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The Mouth Wide Open received enthusiastic reviews when it was screened privately during last year's festival at Cannes. It is the third feature film from Maurice Pialat, following Naked Childhood (about a young orphan) and We Will Not Brow Old Together (about the break-up of a marriage). The Mouth Wide Open takes on the theme of death. A 50 year old woman, played by Monique Melinand, is dying of cancer in a small town in the Auvergne. We first see her receiving cobalt treatment; then she talks to her son, Philippe, who is distressed at his mother's illness, but finds distraction in the company of prostitutes. His wife, Nathalie, can now find nothing consoling to say to her mother-in-law, after years of suspicion and coolness between them.
The family continues with their
brittle cares and pleasures as they
wait for Monique to die. For 35
years, she has been married to
Roger, a womaniser and drunkard.
Now he takes care of her while he
runs his small shop and flirts with
his customers. He considers taking
another wife. Eventually Monique
slips into unconsciousness,
believing she will recover; and
each of the survivors finds himself
alone.