*The screening on Wednesday 31 January will be introduced by Ginette Vincendeau (KCL).
After dumping a bucket of water on a beautiful young woman from the window of a train car, wealthy Frenchman Mathieu (Fernando Rey), regales his fellow passengers with the story of the dysfunctional relationship between himself and the young woman in question, a fiery 19-year-old flamenco dancer named Conchita (played alternately by Carole Bouquet and Angela Molina). What follows is a tale of cruelty, depravity and lies -- the very building blocks of love.
Ginette Vincendeau is Professor in Film Studies at King’s College London and writes and reviews frequently for Sight and Sound, BBC Radio 3, Radio 4 and the BBC World Service. Her numerous publications on French cinema include articles and chapters on the banlieue in contemporary French cinema, French stardom and ethnicity, Brigitte Bardot, Classical French cinema and the French New Wave.