Set largely in a Parisian apartment during the course of the summer, the film revolves around five students from Parisian suburbs who have become Maoist activists as they try to figure out how to carry their ideals to the world with terrorism being a key suggestion. It is a film that explores a group of young people who are troubled by the state of their surroundings as they’ve been inspired by the actions of Communist China under the rule of Mao Zedong. It is a film with a straightforward narrative where Jean-Luc Godard uses the Dostoyevsky novel and set it in modern-day France during a tumultuous time of social disorder that would set the stage for the events of May of 1968. For these five people, they listen to Radio Peking and other Maoist propaganda in the hope they can achieve something in France but also deal with other factions relating to communism as they have different views. Even as the continuous studies and such would also create discord within the group about what to do.
Godard’s direction is stylish as it is set almost entirely in this apartment in Paris where there are five people who live there as they’re all idealists lead by the couple Guillaume (Jean-Pierre Leaud) and Veronique (Anne Wiazemsky) as they’re joined by the country girl Yvonne (Juliet Berto) and the student Henri (Michel Semeniako) as well as another figure known as Kirilov (Lex de Brujin) who would play a bigger role. Aside from a visitor in an African student in Omar (Omar Blondin Diop), the group remains isolated as Godard maintains an intimacy in the direction while also breaking the fourth wall at times to show a few crew members filming the actors. There are a lot of close-ups and medium shots that play into the intimacy such as the characters in a room that is filled with a lot of copies of the Little Red Book in the background as all of the characters carry a copy of that book with them. Godard does use some wide shots as there are shots of areas in France as well as parts of Paris that portrays a society that is being overtaken by ideas of the bourgeoisie which these students are opposed to.
The direction also has Godard create these moments where characters are carrying objects that transform into machine guns as well as make some commentary on the Vietnam War as well as their own opposition towards American foreign policy. Even as there are moments of Yvonne playing a Vietnamese woman being attacked by toy American jets to explain the chaos of the war as it also allude to their own disdain towards the Soviet Union’s idea of communism. By the time the film reaches its third act where members of the group diverge in ideals as the four principle characters do get a segment where they talk with Henri talking about what happened to him while a scene set in a train where Veronique talks about terrorism with political activist Francis Jeanson over his role in the Algerian war as he is troubled by Veronique’s views as it does play into the fallacies on revolutions. Overall, Godard crafts a compelling and gripping film about a group of political activists turning to terrorism to get their message through during a tumultuous time in France during the 1960s.
Cinematographer Raoul Coutard does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography in capturing the vibrancy of the color red throughout the film with many of its interior shots being straightforward yet colorful along with its exteriors in some of its greyer settings. Editors Delphine Desfons and Agnes Guillemot do excellent work with the editing with its stylish usage of jump-cuts and other stylish cuts to play into the film’s unconventional presentation but also for dramatic effect. Costume designer Gitt Magrini does fantastic work with the costumes from the sweaters that Guillaume wears to the war cap that Veronique would sometimes wear. The sound work of Rene Levert does superb work with the sound in capturing the natural elements of the sound on some locations but also in creating sound effects for some of the playful gunfire. The film’s music consist of original music by Michel Legrand and Karlheinz Stockhausen as well as classical pieces by Pierre Degeyter, Franz Schubert, and Antonio Vivaldi as the original is a mixture of pop and orchestral music to play into the events of the time including a song celebrating Mao while much of the classical music is played for dramatic effect.
The film’s incredible ensemble cast feature some notable small roles and appearances from Jean-Claude Sussfeld as a getaway driver for a key scene late in the film, Omar Blondin Diop as a black-French student who appears to do a speech about his views on the world, Lex De Brujin as Kirilov as a student who doesn’t engage much in the discussions though he does have views of his own that supports the idea of terrorism, and Francis Jeanson as himself as the controversial political philosopher who is against Veronique’s views as well as wanting to use terrorism as he is someone who goes into the fallacies of his own actions in the Algerian war as well as the flaws of revolutions. Michel Semeniako is fantastic as Henri as a student who is a follower of the Maoist ideals but then starts to question things as he would later comment on his own future but also the faults of Maoism.
Juliet Berto is excellent as Yvonne as a young student from the country who is hoping to use Maoist to help with plight of workers as she also the lack of progress that occurs in revolutions. Jean-Pierre Leaud is amazing as Guillaume as a student who is eager to play a role in the revolution as he then starts to disagree with Veronique later on as he also copes with the lack of progress in revolutions. Finally, there’s Anne Wiazemsky in a phenomenal performance as Veronique as a young student who is a fervent follower of Mao and his ideals as she realizes what is necessary despite the many faults of her views as she also copes with the fallacies of revolutions.
La Chinoise is a tremendous film from Jean-Luc Godard. Featuring a great ensemble cast, vibrant visuals, a riveting music soundtrack, and its focus on political ideals and the chaos that it would predict. It is a film that isn’t just one of Godard’s finest films during the French New Wave period but also a film that says a lot about young people’s fascination with terrorism and other acts of violence for the sake of change with its many fallacies. In the end, La Chinoise is a spectacular film from Jean-Luc Godard.
Jean-Luc Godard Films: All the Boys are Called Patrick - Charlotte et son Jules - A Bout de Souffle - The Little Soldier - A Woman is a Woman - Vivre sa Vie - Les Carabiniers - Contempt - Bande a Part - A Married Woman - Alphaville - Pierrot Le Fou - Masculin Feminin - Made in U.S.A. - Two or Three Things I Know About Her - Weekend (1967 film) - Sympathy for the Devil (One Plus One) - (Joy of Learning) – (British Sounds) – Tout va Bien - (Letter to Jane) - (One A.M.) - (Number Two) - (Here and Elsewhere) - (Every Man for Himself) - (Passion) - (First Name: Carmen) - Hail, Mary - (Soft and Hard) - (Detective) - (King Lear (1987 film)) - (Keep Your Right Up) - (Nouvelle Vague) - (Allemagne 90 neuf zero) - (JLG/JLG - Self-Portrait in December) – For Ever Mozart - (Historie(s) de Cinema) - (In Praise of Love) - (Notre musique) - (Film Socialisme) - (Adieu au Language) – (The Image Book)
© thevoid99 2023
Based on the short story Le autopista del Sur by Julio Cortazar, Weekend is the story of a bourgeoisie couple who travel to France to collect an inheritance as they encounter a world where everything is falling apart. Written for the screen and directed by Jean-Luc Godard, the film is an exploration of two people with secrets from each other as they’re forced to see a world that is in total chaos as it would mark the end of a style of storytelling for Godard for more than a decade as it plays into his interest towards political and social matters. Starring Mireille Darc, Jean Yanne, Georges Staquet, Juliet Berto, Jean Eustache, Jean-Pierre Leaud, and Yves Afonso. Weekend is a chilling yet abstract film from Jean-Luc Godard.
A trip through the French countryside for a bourgeoisie couple becomes a nightmare due to a world that has gone to shit. That is the film’s overall premise as it explores the idea of what happens when society and morality have all fallen by the wayside just as a couple go on a trip to collect an inheritance with each having their own intentions for themselves. Jean-Luc Godard’s screenplay does have a traditional narrative structure yet it is told in an abstract style as it breaks down the fourth wall at times but also would blur the idea of fantasy and reality along with elements of surrealism as the couple would meet real-life figures in literature, history, or in politics. It all play into a world that is coming apart as this couple in Corrine (Mireille Darc) and Roland (Jean Yanne) are trying to understand what is happening yet are desperate to reach their destination that becomes more troublesome as they have to endure the chaos around them including traffic jams, deaths, and people angry at the world.
