Le Bonheur 1965 Review

The story follows François, a young carpenter living an idyllic life in a sunny Paris suburb with his wife, Thérèse, and their two children.

François is genuinely happy, yet when he begins an affair with Émilie, a postal worker, he does not feel guilt [1, 13]. Instead, he views happiness as "additive"—an apple orchard that simply gains another tree [9]. When he eventually confesses this "additional happiness" to Thérèse during a picnic, she responds with devastating silence and is later found drowned in a lake le bonheur 1965

Upon its release in 1965, Le Bonheur shocked audiences and critics alike. It won the Special Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival, cementing Varda’s status as a daring cinematic pioneer. While her male French New Wave peers focused on cool alienation and crime, Varda looked inside the home to expose the quiet violences of everyday life. The story follows François, a young carpenter living