# Bed and Board
**Bed and Board** (French: *Domicile conjugal*) is a 1970 French comedy-drama directed by [François Truffaut](https://www.edgepedia.org/francois-truffaut) and the fourth feature film in his cycle about Antoine Doinel, the character he followed from adolescence through adulthood. The film finds Doinel ([Jean-Pierre Léaud](https://www.edgepedia.org/jean-pierre-leaud)) newly married to Christine (Claude Jade), expecting his first child, and drifting into an affair with a Japanese woman that threatens the marriage.[1](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/domicile-conjugal-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yodezody) • [2](https://www.criterion.com/films/733-bed-and-board)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | *Domicile conjugal*[3](https://mk2films.com/en/film/domicile-conjugal/) |
| Director and year | François Truffaut, 1970; a France/Italy co-production[4](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/bed-and-board/) |
| Place in the cycle | Fourth of five Doinel films, after *The 400 Blows*, the short *Antoine and Colette*, and *Stolen Kisses*[5](https://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/janus_promo_packages/764-/Press%20Notes_The%20Adventures%20of%20Antoine%20Doinel_web_original.pdf) |
| Lead cast | Jean-Pierre Léaud (Antoine Doinel), Claude Jade (Christine Doinel), Madamoiselle Hiroko (Kyoko), Barbara Laage (Monique), Danièle Girard (Ginette)[2](https://www.criterion.com/films/733-bed-and-board) |
| Running time | 97 minutes per Criterion and the BBFC; mk2 Films and the Film Society of Lincoln Center list 100 minutes[2](https://www.criterion.com/films/733-bed-and-board) • [3](https://mk2films.com/en/film/domicile-conjugal/) |
| Theatrical release | France September 9, 1970; United States January 21, 1971; United Kingdom July 8, 1971[6](https://www.blu-ray.com/Bed-and-Board/286043/) |
| Key crew | Screenplay by Truffaut, Claude de Givray, and Bernard Revon; music Antoine Duhamel; cinematography Nestor Almendros; editing Agnès Guillemot; producer Marcel Berbert[2](https://www.criterion.com/films/733-bed-and-board) |
## Spoilers
### Story
Antoine Doinel is trying to settle into adult life with mixed results. He works temporarily in a little-known trade, dyeing flowers, while his wife Christine, the young violinist he had courted in *Stolen Kisses* (*Baisers volés*), gives violin lessons to bring in extra money. Antoine then happens upon a new job at a major firm, and Christine gives birth to their child. Soon afterward Antoine falls in love with a young Japanese woman, Kyoko, and dreams of nothing else; he walks out. Christine considers returning to her mother, and the film follows whether the Doinel couple will break up or whether Christine can bring Antoine home.[3](https://mk2films.com/en/film/domicile-conjugal/)
Criterion's synopsis frames the same material as a bittersweet look at the travails of young married life and the fine line between adolescence and adulthood, lightly comic with a touch of the burlesque.[2](https://www.criterion.com/films/733-bed-and-board) The Film Society of Lincoln Center adds that for the first time Antoine and Christine are part of, and supported by, a larger and idiosyncratic community, and that the film brims with allusions to earlier chapters of Antoine's life.[4](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/bed-and-board/) The British Board of Film Classification, classifying the film for a 2022 re-release, describes it as a comedy drama in which a married man embarks on an affair, and notes brief racism in scenes where a white woman makes derogatory remarks about the Japanese woman with whom her husband is having an affair, along with brief workplace sexual harassment and moderate sex references.[1](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/domicile-conjugal-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yodezody)
## Place in the Doinel cycle
The Doinel series began with *The 400 Blows* (1959), Truffaut's portrait of troubled adolescence, and continued through the short *Antoine and Colette* (1962), *Stolen Kisses* (1968), *Bed and Board* (1970), and *Love on the Run* (1979), portraying the character's frustrations and romantic entanglements from his teens through marriage, children, divorce, and adulthood.[5](https://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/janus_promo_packages/764-/Press%20Notes_The%20Adventures%20of%20Antoine%20Doinel_web_original.pdf) In *Bed and Board*, per the [Lincoln Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/lincoln-center) synopsis, Truffaut's alter ego "further matures," and his reunion with his family marks a real coming of age for the romantic boy of the earlier films.[4](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/bed-and-board/)