Godard’s direction is definitely stylish in its offbeat approach yet it is filled with some haunting visuals that play into this idea of a world coming undone. Shot on various locations in France, Godard captures a world that is outside of Paris that is full of wonders where he shoots a Corrine and Roland both at their apartment as Roland is driving his car recklessly with no regards for anyone. There are some long shots that occur throughout the film whether it’s in a wide and medium shot or in a close-up where Godard would have characters talk about what is going on around them or a historical figure pop up and say something that has some relevance to the chaos that is happening in France during the 1960s that would have these dire premonitions of what was to come in May of 1968. Even as Corrine and Roland find themselves unable to get a ride to town after their car had crashed at the beginning of its second act due to political affiliations.
Godard’s direction would include these long and gazing dolly-tracking shots for the film’s traffic jam scene in the film’s first act as it shows Roland Corrine trying to get through this road of death, destruction, absurdity, and confusion. The tracking shots definitely capture a lot of coverage while they would be briefly interrupted by jump-cuts of title cards that would also include a scene of a camera going slowly in circle for a music break. It is Godard breaking away from the confines of traditional narrative while following this bourgeoisie couple who are traveling to receive an inheritance as the third act is about them reaching their destination and an aftermath that is more troubling as it relates to their secrets from one another but also this inhumanity they had endured throughout their journey where they end up encountering a guerilla task force. It would play into the conflict involving social classes as well as this growing civil disobedience over what the world has become. Overall, Godard crafts a provocative and unsettling film about a bourgeois couple’s trek through France where they encounter a world that has completely lost its purpose.
Cinematographer Raoul Coutard does brilliant work with the film’s gorgeous cinematography that captures the vibrancy of the colors in the clothes that Corinne and other characters wear as well as the look of the locations that showcase a world that is coming undone. Editor Agnes Guillemot does amazing work with the editing as it is playful with its usage of jump-cuts but also its usage of repetition and montages to play into this sense of remorse or lack of it. The sound work of Rene Levert and Antoine Bonfanti is excellent for its approach to sound in the way car horns, trucks, guns, and everything would sound from afar or up close as it help add to the film tense atmosphere of the film. The film’s music by Antoine Duhamel is fantastic for its offbeat musical score that ranges from somber orchestral pieces as well as a disconcerting drum-based piece that is actually played on location while the film also feature elements of classical music.
The film’s superb cast feature some notable small roles and appearances from filmmaker Jean Eustache as a hitchhiker, Omar Blondin Diop and Laszlo Szabo as a couple of garbage men who both have something to say about the state of the world for Africa and Algeria, Ernest Menzer as a FLSO cook, Michelle Breton as the assistant cook, Jean-Pierre Kaflon as the leader of a guerilla faction known as the FLSO, Valerie Lagrange as the leader’s lover, Paul Gegauff as a pianist performing classical music for the music break sequence, Anne Wiazemsky and Michel Cournot as a couple of barnyard passerby with Wiazemsky also playing a guide, Georges Staquet as a tractor operator who argues with Roland, and Jean-Claude Guilbert as a vagabond who fights with Roland. Jean-Pierre Leaud is terrific in a dual role as the French Revolution leader Louis Antoine Leon de Saint-Just and as a man on a telephone who tries to stop Roland and Corrine from stealing his car.
Yves Afonso is fantastic as the literary character Tom Thumb who comments about the state of the world while Blandine Jensen is excellent in a dual role as the author Emily Bronte who never gives any straight answers and as a piano accompanist for the pianist. Juliet Berto is brilliant in a dual role as a fellow bourgeoisie that Roland and Corrine encounter and as a FLSO fighter. Finally, there’s the duo of Mireille Darc and Jean Yanne in great performances in their respective roles as Corinne and Roland Durand as this bourgeois couple traveling through France to collect an inheritance for Corinne as she is someone eager to get money for her own reasons while dealing with the chaos around her. Yanne’s performance as Roland is a man who is manic and impulsive with little regard for anyone due to his reckless driving and nonchalant attitude towards others where he and Darc both display this air of inhumanity as two people with ulterior motives for each other as well as become lost in a world that is far crueler than they are.
Weekend is a spectacular film from Jean-Luc Godard. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous visuals, an abstract narrative, and themes of a world becoming undone by class conflicts, social issues, popular culture, and the sins of the Western Civilization. It’s a film that is definitely confrontational but also unafraid in being absurd and offbeat as it is definitely one of Godard’s quintessential films as well as a fitting end to his widely-revered French New Wave period. In the end, Weekend is a phenomenal film from Jean-Luc Godard.
Jean-Luc Godard Films: All the Boys are Called Patrick - Charlotte et son Jules - A Bout de Souffle - The Little Soldier - A Woman is a Woman - Vivre Sa Vie - Les Carabiniers - Contempt - Bande a Part - A Married Woman - Alphaville - Pierrot Le Fou - Masculin Feminin - Made in U.S.A. - Two or Three Things I Know About Her - La Chinoise - Sympathy for the Devil (One Plus One) - (Joy of Learning) - (British Sounds) - Tout va Bien - (Letter to Jane) - (One A.M.) - (Number Two) - (Here and Elsewhere) - (Every Man for Himself) - (Passion) - (First Name: Carmen) - Hail, Mary - (Soft and Hard) - (Detective) - (King Lear (1987 film)) - (Keep Your Right Up) - (Nouvelle Vague) - (Allemagne 90 neuf zero) - (JLG/JLG - Self-Portrait in December) - For Ever Mozart - (Historie(s) de Cinema) - (In Praise of Love) - (Notre musique) - (Film Socialisme) - (Adieu au Language) – (The Image Book)
© thevoid99 2019
Written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard, Alphaville: une etrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (A Strange Adventure of Lemmy Caution) is the story of a secret agent who is assigned to an inventor of a Fascist computer in a futuristic world. The film is a mixture of science fiction with film noir as it plays into a world that is strange as a man finds himself in a world that mixes elements of the 20th Century with a world that is very foreign to him. Starring Eddie Constantine, Anna Karina, Howard Vernon, and Akim Tamiroff. Alphaville is a strange yet entrancing film from Jean-Luc Godard.
Set in a futuristic world that isn’t too distant from 1960s France, the film revolves around a secret agent who arrives in a dystopian city to kill an inventor who has created a computer that controls its people as ideas of love, art, and free-thinking is banned. While it’s a plot that is very simple, it is a story that is very complex as its auteur Jean-Luc Godard creates something that is very abstract as it relates to ideas of existentialism and what a man is trying to do in this dystopian world. It is largely told from the perspective of its lead character Lemmy Caution (Eddie Constantine) who arrives to the city of Alphaville under an alias as he meets this mysterious woman named Natacha von Braun (Anna Karina) whose father (Howard Vernon) is the inventor of the computer known as Alpha 60.
