Simone Barbès or Virtue [Blu-ray]

Marie-Claude Treilhou - Simone Barbès or Virtue [Blu-ray]

A long-overdue discovery in its first North American release. Simone works as an usherette at a Paris adult cinema, trading barbs with her coworker as the night's odd regulars drift in and out. After her shift she waits for her girlfriend at a lesbian nightclub full of eccentric characters, then accepts a slow, meandering ride home from a stranger.

Produced by Paul Vecchiali's Diagonale collective, Marie-Claude Treilhou's three-part portrait of nighttime Paris is sly, funny and heady with atmosphere, balancing irony and sincerity in a way that still feels startlingly modern. Queer in its attention to life on the margins, it is a gem of post-New Wave French cinema, anchored by a magnetic lead performance from Ingrid Bourgoin (Knife + Heart).

Limited edition of 3,000 copies.

Special Features

• 4K scan and restoration by Cosmodigital
• Uncompressed mono PCM audio
• Lourdes l'hiver, a short film by Marie-Claude Treilhou (1981, 9 min)
• New visual essay by film critic Lillian Crawford
• Archival French TV interview with star Ingrid Bourgoin (1980)
• New interview with film scholar Dr. Elena Gorfinkel
• Newly improved English subtitle translation
• Limited edition booklet featuring writing by Erika Balsom and archival writing
• Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
• Full-height Scanavo case with removable OBI strip

Details: 1980, France. Directed by Marie-Claude Treilhou. Starring Ingrid Bourgoin, Martine Simonet and Michel Delahaye. 77 minutes, French with English subtitles, 1 disc, Region-free. Label: Radiance Films. Release date: November 17, 2026.