In 1920s Paris, violinists and lifelong friends Pierre Belcroix and Marcel Blanc are happy with their lives, although Marcel has become famous and Pierre has not. Pierre is married to Romaine, a stylish young flapper. However, Marcel meets and falls in love with her, which Marcel little suspects.
Direction
Resnais treats melodrama as Brechtian opera—stylized and cruel.
Production
Theater-set design blurs stage and screen, life and performance.
Acting
Azéma's Romaine weaponizes charm like a loaded pistol.
Director
Alain Resnais
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Resnais filmed the Henry Bernstein play almost unchanged, using theatrical flats and painted backdrops to emphasize artificiality.
The three leads were Resnais' regular company—their off-screen familiarity sharpens the blade of on-screen betrayal.
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