Truffaut himself treated the film as a turning point. In an interview he gave: "But starting with 'Bed and Board,' the character of Antoine had actually reached adulthood, so there was no reason to go on much beyond that."[7](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/truffauts-last-interview) Criterion's press notes report that because Truffaut felt the Doinel role "would get in the way of [Léaud's] career," he intended the film as the cycle's finale and as a liberating gift to his actor; *Love on the Run* followed in 1979 anyway.[5](https://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/janus_promo_packages/764-/Press%20Notes_The%20Adventures%20of%20Antoine%20Doinel_web_original.pdf) Asked in the same interview how he approached the problems of romantic relationships in the film, Truffaut answered that he treated them "not really as problems. More as a chronicle, with some happy scenes and some serious or dramatic scenes."[7](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/truffauts-last-interview)
## Production and style
The screenplay is credited to Truffaut, Claude de Givray, and Bernard Revon, with music by Antoine Duhamel, cinematography by Nestor Almendros, and editing by Agnès Guillemot; Marcel Berbert produced.[2](https://www.criterion.com/films/733-bed-and-board) The film was shot in color in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio.[2](https://www.criterion.com/films/733-bed-and-board) A contemporary supplement on the Criterion Channel, drawn from the March 23, 1970 "Midi Magazine" episode "Le Dernier film de Truffaut," includes on-set footage of Truffaut shooting a scene and an interview with Truffaut and Claude Jade.[8](https://www.criterionchannel.com/supplements/stOz8o6M/bed-and-board-on-location)
The BFI's synopsis notes that the couple's interactions with neighbors and others passing through their courtyard are reminiscent of the films of [Jean Renoir](https://www.edgepedia.org/jean-renoir) in the 1930s.[9](https://player.bfi.org.uk/subscription/film/watch-bed-and-board-1970-online) A scholarly study of the Doinel cycle describes the film as structured as a "disguised" detective movie in which Antoine pursues his own self-identity in relation to the world, women, art, and love.[10](https://ef.huji.ac.il/sites/default/files/europe/files/achinoam_berger_for_web.pdf)
## Release and home video
The film opened in France on September 9, 1970, reached the United States on January 21, 1971, and the United Kingdom on July 8, 1971.[6](https://www.blu-ray.com/Bed-and-Board/286043/) The BBFC first classified a subtitled version for UK cinema release on February 10, 1971, distributed by Columbia Picture Corp. Ltd, and reclassified the film in January 2022 for a BFI Films re-release.[1](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/domicile-conjugal-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yodezody)
Criterion issued the film on home video as Spine #187 and later included it in *The Adventures of Antoine Doinel* box sets, available as a four-disc Blu-ray set and an eight-disc 4K UHD and Blu-ray combo, presenting the five Doinel works in new 4K restorations.[2](https://www.criterion.com/films/733-bed-and-board) • [5](https://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/janus_promo_packages/764-/Press%20Notes_The%20Adventures%20of%20Antoine%20Doinel_web_original.pdf) The film is also available for digital rental and purchase, and streams on the Criterion Channel.[11](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/bed-and-board/1052669/where-to-watch/)
## References
1. [Domicile Conjugal, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/domicile-conjugal-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yodezody)
2. [Bed and Board, The Criterion Collection](https://www.criterion.com/films/733-bed-and-board)
3. [Bed and Board (Domicile conjugal), mk2 Films](https://mk2films.com/en/film/domicile-conjugal/)
4. [Bed & Board, Film Society of Lincoln Center](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/bed-and-board/)
5. [The Adventures of Antoine Doinel press notes, Janus Films/Criterion](https://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/janus_promo_packages/764-/Press%20Notes_The%20Adventures%20of%20Antoine%20Doinel_web_original.pdf)
6. [Bed & Board (1970), Blu-ray.com](https://www.blu-ray.com/Bed-and-Board/286043/)
7. [Truffaut's Last Interview, The New Yorker](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/truffauts-last-interview)
8. [Bed and Board On Location, Criterion Channel](https://www.criterionchannel.com/supplements/stOz8o6M/bed-and-board-on-location)
9. [Watch Bed and Board online, BFI Player](https://player.bfi.org.uk/subscription/film/watch-bed-and-board-1970-online)
10. [Achinoam Berger, Prologue: Baudelaire and the Doinel Cycle](https://ef.huji.ac.il/sites/default/files/europe/files/achinoam_berger_for_web.pdf)
11. [Where to Watch Bed and Board, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/bed-and-board/1052669/where-to-watch/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Teen and comedy series film entries › Entries released before 1990*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license