The Sufferings of a Wounded Egg

A surrealist saga in four parts: 1.) The credit sequence in which title cards show successively larger foetuses pulsating on the screen until the baby is born and cries. 2.) Etoile-directly referring to Cocteau, Lethem shows an adolescent sucking a starfish and then giving birth to a smaller starfish. A statement of inadequacy. To give birth involves an emasculation and a loss of vitality. 3.) Corps-two images of a man on a couch groping for each other, watched by a mysterious peeping Tom. As the two superimposed images come together, the heavy breathing subsides…the statement that the birth of desire is a self – realisation. 4.) Hymen – The decaying body of a girl is shot through green filters, and the final image reveals her vagina crawling with maggots and overlain with a crucifix. A representation of Catholicism preventing the free expression of desire.

Directed by Roland Lethem, The Sufferings of a Wounded Egg leans on a strong ensemble — Andrée McLey, Roland Lespineux, Jio Berk — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about screen titles of 1967.