A wealthy plantation owner is captivated by a mysterious woman with a shady past.A wealthy plantation owner is captivated by a mysterious woman with a shady past.A wealthy plantation owner is captivated by a mysterious woman with a shady past.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaQuite uniquely, director François Truffaut chose to shoot the film almost completely in chronological order. The reasoning for this was that he found the relationship between the two main characters so important, he wanted it to develop in a natural way. Truffaut actually spent the nights re-writing the scenes he would film the next day, to follow the dynamics between the leading couple.
- GoofsWhen the disc Marion has recorded is run over in the street and shattered, she kneels to retrieve the pieces; at first her right knee is uppermost, but then suddenly her left knee is higher, as she stands.
- Quotes
Louis Mahé: Here we go. You're sulking. I knew it. Now you're just pretending to be mad because inside you're not really mad. You put on that cold look... but inside you're smiling. Come on. Show me your smile.
Julie Roussel: I'm fed up with all that smile crap! It doesn't work anymore! Don't speak to me. For Christ's sake, leave me alone!
Louis Mahé: All right. Okay. That's fine with me. It's not difficult to know what you're thinking of me. And you're asking yourself... "Why the hell am I with this guy who's broke... and can't even knock over an old lady in the street to steal her purse?"
Louis Mahé: [Continues, as Julie maintains an air of indifference] You only think of yourself. You're not a selfish girl. You're selfishness personified. You think that you're a real person, that you're unique. But you're not. You're just one in a growing multitude of girls now... not really bitches, not really adventuresses or whores, no... But some kind of parasite... who live outside normal society. You're not women or girls. You're "chicks". What else you are doesn't have an exact name. Mindless, with your heads full of garbage or air. You're in love with your own bodies. You're always going out in the sun, always tanning. You spend hours fixing your face. You can't pass by a car without looking at your reflection in the windshield. But you know where to find most of these girls? In airports. Yes! Everywhere planes are taking off for faraway spots. Because you are beautiful girls, and beautiful girls get fought over. They're invited from one big city to another. And they go there. They stroll around everywhere... with their little purses in hand, all made up.
Louis Mahé: [as Julie slightly glares at him] Now you're really mad. That makes me happy. Because when you're mad, your mouth gets twisted... it gets crooked. And you turn ugly. Really ugly. So dreadfully ugly.
- Alternate versionsSPOILERS: In some versions of this film, the image of the comic strip in the newspaper that makes Belmondo's character realize his wife has been poisoning him has been removed. The probable reason is that the whole idea is a bit naive and absurd, although without this image it is impossible to explain how the man finds out that he has been poisoned. (As the comic strip in question involves Disney-related art of Snow White being offered the poisoned apple by the Witch, the removal of the cartoon in some versions is more likely due to issues involving Disney's copyright.)
Jean-Paul Belmondo puts aside his typical suave and cool demeanor to play a wealthy but lonely and somewhat naive tobacco plantation owner who puts in a request for a mail-order bride, only to discover that she looks like Catherine Deneuve. Naturally, he is taken under her spell and soon discovers she is much more duplicitous than he expected. Many film lovers may know this story better as it was remade in 2001 with Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie as Original Sin. Despite having not seen that film, I am confident it cannot be better than this version for two reasons. First of all, Truffaut is a much better director, able to seemingly tie all these various strings together into a coherent and plausible story. Second, there is no way Banderas and Jolie could match the sizzling chemistry between Belmondo and Deneuve. They are capable of being remarkably sexy and sultry without resorting to complete nakedness. This is a sign of true thespian abilities.
While not one of Truffaut's stronger works such as his Antoine Doinel series or Jules and Jim, it is still an entertaining romantic thriller that manages to be both romantic and thrilling. Given the status of many of these types of films recently, there is plenty of reason to revisit this New Wave example.
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $1,600,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $33,725
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $11,206
- Apr 25, 1999
- Gross worldwide
- $33,725
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