THEME EXPLORATION

mistress and kept woman

12 films · 3 directors

Tracing the thread…

FILMS THAT EXPLORE THIS
Anatomy of Hell
Anatomy of Hell
2004 · Catherine Breillat
The Passion of Joan of Arc
The Passion of Joan of Arc
1928 · Carl Theodor Dreyer
Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations
Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations
1938 · Leni Riefenstahl
Beau travail
Beau travail
1999 · Claire Denis
The Tempest
The Tempest
1932 · Robert Siodmak
Farewell My Concubine
Farewell My Concubine
1993 · Chen Kaige
The Salesman
The Salesman
2016 · Asghar Farhadi
Poetry
Poetry
2010 · Lee Chang-dong
A Moment in Love
A Moment in Love
1956 · Shirley Clarke
Big City
Big City
1937 · Frank Borzage
Casque d’or
Casque d’or
1952 · Jacques Becker
Cléo from 5 to 7
Cléo from 5 to 7
1962 · Agnès Varda
DIRECTORS WHO EXPLORE THIS
Claude Chabrol France

His films obsessively explore bourgeois infidelity and the psychological dynamics between wives, mistresses, and the men who keep them.

 Rainer Werner Fassbinder Germany

He dissected power imbalances and economic dependency in relationships, portraying mistresses as trapped within systems of emotional and financial control.

 Luchino Visconti Italy

His melodramas richly depict the tension between social status and desire, examining how women navigate roles as mistresses within rigid class structures.