The third in a series of films featuring François Truffaut's alter-ego, Antoine Doinel, the story resumes with Antoine being discharged from military service. His sweetheart Christine's father lands Antoine a job as a security guard, which he promptly loses. Stumbling into a position assisting a private detective, Antoine falls for his employers' seductive wife, Fabienne, and finds that he must choose between the older woman and Christine.
Jean-Pierre Léaud
Antoine Doinel
Claude Jade
Christine Darbon
Delphine Seyrig
Fabienne Tabard
Michael Lonsdale
Georges Tabard
Daniel Ceccaldi
Lucien Darbon
Claire Duhamel
Madame Darbon
Harry-Max
Monsieur Henri
André Falcon
Monsieur Blady
Catherine Lutz
Catherine
Martine Ferrière
Head Saleswoman of the Shoe Store
Serge Rousseau
Guy Who Follows Christine
Paul Pavel
Julien
François Darbon
Chief Warrant Officer Picard
Léon Elkenbaum
Dentist (uncredited)
Madeleine Parard
Wicked Prostitute (uncredited)
France Monteil
Kind Prostitute (uncredited)
Carole Noe
Big Girl (uncredited)
Roger Trapp
Monsieur Shapiro (uncredited)
Albert Simono
Albani
Christine Pellé
Miss Ida (uncredited)
Chantal Banlier
Shoe Store Clerk (uncredited)
Jacques Rispal
Monsieur Colin
Martine Brochard
Madame Colin (uncredited)
Jacques Delord
Robert Espannet
Marcel Berbert
Man Who Opens His Door
Pascale Dauman
Parisian Followed in the Street
Jean-François Adam
Albert Tazzi (uncredited)
Anik Belaubre
Concierge at the Brothel (uncredited)
Liza Braconnier
Sad Prostitute (uncredited)
Robert Cambourakis
Madame Colin's Fearful Lover (uncredited)
Karine Jeantet
Shoe Merchant Saleswoman (uncredited)
Marcel Mercier
Man at the Darbon Garage (uncredited)
Joseph Mériau
Man at the Darbon Garage (uncredited)
Marie-France Pisier
Colette Tazzi (uncredited)
Jacques Robiolles
TV Unemployed (uncredited)
Director, Dialogue, Screenplay
François Truffaut
Dialogue, Screenplay
Claude de Givray
Dialogue, Screenplay
Bernard Revon
August 11, 2024
7
At times Jean-Pierre Léaud's "Doinel" character reminded me a little of Charlie Chaplin's "Tramp" as he works his way through this engaging comedy about the lives and loves of a man whom, having just left the army, must adjust to civilian life. Initially, he lucks out as his girlfriend "Christine" (Claude Jade) manages to get her dad (Daniel Ceccaldi) to get him a job. Now a security guard he certainly isn't, so his tenure is short lived but it does introduce him to the intriguing world of the private detective. This leads to a job keeping an eye on the ostensibly upstanding businessman "Georges" (Michael Lonsdale) which in turn sees him meet that man's wife "Fabienne" (Delphine Seyrig) with whom, yep you've guessed... Why would this beautiful and charming woman be married to a shoe salesman? Well as the young man digs deeper, we discover - via a series of increasingly daft scenarios, that "Doinel" is pretty inept at just about everything but that has a charm to it that might just prove surprisingly successful in the least likely of fashions. Léaud is on good form here presenting an amiable buffoon that it's quite easy to like. There's also some enjoyable chemistry between him and both Seyrig and Jade that at times can make you cringe with embarrassment as he struggles to get to grips with his relationships with women. The comedy is plentiful and it's actually quite provocative for the late 1960s. It's a story about sexual awakenings and that elusive sense of self-realisation that I found flew by for a ninety minutes that still works entertainingly now.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
French
Budget:
$350,000.00
Revenue:
$1,500,000.00