Henry & June

Henry & June
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Philip Kaufman
Written by	Philip Kaufman Rose Kaufman
Produced by	Peter Kaufman
Starring	Fred Ward Uma Thurman Maria de Medeiros Richard E. Grant Kevin Spacey
Cinematography	Philippe Rousselot
Edited by	Dede Allen Vivien Hillgrove Gilliam William S. Scharf
Music by	Mark Adler
Production companies	Walrus & Associates
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	September 14, 1990 (1990-09-14) (Venice)[1] October 5, 1990 (1990-10-05) (United States)
Running time	136 minutes[2]
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$11.5 million[3]

Henry & June is a 1990 American biographical drama film directed by Philip Kaufman, and starring Fred Ward, Uma Thurman, and Maria de Medeiros. It is loosely based on the posthumously published 1986 Anaïs Nin book of the same name, and tells the story of Nin's relationship with Henry Miller and his wife, June.

The film was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 63rd Academy Awards.

It was the first film to be given an NC-17 rating by the MPAA.[4]

In 1931 Paris, writer Anaïs Nin lives comfortably with her husband, the engraver and filmmaker Ian Hugo, but feels emotionally and creatively unfulfilled. While seeking inspiration for her writing, she meets American novelist Henry Miller, who is struggling to finish his first major work. Nin becomes fascinated by his raw energy and bohemian lifestyle and is soon introduced to his wife, June Miller, whose beauty and mercurial temperament captivate her as well.

As Nin spends more time with the couple, she becomes drawn into their turbulent relationship. She begins an affair with Henry and develops a complicated attraction to June, drawn to both their artistic passions and their self-destructive impulses. The three become entangled in a web of jealousy, desire, and creative ambition set against Paris’s avant-garde literary scene.

Nin encourages Henry’s writing and provides emotional and financial support as he works on his novel Tropic of Cancer. Their relationship deepens, but the affair also accelerates the Millers’ separation and forces Nin to confront her own conflicted loyalties. Ultimately, Henry’s success as an author coincides with the dissolution of their affair. Nin returns to her husband, changed by her experiences and by the realization that her search for passion has also exposed her to pain and self-discovery.

The soundtrack was arranged by Mark Adler, consisting of period popular songs.

1. Jean Lenoir, "Parlez-moi d'amour" (Lucienne Boyer)
2. Claude Debussy, Six épigraphes antiques: Pour l'égyptienne (Ensemble Musical de Paris)
3. Francis Poulenc, "Les chemins de l'amour" (Ransom Wilson and Christopher O'Riley)
4. Debussy, Petite Suite: "Ballet" (Aloys and Alfons Kontarsky)
5. Harry Warren, "I Found a Million Dollar Baby" (Bing Crosby)
6. Erik Satie, "Gnossienne No. 3" (Pascal Rogé)
7. Satie, "Je te veux" (Jean-Pierre Armengaud)
8. Debussy, "Sonata for Violin and Piano" (first movement) (Kyung-wha Chung and Radu Lupu)
9. Frédéric Chopin, Nocturne No. 1 in C Major [sic] (Paul Crossley)
10. Georges Auric, "Sous les toits de Paris" (Rene Nazels)
11. Jacques Larmanjat, lyrics by Francis Carco, "Le doux caboulot" (Annie Fratellini)
12. Debussy, "La plus que lente" (Josef Suk)
13. "Je m'ennuie" (Mark Adler)
14. "Coralia" (Mark Adler)
15. Irving Mills, "St. James Infirmary Blues" (Mark Adler)
16. Francisco Tárrega, "Gran Vals" (Francisco Tárrega)
17. Joaquin Nin-Culmell, "Basque Song" (Joaquin Nin-Culmell)
18. Vincent Scotto, lyrics by George Koger and H. Vama, "J'ai deux amours" (Josephine Baker)

Upon release, Henry & June received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly graded the film a B-, writing that "Kaufman, trying to deepen the erotic explorations of Unbearable Lightness, ends up with a triangle movie that's watchable but also arty and rather stilted."[5]

Janet Maslin of The New York Times noted that the film's erotic imagery was "delicately photographed" yet "self-consciously bold," concluding that it ultimately "lacked daring."[6]

On review aggregators, the film holds a 60% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 25 reviews; the site's consensus reads, "Henry & June celebrates sensuality and passion, though the portentous filmmaking drags it down by a large degree."[7] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 62 out of 100 based on 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[8]

Henry & June was also the first motion picture to receive the newly created NC-17 rating from the Motion Picture Association, replacing the former X rating.[9]

The film grossed $11.6 million in North America.[3]

Henry & June was the first motion picture to receive the newly created NC-17 rating from the Motion Picture Association, replacing the former X rating.[10][11] NC-17 was intended to signify serious, non-pornographic films with more violence or (especially) sexual content than would qualify for an R rating. The inclusion of the postcard Nin views at the start of the film (which is of Hokusai's The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife), and some scenes of le Bal des Beaux Arts contributed to the NC-17 rating.

The film was given a more lenient M rating in Australia and an uncut 18 in the United Kingdom. Conversely, it was banned in South Africa. The ban has since been lifted. The film was given an R18 rating in New Zealand and was later lowered to M rating in late 2023.

Wikiquote has quotations related to Henry & June.

• Henry & June at Box Office Mojo
• Henry & June at IMDb
• Henry & June at Rotten Tomatoes