An autobiographical picture that describes a dramatic love triangle over the course of 220 minutes. Alexandre lives with Marie, but falls in love with Veronique.
The movie was shot on black-and-white 16mm film, and perfectly reveals the aesthetics of the New Wave, showing a sharp picture of disillusionment after the May 1968 events. The characters in the movie are Parisian intellectuals, and real film critics and directors appear as minor characters, including director Eustache himself. “The Mother and the Whore” is an oscillation between two female stereotypes. Both women work and prove to be much stronger than the immature, inactive Alexander.