A middle-aged married man (Jean Desailly) starts an affair with young beautiful Nicole (Francoise Dorleac). It leads to predictable complications and a real howler of an ending.
Supposedly this is considered one of Francois Truffant's worst films. When it was shown at the Cannes Film Festival back in 1964 it was a fiasco. People were bored silly, there was LOTS of shiftings in seats, a few walk-outs and people hissing at the ending! While I agree it's not a good movie it's not THAT bad! It is well-directed with some sharp observations on love and relationships. There's some beautiful black and white cinematography and excellent acting from Dorleac and Nelly Bendetti (as the man's wife). However Desailly was a terrible actor (he didn't like Truffant and it comes across loud and clear), the film is slow-moving and the ending was so over the top I thought they were kidding! It's worth seeing a little for the acting, cinematography and ending but don't expect any great masterpiece.
Supposedly this is considered one of Francois Truffant's worst films. When it was shown at the Cannes Film Festival back in 1964 it was a fiasco. People were bored silly, there was LOTS of shiftings in seats, a few walk-outs and people hissing at the ending! While I agree it's not a good movie it's not THAT bad! It is well-directed with some sharp observations on love and relationships. There's some beautiful black and white cinematography and excellent acting from Dorleac and Nelly Bendetti (as the man's wife). However Desailly was a terrible actor (he didn't like Truffant and it comes across loud and clear), the film is slow-moving and the ending was so over the top I thought they were kidding! It's worth seeing a little for the acting, cinematography and ending but don't expect any great masterpiece.