Adorable menteuse (1962)
Directed by Michel Deville

Comedy

Film Review

Abstract picture representing Adorable menteuse (1962)
After the success of their first collaboration, Ce soir ou jamais (1961), director Michel Deville and screenwriter Nina Companeez went on to make a number of other light romantic comedies that found similar favour with French cinema audiences.  Adorable menteuse is one of the most charming comedies this formidable duo came up with, a gentle comedy of manners that appears superficial but actually has more to it than first meets the eye, and there is just a suggestion of the darker turn that Deville's subsequent oeuvre would take.  Marina Vlady and Macha Méril are a delight to watch as the two principals, a perfect contrast that makes the most of Companeez's gently mischievous screenplay.  Deville is clearly still learning his trade, so the mise-en-scène has none of the sophistication that we find in his later work, but the film's lack of pretence makes it a welcome change from the French New Wave offerings that were being foisted on audiences around this time.
© James Travers 2016
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Michel Deville film:
À cause, à cause d'une femme (1963)

Film Synopsis

Adorable liar... what better way to describe Juliette, the cute little charmer who just cannot help lying to everyone, even her sister Sophie.  Lying to men is all part of her technique of seduction, and men are so gullible, so easily deceived that Juliette scarcely knows she is lying half of the time.  It is a mystery to her how Sophie can bear to be so honest, especially when it is her candour that always gets her into trouble.  Far better to be a deceiver, to play the game of love as it is supposed to be played, with charm and guile.  At least, that is what Juliette used to think.  Now she has come round to a different view.  Lying has begun to bore her.  When you play the same game over and over again, in exactly the same way, you are bound to get bored with it.  Juliette now longs to play a new game, but no one will let her.  Her reputation as a deceiver sticks to her like an old petticoat that is glued to her skin.  This discovery torments her, because she has found a man, a nice 40-something lawyer named Antoine, with whom she wants to play a different game.  For the first time in her life Juliette really does think she is in love, but how can she convince Antoine of this when he knows he can never believe a word that she says...?
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.


Film Credits

  • Director: Michel Deville
  • Script: Nina Companéez (dialogue), Michel Deville
  • Cinematographer: Claude Lecomte
  • Music: Jean Dalve
  • Cast: Marina Vlady (Juliette), Macha Méril (Sophie), Michel Vitold (Antoine), Jean-Marc Bory (Martin), Claude Nicot (Sebastien), Ginette Letondal (Jacky), Jean-Pierre Moulin (Vincent), François Dalou (Thomas), Michael Lonsdale (Albert), Christian Alers (Robert - l'inconnu), Jean-François Calvé (Simon), Jean-Luc Adler (Dancer), Pierre Clémenti (Pierrot), Claude Rollet (Juliette's and Sophie's friend), Jacques Porteret
  • Country: France
  • Language: French
  • Support: Black and White
  • Runtime: 105 min

French cinema during the Nazi Occupation
sb-img-10
Even in the dark days of the Occupation, French cinema continued to impress with its artistry and diversity.
The very best of German cinema
sb-img-25
German cinema was at its most inspired in the 1920s, strongly influenced by the expressionist movement, but it enjoyed a renaissance in the 1970s.
The very best American film comedies
sb-img-18
American film comedy had its heyday in the 1920s and '30s, but it remains an important genre and has given American cinema some of its enduring classics.
The history of French cinema
sb-img-8
From its birth in 1895, cinema has been an essential part of French culture. Now it is one of the most dynamic, versatile and important of the arts in France.
The very best sci-fi movies
sb-img-19
Science-fiction came into its own in B-movies of the 1950s, but it remains a respected and popular genre, bursting into the mainstream in the late 1970s.
 

Other things to look at


Copyright © filmsdefrance.com 1998-2024
All rights reserved



All content on this page is protected by copyright