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I’ve been a big fan of Francois Truffaut since first seeing his movies in the ‘70’s. I’ve seen most of them; a number I’ve seen twice. Truffaut was a polymath. His interests were reflected in the wide range of subjects in his movies. I’ve seen "400 blows," "Fahrenheit 451," "L'argent du poche" (Small change), “La Nuit Americaine” (Day for Night)," “L’Enfant sauvage” (The Wild Child,) "The Story of Adele H,” “Jules et Jim” and others. “L’argent du poche” motivated me to undertake a journey to the village of Thiers, in the Auvergne, several times. I’ve read his reflections on the cinema published by Cahiers du Cinéma, “Le Plaisier des Yeux,” reviewing it on Amazon in 2009. Yes, the aficionado label would fit. Tragically, Truffaut left us far too soon, dying in 1984, at the age of 52.
“L'Homme qui aimait les femmes” (The Man Who Loved Women) has sat on my Amazon watchlist for almost two years, always “unavailable at your location.” I’d seen it only once, not long after its release, in 1977. Suddenly it became available if only I’d subscribe to the Screenpix channel. I quickly overcame my reluctance to subscribe to yet another “channel,” and, as a bonus, was able to see another longtime favorite, “Marat/Sade.”
It is an edgy subject, and one suspects that there are dollops of the autobiographical in Truffaut’s movie. Is it just about notching bedposts? Jack Nicholson played a “notcher,” in “Carnal Knowledge.” When it was released in 1971, it was banned in Albany, GA. My quip was that it should have been. Nicholson has a slide carrousel (who is old enough to remember those?), with his notches, and is proudly showing them to his friend played by Art Garfunkel, forgetting, er… ah… that Garfunkel’s wife is in the carrousel.
Bertrand, played admirably by Charles Denner (who was a key player in another excellent movie, “Z”) is the Man who Loved Women (why the past tense is asked and answered in the movie). The movie commences in Montpellier, on Noel, 1976. It is Bertrand’s funeral. He has died at the age of 40. ONLY women, and quite a few at that, have come to attend. The female narrator surveys the crowd, making comments about individual attendees. As the coffin is lowered into the grave, she notes that from that last perspective he can view what he most loved about women: their legs. “Women’s legs are like compasses which circle the globe giving it its harmony and balance.” “I’m not against heavy ankles, I am even attracted to them, there is the promise of a greater harmony at the top of the leg.”
Truffaut presents a much more complex picture than the hunting “notcher” pursuing his prey, conquering, and discarding, put ever so crudely in that old 4F club of high school days. No, Bertrand is a bit of a slave to his obsession, thus strands of Maugham’s “Of Human Bondage.” Truffaut aptly depicts how women love the game too, turning the tables a bit. Nelly Borgeuad plays Delphine Grezel, one of the crazy ones who loves to put them in situations where they will get caught (fortunately I had forgotten those). Other women had developed their own obsessions, like the 40-year-old who tells 40-year-old Bertrand that he is too old… she hunts the much younger.
Notable performances are provided by Leslie Caron, who played in “Chocolat,” with Juliette Binoche, and Nathalie Baye who played Martine Desdoits, for the “must scene” of a Paris rendezvous. I learned that Baye was a longtime paramour of the rocker and French icon, Johnny Hallyday.
There is much else. It is lighthearted and serious at the same time. Fun, and a bit sad. There was an echo of the lament of another lady’s man, Leonard Cohen: “I can’t keep track of each fallen robin,” when Bertrand states that he can’t remember all their names. No slide show there.
The wait was long; the re-viewing necessary and with much appreciation to Screenpix. The secret to the universe is to distill the many, down to the essential one, with the legs, walking through the surf… The French giant produced a work that resonated: 5-stars, plus.
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katyn1940
Good filmmaking is timeless
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 23, 2012