Film Review
Before he struck box office gold with his flamboyant comedies, most
starring an exuberant Jean-Paul Belmondo, Philippe de Broca cut his
directing teeth on an altogether more sedate genre, light romantic
comedies similar to those of his contemporary Michel Deville.
L'Amant de cinq jours was the last
of three such comedies that de Broca made, the others being
Le
Farceur (1960) and
Les Jeux de l'amour
(1960). All three of these films were blessed with the lively
presence of rising star Jean-Pierre Cassel, but none found favour with
the critics or audiences and remain some of de Broca's most overlooked
films.
L'Amant de cinq jours brings
together a remarkable quartet of acting talent, with two
well-established stars Micheline Presle and François
Périer playing an amusing game of mixed doubles with fresh and
feisty newcomers Jean Seberg and Jean-Pierre Cassel. A diva of
the French New Wave after her revelation in Jean-Luc Godard's
À bout de souffle
(1960), Seberg had by this time come to symbolise the liberated modern
woman and here she is aptly cast as the hedonistic unfaithful wife to
François Périer's cradle-watching stay-at-home
hubby. Cassel revels in the role of the carefree womaniser (as he
did for much of his career), whilst Micheline Presle is as seductive as
ever as the society belle who expects nothing but unquestioning
obedience from her boyish gigolos. It's not the most flattering
portrait of French society circa 1960 but the film humorously
encapsulates the sexual revolution that was getting underway around
this time.
Adapted from a novel by Françoise Parturier,
L'Amant de cinq jours is a
mischievous farce on the game of love that might well have
been directed by Michel Deville, but, despite its superb casting, it
lacks Deville's subtlety and ends up feeling like a half-hearted
imitation of a Nouvelle Vague comedy-drama. Georges Delerue's
beautifully wistful score evokes the melancholic romanticism of
Truffaut's films, but this seems like an incongruous embellishment to
what is a mostly a frivolous entertainment. From time to time, a
more profound and intelligent film looks as if it is about to surface,
but it never does, so the New Wave adornments (which de Broca no doubt
picked up whilst working as an assistant to Claude Chabrol) look like a
pointless indulgence or substitute for originality.
L'Amant de cinq jours isn't perfect
but, being more restrained and intimate than its director's subsequent
crowdpleasers, it is not without charm. After the failure of this
middle-brow rom-com, De Broca hit his stride with his next film,
Cartouche
(1962), a rite of passage that marked the beginning of his profitable
association with Belmondo.
© James Travers, Willems Henri 2015
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Next Philippe de Broca film:
Le Farceur (1961)
Film Synopsis
Madeleine and Claire are two close friends who live in Paris.
Madeleine runs a well-known fashion house, while Claire lives with her
husband Georges and their two children in an upmarket residence. On
the day that Madeleine is showing her new fashion collection, Claire
meets a charming young man named Antoine. Within 24 hours, Claire
has a date with Antoine in his apartment and an affair is well
under way. What Claire doesn't know is that Antoine's comfortable
lifestyle is being paid for by his other mistress, who happens to be
Madeleine. Likewise, Antoine has no idea that Claire and
Madeleine are acquainted. When she realises that Antoine is
leaving her for Claire, Madeleine decides to host a grand party, to
which she will invite not only Antoine, but also Claire and her
husband...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.