JULES ET JIM

I find this 1962 French New Wave classic, directed by François Truffaut, to be quite irresistible.

I'm a sucker anyway for any halfway decent black-and-white French film, something about the sound of the language I guess.

Everything here is delightful and top-notch, from the cinematography to the score, to the acting.  Truffaut's direction is full of youthful panache, matching the vitality of the three main characters, who form an unstable love triangle.

The source of the instability is Catherine, played wonderfully well by Jeanne Moreau as a kind of prototype cerebral pixie manic dream girl.  In contrast Jules and Jim have a rock-solid friendship which endures despite first one then the other being the object of her affection.

Although the three of them behave as though they are creatures of the Swinging Sixties, the film actually covers some twenty years starting before the First World War and ending in the 1930s.  Truffaut does a great job of incorporating real footage to evoke the period. 

There's an infectious exuberance and playfulness in the early scenes, but once the three reunite after the War things start to unravel somewhat, even to the extent of Catherine taking lovers outside of the triangle.  There's a very funny scene involving Catherine taking her pyjamas in a parcel with her in case she might need them for a sleepover (so to speak).

There's also a lovely scene where she sings a song, "Whirlpool of Life", accompanied by a lover Albert, with Jules and Jim present as well.  The song is about the cyclical nature of relationships so very much to the point in this film.

I'm not sure about the ending; if I was being unkind I would say that the screenwriters (Truffaut and Jean Gruault) don't really know how to bring things to a close.  But's let be generous and say that it's fully in keeping with Catherine's capricious nature.