It’s a script that doesn’t play into any conventions as the computer itself is a character in the story as it acts as this cold antagonist that mocks the ideas of love, individuality, and something as simple as poetry. The script is filled with a lot of ideas to set up this dystopian world as it plays into a future that doesn’t feel too distant yet it plays into a world that is the antithesis of what was happening in the 1960s. Even as cities of other countries are referred to in different languages as New York is said in its Spanish pronunciation while everything outside of Alphaville is referred to as the Outlands. It’s where Caution comes from as he brings books of poetry and a gun as his encounters with Natacha would have him going into a personal mission of his own as she had been in control of Alpha 60 as she has no idea what love is or anything else.
Godard’s direction is definitely stylish as he definitely goes for something that is very off-the-wall as he shoots the film on location in Paris without the need to really do anything different to the locations. It’s shot as if Alphaville is stuck in the 1960s even though it is the future as Godard’s use of wide shots and very offbeat angles help play into this strange world that is the future. The film also features these gazing images that play into the future as the computer Alpha 60 is played an electric fan with a light in the background. There is something that feels absurd about what the future is as objects from the time are present such as a camera that Caution carries which was new at the time of the film’s production. Godard also uses some very intricate compositions such as close-ups and medium shots to help play into the suspense and drama while going for some very engaging camera angles to play into something that feels off and otherworldly. While there is a lot that goes on where it can be hard to follow at times, it does play into Caution’s own adventure to try and stop the ideas of a computer from spreading the rest of the free world. Overall, Godard crafts a very engaging yet off-the-wall film about a man killing a computer inventor in a futuristic world.
Cinematographer Raoul Coutard does amazing work with the film‘s black-and-white photography as he uses some intricate lighting schemes and textures to play into the world that is Alphaville for scenes at night as well as some moods for the daytime scenes. Editor Agnes Guillemot does brilliant work with the editing to create some very disconcerting jump-cuts to play into suspense along with other stylish cuts for its sense of drama and action. Production designer Pierre Guffroy does fantastic work with the design of the hotel rooms that Caution would stay in as well as some of the places he goes into including the secret office of Professor von Braun.
The sound work of Rene Levert does superb work with some of the sound effects as well as the distorted voice of the Alpha 60 computer. The film’s music by Paul Misraki is wonderful for its myriad of orchestral music from suspenseful themes to lush and evocative pieces to play into Caution’s love for Natacha.
The film’s phenomenal cast includes some notable appearances from Jean-Pierre Leaud as a breakfast waiter, Christa Lang and Valerie Boisgel as a couple of seductresses, Jean-Louis Comolli and Jean-Andre Fieschi as a couple of professors respectively named Jeckell and Heckell, and Akim Tamiroff in a terrific performance as a friend of Caution in Henri Dickson who was supposed to do the mission but succumb to the traps of Alpha 60’s ideas. Howard Vernon is excellent as Professor von Braun/Leonard Nosferatu as the inventor of Alpha 60 who tries to remove elements of his own humanity as he offers Caution to join him.
Anna Karina is remarkable as Natacha as a woman who had been in Alphaville for too long as she accompanies Caution to the world as she starts to attain elements of humanity including the idea of love. Finally, there’s Eddie Constantine in an incredible performance as Lenny Caution/Ivan Johnson as a spy posing as a journalist who is assigned to kill an inventor as he copes with the strangeness of his surroundings and the ideas of Alphaville as it is a very chilling yet intoxicating performance from Constantine.
Alphaville is a sensational film from Jean-Luc Godard that features great performances from Eddie Constantine and Anna Karina. While it maybe one of Godard’s more offbeat and inaccessible features during his New Wave period. It is still a fascinating film that plays into the idea of dystopia as if it was set in a modern world where things have unknowingly changed. In the end, Alphaville is a tremendously provocative yet exhilarating film from Jean-Luc Godard.
Jean-Luc Godard Films: All the Boys Are Called Patrick - Charlotte et son Jules - Breathless - The Little Soldier - A Woman is a Woman - My Life to Live - The Carabineers - Contempt - Band of Outsiders - A Married Woman - Pierrot Le Fou - Masculin Feminin - Made in U.S.A. - Two or Three Things I Know About Her - La Chinoise - Weekend - One Plus One (Sympathy for the Devil) - (Joy of Learning) - (British Sounds) - Tout va Bien - (Letter to Jane) - (One A.M.) - (Number Two) - (Here and Elsewhere) - (Every Man for Himself) - (Passion) - (First Name: Carmen) - Hail, Mary - (Soft and Hard) - (Detective) - (King Lear (1987 film)) - (Keep Your Right Up) - (Nouvelle Vague) - (Allemagne 90 neuf zero) - (JLG/JLG - Self-Portrait in December) - For Ever Mozart - (Historie(s) de Cinema) - (In Praise of Love) - (Notre musique) - (Film Socialisme) - (Adieu au Language) - (The Image Book)
© thevoid99 2015
Directed by Francois Truffaut and written by Truffaut, Suzanne Schiffman, and Jean-Louis Richard, La nuit americaine (Day for Night) is the story about a filmmaker trying to make a film where a lot of things go wrong. With Truffaut playing the director, it’s a film that chronicles the turbulent world of filmmaking and what goes on during a film production. Also starring Jean-Pierre Leaud, Jacqueline Bissett, Valentina Cortese, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Dani, Nathalie Baye, Jean Champion, and Alexandra Stewart. La nuit americaine is a whimsical and engaging film about the world of filmmaking.
The film is about a filmmaker, his actors, and his crew trying to make a film called Meet Pamela where the director Ferrand learns he only has seven-weeks to shoot the film while his leading English actress has not arrived on set due to her melancholic state. Adding to the chaos is an aging diva who boozes up as she can’t remember her lines while her co-star is a former lover while one of her younger co-stars is dealing with his girlfriend’s infatuation with other crew members. It’s a film that explores a filmmaker trying to make this romantic love-triangle with all of the pressures that goes on as it relates to funding and all sorts of things. All of which is told in a very whimsical manner where Francois Truffaut pokes fun at the world of the studio system but also pays homage to it as the film is also a tribute to cinema itself.
The film’s screenplay has a lot of jokes that relates to cinema where Truffaut even pokes fun at himself as some of the characters he creates are composites of some of his collaborators and actors he worked with. Yet, Truffaut treats them as real people as the aging actor Alexander (Jean-Pierre Aumont) tries to keep things calm and be professional as he often takes trips to the airport. The aging diva Severine (Valentina Cortese) deals with aging as she has a hard time remembering her lines while reflecting on the days when she and Alexander made films in Hollywood. The young actor Alphonse (Jean-Pierre Leaud) is a variation of the many characters that Leaud had played in Truffaut’s films as he’s hung up on his girlfriend Liliane (Dani) who gets hired as a script girl as she is more interested in other men. Then there’s the young English leading lady Julie Baker (Jacqueline Bissett) who has just got married to an older man (David Markham) yet is still reeling from depression.
It all plays to the craziness that goes on as Ferrand and his producer Bertrand (Jean Champion) try to make sure that things don’t go wrong as crew members start to sleep around and do crazy things. It plays into the sense of pressure that goes on as Julie is uninsured in case things go wrong as Ferrand just tries to film while he would have recurring dreams featuring a kid. The script also has a lot of commentaries about film itself and what it means to people as it adds to the sense of reality and fiction blurring.
