Rouge baiser (1985) - film review

Paris, 1952.  Memories of the last world war are fresh in people’s minds and the French military involvement in Indochina is an increasing source of discontent.  This is the Communist’s party’s finest hour in France, attracting even teenagers to the Stalinist cause.  One such teenager is Nadia, who is an active participant in a Communist cell.  However, her idealist principles are put to the test when she meets and has a love affair with a photographer who works for a glossy magazine…

Despite the unusual political backdrop this film resolves itself into a fairly convention film of adolescent love and accompanying teenage angst.  Strong performances from the film’s lead actors, Charlotte Valandrey and Lambert Wilson, as the lovers Nadia and Stephane, give the film its drive and poignancy, whilst some moody photography creates at least the veneer of a quality production.

The conflict in Nadia’s mind between her Communist beliefs and her desire for self-expression, manifested through her new-found romantic liaison, is handled less convincing that perhaps it might.  This surely is the crux of the film: how can you reconcile ideology with frail human emotion?  The tension which you are expecting to arise as a result never quite materialises and, inevitably, the film fails to live up to the impression which is offered at the start of the film.

© James Travers 2001

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