Film Forum

France, 1962
Directed by François Truffaut
Starring Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner, Henri Serre
Screenplay by François Truffaut
Based on the novel by Henri-Pierre Roché
35mm. Approx. 105 min.

Across two decades and through WWI, Oskar Werner (the Austrian Jules) and Henri Serre (the French Jim) remain obsessed with Jeanne Moreau, whose enigmatic smile matches the Greek statue of their youth. In the gaiety and flightiness of her Catherine (Moreau: “She’s not immoral. She’s absolute.”), Truffaut found an antidote to the actress’ previous gloom-ridden roles. The world-wide smash success of the 29-year-old filmmaker’s third feature vaulted him from the New Wave phenom to the front line of international directors.

Reviews

“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.”
— Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader