resting on the face of a wooden statue of the Virgin, their mirrored postures creating a closed form.1 On the film’s soundtrack, Lili Boulanger’s uncanny voice adds a musical commentary to the image: “Pie Jesu domine/Dona eis requiem” (Merciful Lord Jesus/Give them rest). This mesmerizing closing shot of Bertrand Tavernier’s La Passion Béatrice (1987) presents a haunting portrayal of gynocentric insularity that stands in stark contrast with the public validation of medieval patria potestas that opens the film. Between these two scenes unfolds the film’s queer project, a critical examination of the insalubrious roots of the modern conception of the heteronormative family.
