I don't think that "Beau Pere" (1981) by Bertrand Blier is so much about what Marion says: "I am a woman. A woman of 14 years (...). Admittedly, my breasts are small, but they do react when touched". One should not let oneself cheat about how much this is a movie about the definition or role of morality in French society, either. The story is close to surrealism, and that form of surrealism which discloses a strong humorist or almost clown's function, as, e.g., in Concrete Poetry. Therefore, I see in the center of this movie rather the poor Stepfather, Rémy, whose eternal faith it seems to be to never overcome his status as a stepfather. Not only has he a stepdaughter with his wife, he subsequently becomes the lover of his stepdaughter. In one scene, even his status of stepfather is questioned when the school-psychologist asks the girls father and stepfather who are both present: So you both are fathers of the girl? While her real father answers by yes, Rémy says: I am rather her mother. Marion wishes children from Rémy for the future telling him explicitly that he should transcend one day his role of stepfather. But before he gets there, he jumps off their relationship in order to join Charlotte, a single mother of a little daughter (whose stepfather he soon will become, since Charlotte says to him: Tu Vas Guérir (you will be healed)). At that point at the end of the movie, it can be no doubt that Rémy will never become a real father but always remain in the substitutive function: Not a father, but a stepfather, not the original lover, but a step-lover, not with the mother of his child, but with the mother of his stepchild.

"Beau-Père" is not a skin flick, though the cover of the DVD and VHS would make you think otherwise. Yes, it's about a very taboo topic, to say the least - the sexual relationship between a 40-ish piano player and his 14-year-old stepdaughter - but the great Bertrand Blier, who explored similar territory in "Get Out Your Handkerchiefs" eases the unease by doing the unthinkable and turning the movie into a screwball comedy.Well, that's what we think, at first. Remi (played magnificently by Blier favorite Patrick Dewaere), not unlike Humbert in Nabokov's "Lolita" tells us of his tragic plight; after his wife dies tragically, he is left with his stepdaughter, Marion (Ariel Besse). Uncomfortable with the new rift in the household, Marion childishly assumes the "mother" role and takes on all motherly duties - including seducing her stepfather. Remi refuses, but there is danger lurking in Marion's pubescent body and puppy-dog eyes. Not realizing this danger, he eventually gives in.Of course, giving into his stepdaughter is a mistake that plunges both Remi and Marion deeper and deeper into misery. Even Marion's real father suspects a mutual sexuality between them and, in one of the film's more heartbreaking moments, completely dissolves his obligation as a father and OKs the incestuous affair. Remi and Marion, then, are not so much connected by their sexual bond, but by the fact that they've both been abandoned by the people they love. There's no real question about where the affair is going, but the tragedy lies in who gets hurt the most. The final image of the movie may haunt me forever.The movie is obviously not for all tastes, but it should be said that the sex is never gratuitous. In fact, it seems almost distracting when compared to what Blier really wants to get across - the divide between adolescence and adulthood and how seemingly frivolous sexual encounters can ruin lives forever. And, like "Hankerchiefs", the movie somehow provides some truly funny moments. "Beau-Père" is Bertrand Blier's masterpiece and a film that should be seen by all connaisseurs of intelligent, challenging cinema. 10/10

Blier is not my favorite French director. Too much irony and too much Godard-a-like in his films. But this one is very different. It's written with great intelligence and, like in most of the French Cinema, it had a wonderful sense of reality. The subject is touchy : a man falls in love with a young teenager (14 years old). But here, we have not the classic Lolita. The young girl looks realistic, and so is her feelings. Superb acting and a great musical score.

Patrick Dewaere was a wonderful comic actor (see him in Les Valseuses), while Ariel Besse was rather, er, young. Realistically young. I'd have liked this film even better if I hadn't had to endure the horrible dubbing into English (especially for Ariel Besse's character).