Eyes Without a Face

One of the greats of French cinema that continues to create ripples of influence today.

The brilliant but obsessive scientist Dr. Génessier (Pierre Brasseur) will stop at nothing to restore his daughter’s horribly disfigured face back to its true beauty - even if this means surgically removing the faces of other young women he lures to his secluded mansion. One of the greats of French cinema, George Franju’s Eyes Without A Face is at once beautifully dreamlike and horrifically gory. It shocked audiences on release, and continues to create ripples of influence today. Holy Motors (2012) featured a masked Edith Scob in a nod to her tragic role here, and there are also affinities to be found with BOM's current exhibition Genecraft.