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found enjoyment in it. No, this isn't a major work of the French New Wave, though Truffaut is one of its creators and stars. Soufflés are notoriously difficult to make and so are their cinematic counterparts: the light romantic comedy. In this case, Truffaut displays the same perfection of tone, the perfect mixture of light and heavy, that allows such light fare to rise... to art.
A group of actors has gathered in Nice to film a not-very-good film, but one which nonetheless represents a needed payday--- artists cannot live by high art alone! There are many crises, many love affairs that not unexpectedly occur, none of them particularly interesting or original: it is in the skill of the players interpreting their own day-to-day travails that the interest lies; also, the consummate skill of the chef who knows how to organize and direct his "kitchen." The cast has many delightful secondary characters, several older French stars portraying their different responses to aging, and Jaqueline Bisset and Jean-Pierre Leaud at the height of their stardom.
In contrast, I very recently watched what many consider a masterpiece of the portrayal of human relationships, "Une Femme Mariée," by Godard. Though I like Jean-Luc's original take on filming, his disrespect for conventionality, I was struck by the difference between the brilliant and inventive technique, its innovative and original style, and the trite actions and never-ending-words of the characters. Rohmer and Truffaut have far less sizzle, but far more taste.
Like all great farces, Truffaut's has very serious thought behind it. It has taken me several decades to catch up to the young (at the time) man. What an enormous pity he died so early.
Follow Ups:
I watched this film again last summer.
I'd not seen it in at least 10 years and was pleased to note that it has aged well for me. I marveled again at Truffaut's warmth and acute powers of observation. D4N captured the hectic, passionate yet family-like mileu of life on a movie set better than almost any other film. It's like Truffaut's love letter to the movies.
I also re-watched Truffaut's The 400 Blows recently and found it to be just as marvelous as I remembered. As you noted, he's far less flashy than some of his other New Wave counterparts but all the more rewarding for that.
Rohmer is to me a master. Period.
Goddard has always been problematical for me.
My film school buddies all adored him (this was back in the early to mid 1970s). Critics hail him. Famous filmmakers are deepley influenced by him. While I acknowledge Goddard's brilliance and originality, I've also found his films highly annoying at times, and more often than not emotionally obtuse and offputting. I've avoided rewatching his films for years and must absolutely remedy that. It's probably just me.
when I was a teenager: Pierrot Le Fou; Alphaville; Breathless. But now, the amateurism for amateurism's sake has lost its charm and he just appears.... "cute." And the dialogue of many of the films strives to be intellectual, deep, and insightful--- but it's just dull. Grad student musings w/out benefit of lots of booze and cigarettes just ain't the same.
I enjoy some of his films, still, but nowhere near what I did. Rohmer and Truffaut we strongly agree on. I also like Shroeder who starred in Rohmer's first film (Monceau Bakery Girl (or something similar) before going onto to become his own helmsman (Our Lady of the Assassins; Reversal of Fortune).
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