Film
Jules et Jim
- Director
- Francois Truffaut
- Certificate
- PG
- Running Time
- 105 mins
Anyone who has ever enjoyed Francois Truffaut‘s 1962 New Wave classic ought to see this excellently restored cinemascope print. Others should approach with caution: once considered daring in its “liberated” treatment of sex, much of the film now seems painfully dated.
German Jules (Oskar Werner) and Frenchman Jim (Henri Serre) are student friends who both fall for wilful Catherine (Jeanne Moreau). She marries Jules, then both men trog off to fight in the Great War. After the Armistice, Jim comes to visit and promptly tumbles into bed with fickle Catherine. Proto-New Man Jules accepts this development with his usual mopey, introspective resignation, but the finely balanced equilibrium of the three-way relationship soon founders. The threesome’s self-absorption can be immensely trying, but the superb performances can’t be faulted, nor can Truffaut’s infectious existentialist approach, which transcends his enthusiasm for a whole barrage of otiose visual effects. It’s back on screen in tribute to the late Jean Moreau in the shed’s December Screen Homage season honouring screen greats who carked it this year.
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