Aimless young Alexandre juggles his relationships with his girlfriend, Marie, and a casual lover named Veronika. Marie becomes increasingly jealous of Alexandre's fling with Veronika and as the trio continues their unsustainable affair, the emotional stakes get higher, leading to conflict and unhappiness.

The Mother and the Whore (La Maman et la putain) finds writer-director Jean Eustache working at peak form to deliver a gripping statement on late 1960s French society.

'The Mother and the Whore' stands as a timeless French New Wave masterpiece with emotionally stunning performances and brilliant dialogue exploring complex sexual politics and romantic entanglements. The film's enduring legacy stems from its authentic examination of human relationships and moving character portrayals. However, the three-and-a-half-hour runtime proves divisive, with some finding it riveting throughout while others consider it excessively long and slow-moving, making engagement levels vary dramatically among viewers.