“More than 40 years old, François Truffaut’s whirling dervish
remains an ageless beauty.” – Village Voice “To put it quickly
and crisply, it is charming, exciting and sad.” – New York Times
“With this 1961 film Truffaut comes closest to the spirit and
sublimity of his mentor, Jean Renoir, and the result is a masterpiece
of the New Wave.” – Chicago Reader Acclaimed French director
François Truffaut’s third and, for many viewers, best film is an
adaptation of a semi-autobiographical novel by Henri-Pierre Roché.
Set between 1912 and 1933, it stars Oskar Werner as the German Jules
and Henri Serre as the Frenchman Jim, kindred spirits who, while on
holiday in Greece, fall in love with the smile on the face of a
sculpture. Back in Paris, the smile comes to life in the person of
Catherine (Jeanne Moreau); the three individuals become constant
companions, determined to live their lives to the fullest despite the
world war around them. When Jules declares his love for Catherine, Jim
agrees to let Jules pursue her, despite his own similar feelings;
Jules and Catherine marry and have a child (Sabine Haudepin), but
Catherine still loves Jim as well. An influential film that has grown
in stature over the decades, Jules et Jim was often viewed by the
counterculture of the 1960s as a cinematic proponent of the free-love
movement, but in actuality the picture is a statement against such a
way of life. Despite the bond shared by Jules, Jim, and Catherine,
their ménage à trois is doomed to fail; and Catherine’s inability
to choose between the two men leads to tragic consequences for all
three. Unrated, 1 hours, 44 mins
cinema
painting
new wave
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28/08/2017 Last update