Madame de..

Ophuls was attracted to this story of an adulterous affair by its construction around a pair of earrings which pass from hand to hand on a kind of ironic roundabout. Ophuls’ achievement above all is to lend weight to the slight story by his mise en scene and the substitution of turn of the century Paris for the novels’ 1938 setting, which allows him to invoke a rigid social code of honour specific to the period. This renders the unnamed Madame de - vulnerable, in a way that the men are not, because she disobeys the code for love. The restless camera evokes a sense of the relentless forward movement of time, of events in continual flux, propelling the narrative from light to dark, from frivolity to desolation as social comedy turns to romantic tragedy. Cast includes Charles Boyer, Danielle Darrieux and Vittorio de Sica. Based on the novel by Louise de Vilmorin. Released in the United States with title “The Earrings of Madame de.” In French with English subtitles.