Valérie is a 1969 black-and-white Canadian erotic film directed by Denis Héroux. It was the first Quebec film to show nudity. It turned an unprecedented gross of $1.68 million, making it the highest-grossing Canadian film of its time.
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Plot
Valérie, upon leaving a convent with the leader of a motorcycle gang, discovers the hippie culture of Montreal and turns to prostitution. This improbable storyline, made famous by the frank display of nudity and sexuality, came from a culture that was still labouring under a strong sense of Catholic guilt. It was the first of a group of films known as maple-syrup porn.
Cast
Danielle Ouimet as Valérie
Guy Godin as Patrick Vollant - le peintre
Andrée Flamand as Andrée
Kim Wilcox as Kim
Claude Préfontaine as Le riche playboy
Henri Norbert as Le millionnaire décadent
Michel Paje as Le premier client de Valérie
Clémence DesRochers as La travailleuse sociale
Production
Valérie was filmed in August and September 1968, with a budget of $99,000 (equivalent to $864,670 in 2025).
Release
The film was released in Montreal on 2 May 1969, by Cinépix, the producer and distributor. It was the highest-grossing of all-time in Canada with a gross of $1,684,000 and earned $2 million (equivalent to $16,670,051 in 2025) after being shown in forty countries. It was the most attended Quebec film since Little Aurore's Tragedy. The film was seen by 153,734 people in France.