Film Forum

France, 1968
Written and directed by Orson Welles
Starring Orson Welles, Jeanne Moreau, Fernando Rey
Based on a short story by Karen Blixen
In English and French with English subtitles
Approx. 102 min. Digital.

To make the perennial tall tale of the title come true, aging Macao merchant Welles hires a too-pretty sailor to sleep with his (also hired) wife Jeanne Moreau; but then the elaborate set-up starts to take on a life of its own. Welles’ first color film, adapted from an Isak Dinesen story, with music by Erik Satie.

Reviews

“With a trancelike mood and Welles’s use of music by Erik Satie, it casts a strange spell.”
– Kristen M. Jones, Wall Street Journal

“Though shot for television on a low budget, this is a sumptuous experience, a fairytale-like story… Welles is his usual megalomaniacal self, and the use of deep focus, deep shadow and color is superb. The material itself is fascinating, and Erik Satie's music is perfectly chosen.”
– Time Out (London)

“Thematically and poetically it exemplifies his late lyrical manner… It’s awkward yet exquisite.”
– Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader