Henry & June

Infobox Film
name = Henry & June


director = Philip Kaufman
editing = Dede Allen
producer = Peter Kaufman
writer = Philip Kaufman (screenplay)
starring = Fred Ward
Uma Thurman Maria de Medeiros
Richard E. Grant
Kevin Spacey
distributor = Universal Pictures
released = October 5, 1990
runtime = 143 min.
language = English
budget =
gross = 23,4 mio. $
imdb_id = 0099762
|

"Henry & June" is a 1990 film. It was directed by Philip Kaufman and stars Fred Ward, Maria de Medeiros, and Uma Thurman. It is loosely based on the book "Henry and June" by the French author Anaïs Nin, and tells the story of Nin's relationship with Henry Miller and his wife, June.

Plot

The story takes place in and around Paris, France in 1931. The story told is one of a love triangle between the Millers and Anaïs Nin (Medeiros). She is in a stable relationship with her husband Hugo (Richard E. Grant), but longs for more out of life. When Anaïs first meets Henry Miller (Ward), she sees in him a rough man from New York. He has a talent in literature and is working on his first book. Nin sees Miller and his wife June (Thurman) as having a liberating, bohemian lifestyle that she is drawn towards. Nin becomes involved in the couple's tormented relationship, having an affair with Miller and also pursuing June. Ultimately, Nin helps Miller to publish his novel, "Tropic of Cancer", but catalyzes the Millers' separation, while she returns to her husband Hugo.

Soundtrack

#Parlez-moi D'Amour (Lucienne Boyer)
# Claude Debussy, "Pour L'Egyptienne" (Ensemble Musical de Paris)
# Francis Poulenc, "Les Chemins de L'Amour" (Ransom Wilson & Christopher O'Riley)
# Claude Debussy, "Petite Suite-Ballet" (Alfons Kontarsky & Aloys Kontarsky)
# Henry Warren, "I Found A Million Dollar Baby" (Bing Crosby)
# Erik Satie, "Gnossienne #3" (Pascal Roge)
# Erik Satie, "Je Te Veux" (Jean-Pierre Armengaud)
# Claude Debussy, "Sonata for Violin and Piano" (first movement) (Kyung-Wha Chung & Radu Lupu)
# Frederic Chopin, Nocturne #1 in C Major (Paul Crossley)
# George Auric, "Sous Les Toits De Paris" (Rene Nazels)
# Jacques Larmanjat, lyrics by Francis Carco, "Le Doux Caboulot" (Annie Fratellini)
# Claude Debussy, "La Plus Que Lente" (Josef Suk)
#Je M'Ennuie (Mark Adler)
#Coralia (Mark Adler)
# Irving Mills, "St. James Infirmary Blues" (Mark Adler)
# Francisco Tarrega, "Gran Vals" (Francisco Tarrega)
# Joaquin Nin-Culmell, "Basque Song" (Joaquin Nin-Culmell)
# Vincent Scotto, lyrics by George Koger & H. Vama, "J'ai Deux Amours" (Josephine Baker)

NC-17 rating

"Henry & June" was the first film to receive the MPAA's rating of NC-17, which had been devised as a replacement for the X rating. NC-17 was intended to signify films with more violence or sexual content than would qualify for an R rating. The inclusion of the postcard Nin views at the start of the film (which is of Hokusai's "The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife") contributed to the NC-17 rating.

The film was given a more lenient M rating in Australia. Conversely, it was banned in South Africa.

External links

*imdb title|id=0099762|title=Henry & June
* [http://film.virtual-history.com/film.php?filmid=265 Movie stills]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE5D81031F931A35751C1A966958260 Total Distortion] Letter to the "New York Times" severely critical of the film's portrayal of Nin.