A street artist known only as "Why" is picked up by a mysterious rich woman, who offers an invitation to live with her and friends in a house on the Riviera. Their carefree, decadent lifestyle begins to unravel and descend into madness when both women are seduced by the same man.
Claude Chabrol is a member of the French New Wave who is commonly referred to (somewhat reductively) as "The French Hitchcock". While he often operates in a the crime genre, Chabrol has a keen eye for penetrating the comfortable bubble of the bourgeois, class structure being a recurring issue in his films. His films are considered to be the most accessible and "mainstream" among his peers in the Nouvelle Vague.
Les Biches (which translates as "The Does") is a turning point in Chabrol's career as being the first made to his satisfaction as an artist, and where his visual style became more clearly defined, with a use of space that drew comparisons to the work of Fritz Lang as well as Hitchcock.
The exploration of power and role-reversal in relationships has been likened to classics such as Persona and Vertigo, and can be seen in more recent films like Mulholland Dr. and The Talented Mr. Ripley.
Film stars Stephane Audran (Chabrol's wife), Jacqueline Sassard, and Jean-Louis Trintignant (known for his roles in The Conformist and Three Colors: Red), and runs approximately 100 minutes.
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