Film Review
René Fallet is probably best known as the author of the novel
La Soupe aux choux, which
was adapted for cinema by Jean Girault in the early 1980s and is much loved
by fans of the great comic actor Louis de Funès. It wasn't Fallet's
first brush with the cinema - several other works of his had already been
adapted - notably
Les
Vieux de la vieille (1960) - and he had also scripted a number of
films.
Les Pas perdus is one of the few occasions where Fallet
adapted his own novel, and he even appeared on screen (for the first time)
in a small but hard-to-miss minor role as a bistro owner. Given that
Fallet's forte was comedy, it is surprising to find him penning a romantic
drama that looks uncannily like a precursor to Claude Lelouch's
Un homme et une femme
(1966) - and not only because these two films share the same lead actor,
Jean-Louis Trintignant, in a very similar role.
Like Lelouch, the film's director Jacques Robin was keen to make his mark
and was obviously influenced by the French New Wave (which by this time had
almost come and gone). Before he made his directorial debut with
Les
Pas perdus, Robin had already proved to be a very capable cinematographer,
bringing a lustrous modernity to Robert Hossein's early directorial offerings
-
La Nuit des espions
(1959) and
Les Scélérats
(1960). Later, he would have greater impact on the films he
photographed for Alain Jessua -
Jeu
de massacre (1967),
Traitement
de choc (1973), and also
Les Amis
(1967), arguably the best film directed by Gérard Blain. As
a director, Jacques Robin made next to no impression. His Nouvelle
Vague-like
Les Pas perdus passed without notice and his second (and
last feature)
Monsieur Sade (1977) was no more successful.
It is tempting to write off
Les Pas perdus as a lightweight version
of
Un homme et une femme. However, despite the obvious imitation
of the early films of the French New Wave, it does just about stand on its
own merits. The script and direction may not be much to write home
about, but the film does at least deliver the goods on the acting front,
with captivating lead performances from two of French cinema's enduring icons,
Michèle Morgan and Jean-Louis Trintignant. The eccentric casting
also includes Catherine Rouvel and Jean Carmet, whose obvious incongruity
becomes part of the film's indefinable charm.
Just as Morgan's acting career was beginning to wind down (her greatest
screen roles were by now long behind her), Trintignant's was only just starting
up. The actor, who would soon find international fame through Claude
Lelouch's film, had first been noticed in Roger Vadim's
Et Dieu... créa la femme
(1956), and for the early part of his career he would be pretty well typecast
as the timid romantic, the role that suited him perfectly.
Neither of the lead actors is helped by Fallet's lacklustre, overly conventional
screenplay, which is essentially a heavy-handed reworking of David Lean's
Brief Encounter (1945),
but Trintignant at least brings a solidity and a subtle poignancy to his
portrayal, which Morgan singularly fails to do, although she is (as ever)
stunning to look at.
It's the classic tale of a pair of photogenic idealists succumbing to a
delusional romantic entanglement that is bound to end badly, offering more
wearying longueurs than surprises. Had the director been more inclined
to forge his own style instead of aping his contemporaries (missing the boat
as he does so) the end result might have been more impressive. Trintignant's
quietly engaging performance - a dry-run for the one that would make him
a star a few years later - and Morgan's regal, ethereal presence are just
about all that this melancholic heart-crusher has going for it, but that's
enough to make it worth watching.
© James Travers 2016
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
Georges Guichard is a young artist who makes his living painting billboards
in Paris. One day, he meets Yolande Simonnet, an attractive woman to
whom he is strongly attracted, even though she is considerably older than
he is. Yolande's admission that she is already married and has two children
does not dissuade Georges from carrying on an intense love affair with her.
Within a few weeks, the two are consumed by their amorous passion and are
contemplating their future life together. But, on the day that they
plan to go away for a romantic holiday, Georges receives a telephone call
from Yolande's husband requesting him to present himself at his offices.
Far from showing anger, Monsieur Simonnet does his best to convince Georges
that there can be no future in his affair with Yolande. It is only when
he reads a letter from his lover that Georges realises the truth of this...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.