Truffaut’s direction is quite stylish for not just the way he presents the film-within-a-film in Meet Pamela but also in the realness that he creates when he’s trying to make a film as if there is a bit of a cinema verite feel to it. Much of the direction about Ferrand making the film has a lot of style from wide shots to display a crew shooting where there’s some elaborate crane shots to some close-ups that are on display for the film. The scenes for Meet Pamela is presented as a typical melodrama with a lot of cinematic references to some of films that Truffaut has made in some of the visuals. There is a lot of humor that goes on but it’s very subtle as it doesn’t go too far into whimsy.
There’s also moments where there’s an idea where the fourth wall might be broken as there’s a famous scene where a woman who is shown often in the background as she finally states her opinion about cinema. Even as the film’s American title relates to what filmmakers do to shoot scenes in the day for nighttime scenes as it plays to some of the absurdity of cinema as there’s a famous scene of two crew members watching a game show where the questions relates to films that starred Jeanne Moreau. Overall, Truffaut creates a very exciting and funny film about cinema and a man trying to make something cinematic.
Cinematographer Pierre-William Glenn does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography with its unique approach to lighting as well as displaying some tricks into how some of the film‘s interiors are lit for the film-within-a-film sequences. Editors Martine Barraque and Yann Dedet do fantastic work with the editing as it includes some montages and jump-cuts as it plays to the film‘s humor and some of its melancholia. Production designer Damien LanFranchi does brilliant work with the set pieces as well as the way sets are displayed as well some of the offices and hotel rooms the crew and actors stay in.
Costume designer Monique Dury does wonderful work with the costumes from the stylish clothes that Julie and Severine wear to the some of the costumes the actors wear for the film-within-a-film. The sound work of Rene Levert and Harrik Maury is terrific for its sound from the way sound is created on set to the recording of the characters in the film-within-a-film. The film’s music by Georges Delerue is amazing for its very soaring and upbeat score that plays into the humor along with some somber pieces that includes a cut that he did in Two English Girls.
The film’s superb cast includes some notable appearances from author Graham Greene as an English insurer, Christophe Vesque as the boy in Ferrand’s dream, Xavier Saint-Macary as Alexander’s companion, David Markham as Julie’s much-older husband, Zenaide Rossi as crewmember’s wife who is always on set, Nike Arrighi as the makeup girl Odile, and Bernard Menez as the prop man who is frustrated by some of the film’s troubles. Nathalie Baye is wonderful as Ferrand’s assistant director Joelle who tries to keep things organized while Jean Champion is terrific as the film’s producer who tries to get everything intact while being the one to accompany Julie when she arrives. Dani is terrific as Alphonse’s girlfriend Liliane who enjoys being on set while flirting with other men. Alexandra Stewart is excellent as the secondary actress Stacey who arrives to the set where Ferrand and his crew make a major discovery that would cause more trouble for the production.
Francois Truffaut is amazing in playing Ferrand where he’s sort of playing himself as a filmmaker trying to get the production going while dealing with all of the troubles that happens. Jean-Pierre Aumont is great as the aging actor Alexander who tries to ensure that things go well while being the most professional despite his frequent trips to the airport. Jacqueline Bissett is radiant as the troubled English actress Julie Baker who tries to cope with her depression while doing her job in playing the ingenue. Jean-Pierre Leaud is fantastic as the young actor Alphonse as he deals with his relationship issues while asking numerous questions about women as it relates to his own aloofness. Finally, there’s Valentina Cortese in a remarkable performance as the diva Severine as this woman trying to cope with aging as well as a fading career as Cortese brings a lot of life and exuberance to her performance that hides the sense of insecurities that she carries in her character.
La nuit americaine is an incredible film from Francois Truffaut. Armed with a great cast and many tributes and allusions to the world of cinema, the film is definitely one of Truffaut’s most accessible and compelling films of his career. Particularly as Truffaut makes fun of himself as well as show some realism into the world of filmmaking. In the end, La nuit americaine is a sensational film from Francois Truffaut.
Francois Truffaut Films: The 400 Blows - Shoot the Piano Player - Jules & Jim - Antoine & Colette - The Soft Skin - Fahrenheit 451 - The Bride Wore Black - Stolen Kisses - Mississippi Mermaid - The Wild Child - Bed and Board - Two English Girls - Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me - The Story of Adele H. - Small Change - The Man Who Loved Women - The Green Room - Love on the Run - The Last Metro - The Woman Next Door - Confidentially Yours
The Auteur #40: Francois Truffaut (Pt. 1) - (Pt. 2)
© thevoid99 2014
Based on the novel by Henri-Pierre Roche, Les Deux Anglaises et le Continent (Two English Girls) is the story of a love-triangle between a Frenchman and two English sisters in the course of twenty-years during the early 20th Century. Directed by Francois Truffaut and screenplay by Truffaut and Jean Grualt, the film is a very complex love story that explores a man and his relationship with two sisters. Starring Jean-Pierre Leaud, Kika Markham, Stacey Tendeter, and Sylvia Marriott. Les Deux Anglaises et le Continent is a ravishing and evocative film from Francois Truffaut.
The film is a simple love-triangle story involving a young Frenchman and two English sisters during the early 20th Century as it would be a relationship filled with anguish, confusion, and longing. Yet, there is a love that is undeniable as it is largely told by the trio as they would correspond through letters and all sorts of things as they ponder if they really love each other. Much of it is told from the perspective of Claude Roc (Jean-Pierre Leaud) who meets one of the sisters early on in Ann Brown (Kika Markham) during her trip to France. Smitten by her, he travels to her home in Wales where he meets her mother (Sylvia Marriott) and Ann’s younger sister Muriel (Stacey Tendeter). Claude not only falls for Muriel but he is also in love with Ann where his feelings for the two sisters would shift from one to the other in the course of 20 years. Especially as he would have a hard time juggling both of them while the sisters themselves try to Claude to fall for the other.
The film’s screenplay would feature Truffaut as an unseen narrator filling bits of exposition as well as unheard conversations and such to help move the story forward. Especially as Truffaut would incorporate voice-overs from the three principle characters to play into their anguish over this love triangle where Claude is in love with two sisters who are both similar in some respects but also very different. Ann is a very refined person who is very kind and not confrontational at times. Muriel is a more aggressive and moody young woman who suffers from blindness at times. The different personalities are probably reasons for Claude’s aloof attraction to both women where he would shift back and forth between the two for several years. Much of the film’s first half is set in Wales which plays to the innocence of the relationship.
Then a year-long separation between Claude and Muriel occur based on the suggestion of their respective mothers which would create problems where Claude finds himself in London not sure if he would see her. This would prompt Ann to see if Claude had been with other women only to for the two to have an affair of their own where there is a major conflict over whether to tell Muriel what is really happening or continue with this affair. Things would get more complicated as the often-demure Ann would start venturing into her own to find herself which would prompt to re-start his long-distance relationship with Muriel as this back-and-forth would happen for 20 years.
Truffaut’s direction is truly exquisite in not just the way he presents this love triangle set in the early 20th Century but also in the sense of restraint that it’s told. Notably as much of the film’s first half would be set in a French peninsula as Wales where it is a world that is free and natural. Truffaut would use a lot of wide shots but also some slow and gazing pans to display the beauty and the innocence of this love-triangle. The usage of close-ups would also have a feel that is entrancing where the actors talking at the camera to play into what they’re feeling and how the reader is seeing that person recite these letters. The film is also shot in other parts of France to play into the sense of the times as it also helps further the development of the characters.
