Cast: Oskar Werner, Henri Serre, Jeanne Moreau

Director: François Truffaut

Screenplay: François Truffaut

Running time: 1hr 47 mins

Genre: French Cinema/Drama/Romance



CRITIQUE:

One of the most important events in cinema history is the French New Wave (call it the French Revolution of movies), where plot is rot, and common filmmaking techniques are snubbed, paving way for character-driven, psychoanalytical approach and brimming with creative input. That – is wonderfully epitomised by François Truffaut’s third film JULES ET JIM, one of his most enduring works, and remains a highly influential piece of cinema today. Ask Quentin Tarantino and Cameron Crowe.


Shot in beautiful black-and-white, this tells the story of friendship between two writers, Jules and Jim, distilling their adventures and escapades spanning the time of 25 years, yet never loses its footing on the richness of details and the humanity of the characters. Although the title is given to the two friends, the whole movie is really owned by the woman that comes between them, Catherine, a heartbreaking, revolutionary performance by Jeanne Moreau, embodying the slipperiness of idealistic love and the unpredictability of her humanity. She veers from being a total maverick to a woman whose sense of settlement mystifies her. Definitely one of cinema’s most awe-inspiring moments is when she expresses her protest for being ignored by jumping into the Seine River in a cold night.


Here, Truffaut put into effect his visual flair, using film techniques that were considered fresh and invigorating at the time; his visual palette consists of hand-held cameras that zooms and pans across the screen. A scene where the face of Jeanne Moreau is fixed against a moving panorama of rolling hills is incredibly inventive. For many, this is less of an appeal, as there is more talk than walk. But for Hollywood’s conventional practise, this is a hard diamond that withstands the test of time, dealing with more psychological probing (notice closely, the great films of today are those flowing with such psychological depth).



VERDICT:

The most definitive ménage-à-trois of cinema, this exquisite, glorious meditation on the psychological side of love is a timeless tour-de-force. Behold the bliss of cinema.


RATING: A