OVERLAY REPORT

In the 1960 French horror masterpiece *Eyes Without a Face* (Les Yeux sans visage), the narrative centers on two primary figures, but **Christiane Génessier** (played by Édith Scob) is widely considered the film’s protagonist and emotional core, while her father, **Dr. Génessier** (played by Pierre Brasseur), is the primary driver of the plot. Because Christiane spends much of the film behind an expressionless white porcelain mask and is often silent, her few spoken lines are deeply impactful. Conversely, Dr. Génessier provides the film’s chilling philosophical and medical justifications. ### 1. Main Character: Christiane Génessier Christiane is the "eyes" of the title. Disfigured in a car accident caused by her father’s reckless driving, she is kept prisoner in their mansion while he attempts to graft the faces of kidnapped women onto her. She represents the tragic innocence of the film, and her lines emphasize her isolation and loss of identity. **Memorable Lines:** * **"I don’t dare look at myself. I wish I were blind. Or dead."** * *Context:* Spoken to Louise (the doctor's assistant) while Christiane is trapped in her room, reflecting the deep psychological despair of living without a face. * **"He’s lying to me, because he knows it was his fault."** * *Context:* Christiane expresses her lack of faith in her father’s "miracles," acknowledging that his obsession is rooted in his own guilt rather than true care for her well-being. * **"Jacques?"** * *Context:* In one of the film's most suspenseful sequences, Christiane secretly calls her fiancé, Jacques. Though she usually hangs up in silence, when she finally whispers his name, it serves as a haunting reminder of the life she can no longer lead. --- ### 2. Main Character/Antagonist: Dr. Génessier Dr. Génessier is the "Mad Scientist" archetype grounded in cold, clinical realism. His lines reveal the chilling intersection of paternal love and sociopathic obsession. **Memorable Lines:** * **"I’ve done so much wrong to perform this miracle."** * *Context:* A rare moment of self-reflection where the doctor acknowledges the trail of bodies he has left behind in his quest to restore his daughter's face. * **"Smile. Not too much."** * *Context:* Said to Christiane after a temporarily successful skin graft. It highlights his view of her as a medical specimen or a work of art rather than a human being; he is more concerned with the "mechanical" integrity of the graft than her actual happiness. * **"The future, Madame, is something we needed to get a head start on."** * *Context:* Spoken during a lecture, this line encapsulates his hubris and his belief that his ghoulish experiments are merely "pioneering" medicine. * **"Strange that I should have to comfort you, for whom some hope yet remains."** * *Context:* Said to the father of a missing girl at the morgue while Génessier is identifying a different body as his own daughter to cover his tracks. It is a peak example of his cold, manipulative nature. ### Summary of Their Role While the **Doctor** has more dialogue and "screen time" directing the action, **Christiane** is the character the audience identifies with. Her final, silent walk into the night, surrounded by birds, is considered the most iconic "line" of the film—a visual statement of her ultimate break from her father's macabre world.