Maria Schell stars in this respectable adaptation of a great Guy de Maupassant novel.
As in René Clément's Gervaise
(1956), she plays a young woman who is unlucky in love and driven by cruel
fate to endure a life of pain and tragedy. The bleak Normandy setting, beautifully
shot by Claude Renoir, conveys the barren futility of Jeanne's hopeless love but also
gives the film a cold feel that plays against its emotional potency. The characterless,
slightly wooden performances from Christian Marquand and the supporting cast further weaken
the film's dramatic impact, almost to the point that Maria Schell resembles a star actress
single-handedly trying to lift a faltering amateur stage production. For all its
faults, Une vie is an alluring, well-crafted
film with a strange appeal, suffused with a bleak Brontë-style poetry and surprisingly
brutal in its depiction of an unrequited love.
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Film Synopsis
In the late 19th century, Jeanne Dandieu lives with her parents in an isolated country
house in Normandy. Her only companion is her childhood friend, Gilberte, who is
now her servant. One fateful day, Jeanne drifts out to sea in a rowing boat.
Soon after she is rescued by fisherman, she meets a young man, Julien, with whom she falls
instantly in love. They marry, but it soon becomes apparent that Julien has no love
for Jeanne. He insists on having a separate room where, unbeknown to Jeanne, he
takes Gilberte as his mistress…
Script: Guy de Maupassant (novel),
Roland Laudenbach,
Alexandre Astruc
Cinematographer: Claude Renoir
Music: Roman Vlad
Cast: Maria Schell (Jeanne Dandieu épouse de Lamare),
Christian Marquand (Julien de Lamare), Pascale Petit (Rosalie),
Louis Arbessier (M. Dandieu), Marie-Hélène Dasté (Mme. Dandieu),
Antonella Lualdi (Gilberte de Fourcheville), Ivan Desny (De fourcheville), Gérard Darrieu (Fisherman),
Michel Slubicki (Paul de Lamare),
Andrée Tainsy (Ludivine)
Country: France / Italy
Language: French
Support: Color
Runtime: 86 min
Aka:End of Desire
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