This powerful romantic drama examines the final period of a long and ultimately unhappy affair. For six years, Jean has had an affair with the much younger Catherine, in full knowledge of his wife, Francoise. Jean is a domineering man and his relationship with Catherine is made up of constant quarreling and reconciliation. During a filming trip in the Camargue, they have one more row and Catherine realises something in the relationship is definitely broken. She attempts to keep her distance from Jean and starts referring to their affair in the past tense. Pialat’s potent, bleak realism combines a demanding, quasi cinema-verite approach with the reworking of personal issues such as marital breakdown. Script and direction probe and reveal the intricacies of the dying days of a long love affair, lent extra conviction by the uncompromising performances of forceful Jean Yanne and wistful Jobert. Awards: Cannes Film Festival 1972 - Best Actor: Jean Yanne.
Credits: Producer, Jean-Pierre Rassam ; director, Maurice Pialat ; writer, Maurice Pialat ; photography, Luciano Tovoli ; music, Joseph Haydn.
Cast: Jean Yanne, Marlene Jobert, Macha Meril, Patricia Pierangeli, Christine Fabrega, Jacques Galland, Maurice Risch, Harry Max, Muse Dalbray.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
X000118
Languages
English
French
Subject category
Foreign language films
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
16mm film; Limited Access Print (Section 2)