Jules and Jim (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In the French film Jules and Jim (1961), from a novel by Henri-Pierre Roche, Jules, Jim and Catherine flow into play, ecstasy and romantic love and then into disappointment and the reality of Catherine being “a dark flame ready to burn herself or anyone else” (David Thomson). Sorry, ladies. This is another Francois Truffaut movie that features an emotionally disturbed woman. It is also one to which he brings his usual love of life and . . . what?
A caveat: I get tired of Jules and Jim because of all the talk and all the episodes. It is not one of my favorite Truffaut films. It is assuredly inferior to Two English Girls and The 400 Blows. Still, it can be delightfully vigorous and intelligent. It makes us glad that Truffaut had a personal style. And it has Jeanne Moreau.
(In French with English subtitles)