The use of the closing iris and other stylistic shots do add a sense of energy to the film where it has an unconventional sense of pacing. Yet, it manages to help make the film not as long as it should be where Truffaut takes his time to not only develop the love triangle but also carefully develop Claude going from one sister to another through a series of small events. Even as the film’s third act would have Claude make some moves of his own to see what he can do to not just ensure his own happiness but the happiness of the sisters. Yet, it would be followed by things that would not only play into the sense of long he would have for those sisters but also the idea that the past can never be replicated. Overall, Truffaut creates a very sensitive yet rapturous film about a Frenchman who falls for two English sisters.
The cinematography of Nestor Almendros is truly a highlight of the film as his approach to interior and exterior lighting adds a sense of beauty to every image of the film while emphasizing on something that is very natural as opposed to going for filters and other stylistic shots. Almendros‘ work is just ravishing in every frame that he puts in along with the shots of the French peninsula location and the river home where Claude and Ann would have their affair. Editors Yann Dedet and Martine Barreque do excellent work with the editing where its usage of jump-cuts, dissolves, and fade-outs would have this air of style while playing to the film‘s unique approach to pacing. Production designer Michel de Broin does amazing work with the look of the country home the Brown sisters live in as well as the places that Claude lived and worked at along with the art studios he goes to.
Costume designer Gitt Magrini does wonderful work with the costumes from the clothes that Claude wears to the stylish dresses that the women wear that is completed by the lavish hair styles of the time that is created by Simone Knapp. The sound work of Rene Levert is terrific for the calmness of some of the locations as well as playing to the sounds of nature and parts of the cities that the characters encounter. The film’s music by Georges Delerue is just astounding for its lush and enchanting orchestral score that features some somber yet brooding string pieces to some majestic cuts to play into the sense of romance and longing as it’s one of Delerue’s best scores.
The film’s brilliant cast features some appearances from composer Georges Delerue as Claude’s business agent, Irene Tuc as an artist Claude meets, Mark Petersen as the Browns’ neighbor Mr. Flint, and David Markham as a palm reader the sisters meet later in the film. Other notable small roles include Sylvia Marriott as Ann and Muriel’s mother who is concerned about the way the love triangle is happening as well as Marie Mansart as Claude’s mother who also has her suspicions about the relationship. Philippe Leonard is terrific as an art publisher named Diurka whom Ann would fall for as he would later become a friend to Claude.
Stacey Tendeter is fantastic as the very moody and anguished Muriel as the younger of the two sisters who is stricken by blindness as she rarely goes anywhere as she tries to deal with Claude being away as well as her own sins. Kika Markham is amazing as Ann as this more prim and sophisticated woman who later finds herself as an artist as she tries to deal with her newfound sense of adventure while wanting to maintain her love for Claude. Finally, there’s Jean-Pierre Leaud in a remarkable performance as Claude as this young man who finds himself torn between two women whom he loves while being aloof over his situation. The three performances together are just fun to watch in not only for their love for each other but also for the fact that it’s a relationship that was very unconventional for its time.
Les Deux Anglaises et le Continent is a magnificent film from Francois Truffaut that features outstanding performances from Jean-Pierre Leaud, Kika Markham, and Stacey Tendeter. Armed with a sensational story, exquisite detail to the period, Georges Delerue’s rapturous score, and the enchanting cinematography of Nestor Almendros. The film is truly one of Truffaut’s finest films in the way it explores love and all of its complexities. In the end, Les Deux Anglaises et le Continent is a spectacular film from Francois Truffaut.
Francois Truffaut Films: The 400 Blows - Shoot the Piano Player - Jules & Jim - Antoine & Colette - The Soft Skin - Fahrenheit 451 - The Bride Wore Black - Stolen Kisses - Mississippi Mermaid - The Wild Child - Bed and Board - Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me - Day for Night - The Story of Adele H. - Small Change - The Man Who Loved Women - The Green Room - Love on the Run - The Last Metro - The Woman Next Door - Confidentially Yours
The Auteur #40: Francois Truffaut (Pt. 1) - (Pt. 2)
© thevoid99 2014
Written and directed by Aki Kaurismaki, Le Havre is the story about a shoe-shiner who finds an immigrant boy in a French port as he tries to protect him from authorities. The film explores a man trying to do what is right for a boy while dealing with his own life. Starring Andre Wilms, Kati Outinen, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Pierre Etaix, and Jean-Pierre Leaud. Le Havre is a delightful comedy-drama from Aki Kaurismaki.
The film is about this middle-aged shoe-shiner who lives in the port town on Le Havre where he discovers a young African boy in his home hiding from immigration. While his wife is in the hospital over a mysterious illness, he and his friends do whatever to hide the boy from the authorities as an inspector is also looking for the boy as he is very ambiguous about his duties. It’s a film where this old man tries to do what he thinks is right as he’s also someone that is very kind and generous including to the people in his neighborhood. Realizing that this boy just wants to go to London to be with his mother, the man known as Marcel (Andre Wilms) does what he can with the help of his friends as he is also dealing with his ailing wife Arletty (Kati Outinen).
The film’s script is quite simple as Aki Kaurismaki doesn’t do a lot of plotting while bringing out some suspense in the story. There’s bits of humor in the film but also a lot of drama where it relates to not just Marcel’s conflict but also the presence of the inspector named Monet (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) who is always looking around yet does manage to confront Marcel about what he’s doing but in a very subtle manner as he also warns him about other forces that is also going after the boy. It would lead to Marcel trying to do what is right as he travels to Chalais to meet with the boy’s grandfather to see what he can do to help this boy and make sure that the grandfather can be relieved to know that his grandson is somewhere safe.
Kaurismaki’s direction is very simplistic in the way he presents the film while making the port town of Le Havre a character in the film where it is unique as it is this melting pot of sorts where there’s the French but also people from other parts of Europe as well as Asia yet they all enjoy their company. While there aren’t many Africans in the town, they do hang around every once in a while though the Africans are aware that authorities are watching them. Kaurismaki does add an energy to some of the suspense as well as creating something that does sort of play like an adventure story. Even as Marcel is trying to deal with his wife as he doesn’t know how serious her illness is. It would play into this third act where Marcel does do some drastic things with the help of friends as well as a unique outcome of the good deed that he does as it recalls elements of classic Hollywood of the early 20th Century. Overall, Kaurismaki creates a very exhilarating yet engaging film about a man trying to help a young immigrant boy from the dark forces of immigration.
Cinematographer Timo Salminen does amazing work with the cinematography as it has this very distinctive yet colorful look that recalls some of the visual traits of the American films of the 1950s and the European films of the 70s where it‘s quite rich in some of its interiors while being very simple in its exterior daytime scenes. Editor Timo Linnasalo does excellent work with the editing as it‘s mostly straightforward while using . Art director Wouter Zoon does nice work with the set pieces from the home of Marcel to the places he goes to in his neighborhood.
Costume designer Fred Cambier does terrific work with the costumes as it‘s mostly casual with a few colorful clothes including the stuff the boy would wear in the film. The sound work of Tero Malmberg is superb for creating a low-key yet natural atmosphere for the locations including the sound of ships and police sirens. The film’s soundtrack is a mixture of classical music, blues, rock, and African-based music to play up the different worlds the characters live in.
