Bellyful (Le conte du ventre plein) 23 years old

Maverick director Melvin Van Peebles translates his own satirical novel to the screen with this multi-national portrait of race, class, and hypocrisy. The film's title refers to the name of a haute cuisine restaurant run by a self-satisfied conservative couple, Henri and Loretta. When the two find themselves overworked in the kitchen, they retreat to the local orphanage to find some cheap waitressing help, and the teenaged Diamantine fits the bill perfectly. The haughty couple has more plans for the girl than just waiting tables, however -- the conspicuously accommodating Henri and Loretta are actually bad-mouthing the girl behind her back to the townspeople and the restaurant's patrons. They go so far as to ask the naive Diamantine to pretend that she's pregnant, and she complies under the assumption that it's a harmless prank. When their intentions are revealed, however, the girl becomes wise to the couple's self-satisfied scheming, and sets her sights on revenge.

Credits

Bellyful Cast

Name Character
Jacques Boudet He was 60, now 84 years old
Claude Perron She was 34, now 58 years old
Andréa Ferréol She was 53, now 77 years old

Bellyful Crew

Name Department
Melvin Van Peebles as Director. He was 67 (now 91) years old Directing
Bellyful (23 years)

  • Release day: Wednesday, June 28, 2000
  • Runtime: 105 minutes