Feu follet, Le (1963)

Director:

Louis Malle

Writers:

Pierre Drieu La Rochelle (novel)
Louis Malle (writer)

Release Date:

7 October 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Alain Leroy is having a course of treatment in a private hospital because of his problem with alcohol...

Plot Keywords:

Depression | Alcoholism | Psychological Drama | Suicide | Based On Novel

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Maurice Ronet	...	Alain Leroy
Léna Skerla	...	Lydia
Yvonne Clech	...	Mademoiselle Farnoux
Hubert Deschamps	...	D'Averseau
Jean-Paul Moulinot	...	Dr. La Barbinais
Mona Dol	...	Madame La Barbinais
Pierre Moncorbier	...	Moraine
René Dupuy	...	Charlie (as René Dupuis)
Bernard Tiphaine	...	Milou
Bernard Noël	...	Dubourg
Ursula Kubler	...	Fanny
Jeanne Moreau	...	Eva
Alain Mottet	...	Urcel
François Gragnon	...	François Minville
Romain Bouteille	...	Jerome Minville

Also Known As:

A Time to Live and a Time to Die (UK)
The Fire Within (USA)
Will o' the Wisp (International: English title)

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | UK:15 (re-rating) (1992) | Finland:K-16 | UK:X (original rating) | UK:12 (DVD rating) | West Germany:18 (bw)

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Nouvelles Éditions de Films

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: As Alain walks on the streets of Paris, the crew (pushing the dolly) is visible on the shop windows he passes by.

Movie Connections:

Version of Feu follet, Le (1994) (TV)

Outstanding study of existential anxiety

This remarkable film traces with an almost clinical precision the last two days of a terminally desperate man. He is a former Parisian dandy, estranged from his wife due to his drinking problem and who, after having just managed to clear himself up in a clinic, finds no reason in going back to society to continue his life. His decision is already taken, but he gives himself a last chance of trying to establish a meaningful connection with the surrounding bourgeois environment by meeting his old friends and former lovers. Is it a last cry for help or a final farewell to a way of life which he finds phony, hollow and meaningless?

This esoteric and highly personal journey is masterly handed by the versatile Louis Malle, who perhaps has created his masterpiece. Framing, editing and most of all acting are calibrated to perfection in order to convey a holistic sense of existential despair, the portrait of a man who feels that he has spent his life waiting for something that hasn't appeared and is not worth any longer the wait.