The film’s cast is brilliant as it features some notable appearances from Jean-Pierre Leaud as a snooty neighbor snooping on Marcel, legendary filmmaker Pierre Etaix as a doctor examining Arletty, singer Roberto Piazza as himself known as Little Bob who plays a charity show to help Marcel get the boy to London, Francois Monnie as a local grocer who helps Marcel, Elina Salo as a barmaid who is also a friend of Marcel but also knows the inspector, Quoc Dung Nguyen as a fellow shoe shiner/immigrant who also helps Marcel, Evelyne Didi as Yvette who also helps Marcel in supplying food and such, and the dog Laika as herself as she becomes a companion for Marcel and the boy. Kati Outinen is wonderful as Marcel’s ailing wife Arletty who tries to deal with her illness as well as what might happen.
Blondin Miguel is excellent as the boy Idrissa as a young kid trying to go to London and hide from the authorities as is he is given shelter by Marcel and his friends while he returns the favor by helping them with small jobs and such. Jean-Pierre Darroussin is superb as the inspector Monet who looks for Idrissa while knowing that Marcel is hiding him as he is also concerned about the moral implications of what to do with this boy. Finally, there’s Andre Wilms as Marcel Marx as a man who is trying to do what is right while dealing with the illness of his wife as he fills his time to help a boy go to London as it’s a very charming and tremendous performance from Wilms.
Le Havre is a remarkable film from Aki Kaurismaki that features brilliant performances from Andre Wilms and Jean-Pierre Darroussin. The film isn’t just a look into the world of immigration issues but also a captivating story of a man trying to help a boy through these troubling circumstances. Even as it is a film that shows the kindness of people who just want to do what is right including those who seem like the most unlikely person to do such a good deed. In the end, Le Havre is a heartwarming yet phenomenal film from Aki Kaurismaki.
Aki Kaurismaki Films: (Crime and Punishment (1983 film)) - (Calamari Union) - Shadows in Paradise - (Hamlet Goes Business) - (Ariel) - (Leningrad Cowboys Go America) - (Dirty Hands) - (The Match Factory Girl) - (I Hired a Contract Killer) - (La Vie de Boheme) - (Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatiana) - Total Balalaika Show -(Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses) - (Drifting Clouds) - (Juha) - (The Man Without a Past) - (Lights in the Dusk)
© thevoid99 2013
Based on Guy de Maupassant’s short stories The Signal and Paul’s Mistress, Masculin Feminin is the story about a young romantic idealist who chases after a budding pop star as he later gets involved in a complex relationship with two other women. Written for the screen and directed by Jean-Luc Godard, the film is look into the world of love during a tumultuous period in France where two people fall in love despite their different views on art and politics. Starring Jean-Pierre Leaud, Chantal Goya, Marlene Jobert, and Michel Debord. Masculin Feminin is a ravishing yet witty film from Jean-Luc Godard.
The film revolves around a man named Paul (Jean-Pierre Leaud) who meets and falls for a budding pop singer named Madeleine Zimmer (Chantal Goya) where they have a relationship during a period in France where Socialist activities and protest against America’s involvement with the Vietnam War comes into play. Paul would meet Madeleine’s roommates in the frigid Elisabeth (Marlene Jobert) and the more innocent Catherine-Isabelle (Catherine-Isabelle Duport) as the latter is courted by Paul’s friend Robert (Michel Debord) where they all go through many moments in the relationship as Paul deals with Madeleine’s burgeoning career as well as their differences.
Jean-Luc Godard’s screenplay plays up the idea of romance and sex during this period in France where the world is changing as Paul is a fan of classic music while Madeleine is more in tune with the pop music of the times. Yet, the two are fascinated by each other’s differences though it would eventually become too great for them to bear. While Paul would also connect with the more low-key yet observant Elisabeth and the more accessible Catherine-Isabelle, it has him going into a journey about his ideas of love. Madeleine would also go through a similar journey as she is unsure about the idea of sex as well as the use of obscene language where she tries to comprehend the idea of what it means to be a woman.
Godard’s direction definitely stylish as he aims for a very loose and free-wielding style that harkens to the idea of cinema verite. Shooting on location in various places in Paris as well as the streets where it is capturing a moment in time in which the French are going through these social changes. While it’s a film told in fifteen chapters, Godard places inter-titles in between the chapters filled with comments on the film and what was happening at the time as well as moments where Godard even makes comments about what the film is really about. Notably as there’s also a lot of cultural references ranging to ideas of Communism, Bob Dylan, and Charles de Gaulle to establish the tone of the times.
There’s also a film-within-a-film that is shown where the characters are watching it where Paul and Madeleine would have a different reaction about what they’re seeing. Even as it would play a key moment into the issues where Paul and Madeleine would have their relationship be played out in long takes where Godard just has the camera capturing every moment without needing to cut. Overall, Godard crafts a very mesmerizing yet provocative film about love and identity.
Cinematographer Willy Kurant does excellent work with the film‘s black-and-white photography to capture the vibrancy of Paris as well some of the places and movie theaters the characters go to. Editor Agnes Guillemot does fantastic work with the editing with the use of jump-cuts to create a sense of rhythm in the conversations as well in the moments of action. The sound work of Rene Levert is brilliant for not just the use of sound on location but also for moments where there no sounds to not reveal anything that is being heard. The film’s music by Jean-Jacques Debout is amazing for the pop songs that Chantal Goya sings to reflect not just the ideas of love but also serve as a disconnect in the realities of what is happening in France at the time.
The film’s cast is wonderful as it features cameo appearances from French pop singer Francoise Hardy as a woman accompanied by an American soldier and Brigitte Bardot as herself in a café scene. Other small appearances include Eva-Britt Strandberg and Birger Malmsten as actors appearing in the film that Paul and the women watch. Michel Debord is very good as Paul’s friend Robert who is fascinated by Paul’s new friends as he tries to court the very innocent Catherine-Isabelle who is coy with him. Catherine-Isabelle Duport is excellent as the innocent yet observant Catherine-Isabelle as a young woman who might be carrying feelings for Paul though she remains cagey about what she thinks. Marlene Jobert is terrific as Elisabeth as a woman who isn’t so keen on Paul yet is aware of the troubles he and Madeleine are having as she tries to help Paul deal with his situation.
Chantal Goya is amazing as Madeleine who is this budding pop singer that is hoping to make it in the world of pop music as she’s intrigued by Paul only to be unsure about her identity as a modern woman. Finally, there’s Jean-Pierre Leaud in a remarkable performance as Paul as a man that has this idea of love and sex while not in touch with the current trends of the time like pop music as he falls for Madeleine. The two together have a superb chemistry together to display their differences and their ideas about love and sex.
Masculin Feminin is a phenomenal film from Jean-Luc Godard. Armed with a great cast and a fun soundtrack, the film is definitely one of quintessential films of the French New Wave as well as one of Godard’s intriguing films during that beloved period from the 1960s. It’s also a film that explores the world of male and female identities as well as the idea of love in the 1960s. In the end, Masculin Feminin is a spectacular film from Jean-Luc Godard.
Jean-Luc Godard Films: All the Boys Are Called Patrick - Charlotte et son Jules - Breathless - The Little Soldier - A Woman is a Woman - My Life to Live - The Carabineers - Contempt - Band of Outsiders - A Married Woman - Alphaville - Pierrot Le Fou - Made in U.S.A. - Two or Three Things I Know About Her - La Chinoise - Weekend - One Plus One (Sympathy for the Devil) - (Joy of Learning) - (British Sounds) - Tout va Bien - (Letter to Jane) - (One A.M.) - (Number Two) - (Here and Elsewhere) - (Every Man for Himself) - (Passion) - (First Name: Carmen) - Hail, Mary - (Soft and Hard) - (Detective) - (King Lear (1987 film)) - (Keep Your Right Up) - (Nouvelle Vague) - (Allemagne 90 neuf zero) - (JLG/JLG - Self-Portrait in December) - For Ever Mozart - (Historie(s) de Cinema) - (In Praise of Love) - (Notre musique) - (Film Socialisme) - (Adieu au Language) - (The Image Book)
© thevoid99 2013
Directed by Francois Truffaut and written by Truffaut, Marie-France Pisier, Jean Aurel, and Suzanne Schiffman, L’amour en fuite (Love on the Run) is the fifth and final part of the Antoine Doinel story. The film explores Antoine’s search for love as he has trouble trying to navigate his journey prompting some of his former lovers to help him find his way. With Jean-Pierre Leaud playing his famous character for the final time along with Claude Jade and Marie-France Pisier reprising their roles as Christine and Colette, respectively. Also starring Dorothee and Dani. L’amour en fuite is an extraordinary film from Francois Truffaut.
On the day that Antoine Doinel and Christine Darbon finalize their divorce, Antoine has to take his son Alphonse (Julien Dubois) to the train station so that he can go to camp. This forces Antoine to cancel plans with his current girlfriend Sabine (Dorothee) who is upset by the news as she wants to break-up with Antoine. At the train station, Antoine notices his former girlfriend Colette as he boards her train where the two meet to discuss Antoine’s book and his life. Things start out fine until Antoine nearly causes trouble for Colette as he decides to leave the train. Returning to Paris where he works as a proofreader, Antoine meets a man from his past in Monsieur Lucien (Julien Bertheau) where the two have lunch and talk about Antoine’s mother.
The meeting would have Antoine come face-to-face with his own past as he tries to make amends with Sabine while Colette tries to pursue a bookstore owner named Xavier (Daniel Mesguich). After finding a picture of Sabine in her book that Antoine had accidentally dropped on the train, Colette wants to meet her as she bumps into Christine. The two have a conversation where they devise a plan for Antoine to get his life in order and find happiness.
Throughout the life of Antoine Doinel, here is this man who has been running all of his life trying to find something or someone as he often stumbles around and will often undo something that had been good to him. In this final chapter of the Antoine Doinel story, it is clear that here’s a man who is still immature and unable to come to terms with his own past despite the book that he wrote about himself. At this point, he’s at a crossroads where he just ended his marriage to Christine while his relationship with new girlfriend Sabine is a tumultuous one. An encounter with Colette and later on, her mother’s former lover would eventually force Antoine to look back even more as he would eventually find ways to win the heart of Sabine.
The screenplay is an intricate one as it has a narrative that does move back-and-forth where it incorporates many scenes from the previous films telling Doinel’s life. Particularly as its characters would often reflect on these moments where Doinel is forced to confront his own past including his own troubled relationship with his mother who he hadn’t seen as a child as well as the fact that he never had the moment to mourn her death. His meeting with Monsieur Lucien becomes a turning point in the film’s second act where Antoine is forced to realize why he had so many problems with women as it all relates to his mother. The third act reveals what event eventually broke up Antoine’s marriage to Christine as she reveals it to Colette who also reveals about her own life in a conversation that would lead the two to make some moves for Antoine.
Truffaut’s direction is very stylized in the way he incorporates footage from his previous films to help tell the story of Antoine Doinel and his search for happiness. While a lot of the present-day shots are very straightforward and engaging in the way Truffaut frames a scene. They also say a lot such as the divorce meeting between Antoine and Christine where it flashes back to their life as a married couple where they reflect on good times and bad times. There’s always scenes of Doinel running around Paris or whatever location he’s in as Truffaut captures these moments with a lot of wide shots. He also knows how to match the flashbacks with the present scenes to help tell a story that includes a key moment where Doinel finally comes to the conclusion about what he should do. Overall, Truffaut creates a very witty and fascinating that ends the Antoine Doinel story on a high note.
Cinematographers Nestor Almendros, Florent Bazin, and Emilia Pakull-Latorre do excellent work with the film‘s photography from the exterior locations in Paris to the interiors at the train and at the record store that Sabine works at. Editors Martine Barraque, Jean Gargonne, and Corinne Lapassade do brilliant work with the editing to create unique rhythms for Antoine‘s running scenes while utilizing stylish cuts for the film‘s flashback scenes. Art directors Jean-Pierre Kohut-Svelko, Pierre Gompertz, and Jean-Louis Poveda do wonderful work with the set pieces such as the press room that Antoine works at to the record store that Sabine works at.
Costume designer Monique Dury does terrific work with the costumes from the more proper dresses that Christine wears to the more stylish look of Colette. The sound work of Michel Laurent is very good for the atmosphere that is set in various locations to the intimacy in the scenes between Antoine and the people he meets. The film’s music by Georges Delerue is a delight to play to the sense of melancholia and humor that is displayed with its quaint, orchestral score. The title track sung by Alain Souchon is a lovely song that plays to the misadventures of love.
The film’s ensemble cast is remarkable for the appearances that are made as it features small performances from Rosy Varte reprising her role as Colette’s mother, Julien Dubois as Alphonse Doinel, Marie Henriau as the divorce judge, Daniel Mesguich as the bookstore owner Xavier, and Julien Bertheau as Antoine’s mother’s former lover Monsieur Lucien. Dani is very good in a small role as Christine’s friend Liliane who would help play a role into Christine’s split with Antoine. Dorothee is wonderful as Antoine’s current girlfriend Sabine who tries to deal with his old life as well as his immaturity as she becomes more unsure about the relationship.
Claude Jade is brilliant as Christine who tries to deal with Antoine’s post-divorce life as well as reflect on her time with Antoine as she later befriends Colette. Marie-France Pisier is great as Colette who meets Antoine after having not seen him for some years as she tries to understand more about him as she also deals with her own issues as she later meets Christine. Finally, there’s Jean-Pierre Leaud in a superb performance as Antoine Doinel as there’s a lot of energy to Leaud’s approach to the character as he’s always running while trying to deal with his own past and failings as a man.
While it is the weakest segment of the Antoine Doinel series, L’amour en fuite is a marvelous film from Francois Truffaut. Thanks to the winning performances of Jean-Pierre Leaud, Marie-France Pisier, and Claude Jade, it’s a film that explores the world of growing up and love in all of its complications. Largely through the eyes of one of cinema’s great unsung heroes in Antoine Doinel. In the end, L’amour en fuite is an excellent film from Francois Truffaut.
Francois Truffaut Films: The 400 Blows - Shoot the Piano Player - Jules & Jim - Antoine and Colette - The Soft Skin - Fahrenheit 451 - The Bride Wore Black - Stolen Kisses - Mississippi Mermaid - The Wild Child - Bed and Board - Two English Girls - Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me - Day for Night - The Story of Adele H. - Small Change - The Man Who Loved Women - The Green Room - The Last Metro - The Woman Next Door - Confidentially Yours
(The Auteurs #40: Francois Truffaut (Pt. 1) - (Pt. 2))
© thevoid99 2012
Directed by Francois Truffaut and written by Truffaut, Claude de Givray, and Bernard Revon, Baisers voles (Stolen Kisses) is the story of Antoine Doinel’s life as he becomes part of a private detective agency where he deals with his relationship with a young woman while falling for the wife of a man he‘s investigating. The film is the third part of the Antoine Doinel story as Jean-Pierre Leaud plays the character for the third time in this exploration of love and adulthood. Also starring Claude Jade, Delphine Seyrig, and Michael Lonsdale. Baisers voles is a marvelous yet witty film from Francois Truffaut.
After a dishonorable discharge from the army, Antoine Doinel struggles to return to normal life as he is desperate to find work and re-establish contact with his girlfriend Christine (Claude Jade). With the help of Christine’s father (Daniel Ceccaldi), Antoine gets a job as a concierge at a hotel where things seemed to go well until he lets a couple of men who were trying to break into a room. The incident left Antoine without a job as one of the men he meets in Monsieur Henri (Harry-Max) is a private detective. Antoine gets a job at the private detective agency where he works to tail people and make reports about those he’s investigating. While it does create some problems with his time with Christine, Antoine also has trouble trying to keep up with his work.
When he’s asked to investigate the a shoe sales manager (Michael Lonsdale), Antoine works as a stock boy for the investigation where he meets and falls for the manager’s wife Fabienne (Delphine Seyrig). Antoine tries to deal with his issues with Christine as he’s also being pursued by Fabienne where he goes into conflict over what to do. Eventually, trouble would arrive as Antoine ponders about his own place in the world as well as his feelings for Christine.
When a young man reaches into adulthood as he tries to find out the world of love and identity, it becomes a very confusing place to be in. For Antoine Doinel, it’s much more complicated as he had just find himself ousted from the army for not fitting in. After his post-military life, he deals with trying to find his place in the world as he also wants to pursue a relationship with a young woman he cares about but things aren’t going very well. Once he takes a job as a private detective as he’s investigating a shoe sales manager, he finds himself being attracted to the man’s wife as it creates more complications about his ideas on love and the world in general.
The screenplay explores the world of love and life as it is a film that is part-mystery and part-comedy as it continues Antoine Doinel’s misadventures into the world. The film starts off with Doinel at a military prison where it’s very clear that he seems out of place in that world as once he re-enters society, he has no idea what he’s doing or where he’s going. Even the hookers he encounters just after he leaves the military has him confused by their new rules. His relationship with Christine is a friendly one as they don’t really act upon their romance as she’s always out and he is naïve in trying to push their relationship forward. Upon his time working as a detective where he would meet Fabienne, it would give him a much broader understanding about love while he also goes into his own internal conflicts about his work. Francois Truffaut and his co-writers create a character who is just coming into his own as a young adult as he’s also aware that he still has a lot of growing up to do.
Truffaut’s direction is brilliant for the way he presents the story as he definitely aims for a sense of style as he would shoot scenes on locations in Paris while playing to the crazed world that Antoine is in. Truffaut does create some amazing shots with striking compositions to play out the sense of Antoine’s sense of confusion as well as the world of being a private detective. Even by utilizing hand-held cameras and wide shots to create the sense of mystery as there’s Antoine often tailing someone or a mysterious man (Serge Rousseau) following Christine.
The direction of the film also explores the world of love as Truffaut does create stylish montages to establish Antoine’s naiveté where the film’s second half as a looser feel. Even in a scene where Antoine’s boss (Andre Falcon) is fighting against a client where Antoine tries to intervene leading to all sorts of craziness. Antoine’s moments with Fabienne are tense and calm as it revels in Fabienne’s experience with love as Truffaut always has the camera fixated on Fabienne. The film’s final moments does have some revelations while it also reveals that Antoine has just taken some major steps into the world of adulthood. Overall, Truffaut creates a very compelling film about growing up.
Cinematographer Denys Clerval does excellent work with the film‘s colorful yet vibrant cinematography to capture the beauty of the Parisian locations as well as some of the interiors to display the different worlds that Antoine is encountering. Editor Agnes Guillemot does superb work with the editing by utilizing stylish cuts such as montages and jump-cuts to play with the film‘s rhythm and its structure. Production designer Claude Pignot does terrific work with the set pieces such as the shoe store and the detective agency that Antoine works at.
The sound work of Rene Levert is wonderful for the intimacy that is created in some sparse moments in some of the film‘s locations as well as the raucous world of the agency where there‘s a lot of calls and such. The film’s music by Antoine Duhamel is sublime for its serene and playful orchestral score to capture the energy of Antoine’s misadventures. The film’s soundtrack includes the song Que reste-t-il de nos amour? by Charles Trenent that opens and closes the film as it plays to the world of love.
The film’s ensemble cast is fantastic for the actors that are hired for this film as it features some notable appearances from Serge Rousseau as the mysterious man who follows Christine, Harry-Max as the private detective who shows Antoine the ropes to be one, Andre Falcon as Antoine’s agency boss Monsieur Blady, Catherine Lutz as the private detective Catherine, Michael Lonsdale as the insecure shoe sales manager Georges Tabard, Daniel Ceccaldi and Claire Duhamel as Christine’s parents, Jean-Francois Adam as Albert Tazzi, and Marie-France Pisier as Antoine’s former girlfriend in Colette Tazzi. Delphine Seyrig is amazing as the evocative Fabienne Tabard as she creates a radiant presence that is intoxicating to watch as she tries to seduce Antoine. Claude Jade is wonderful as the more reserved Christine who tries to deal with Antoine’s new life as well as trying to keep him at arm’s length over his attempt to woo her.
Finally, there’s Jean-Pierre Leaud as Antoine Doinel as he makes Doinel a much more confused person in trying to re-establish contact with society and love as there’s also a great sense of humor in Leaud’s performance. Leaud also adds a moment of restraint in the way Doinel tries to come to terms with his choices as he eventually reveals his frustrations about how Christine tries to push him away when all he wants to do is love her.
Baisers voles is a remarkable film from Francois Truffaut that features Jean-Pierre Leaud as Antoine Doinel. Along with amazing supporting work from Claude Jade and Delphine Seyrig, it’s a film that explores the world of early adulthood and the struggle to find an identity in that world. It’s also a film that explores Doinel’s fascination with love as he tries to ponder what to do as a man. In the end, Baisers voles is an extraordinary film from Francois Truffaut.
Francois Truffaut Films: The 400 Blows - Shoot the Piano Player - Jules and Jim - Antoine and Colette - The Soft Skin - Fahrenheit 451 - The Bride Wore Black - Mississippi Mermaid - The Wild Child - Bed and Board - Two English Girls - Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me - Day for Night - The Story of Adele H. - Small Change - The Man Who Loved Women - The Green Room - Love on the Run - The Last Metro - The Woman Next Door - Confidentially Yours
(The Auteurs #40: Francois Truffaut (Pt. 1) - (Pt. 2))
© thevoid99 2012
