| Jules and Jim | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster by Christian Broutin | |
| French | Jules et Jim |
| Directed by | François Truffaut |
| Screenplay by | François Truffaut Jean Gruault |
| Based on | Jules et Jim 1953 novel byHenri-Pierre Roché |
| Produced by | Marcel Berbert François Truffaut |
| Starring | Jeanne Moreau Oskar Werner Henri Serre Marie Dubois |
| Cinematography | Raoul Coutard |
| Edited by | Claudine Bouché |
| Music by | Georges Delerue |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Cinédis |
Release date |
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Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | France |
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| Box office | 1,595,379 admissions (France)[1] |
Jules and Jim (French:Jules et Jim[ʒyledʒim]) is a 1962French New Waveromanticdrama film directed, produced and co-written byFrançois Truffaut. Set before, during, and afterWorld War I, it follows alove triangle involving Frenchbohemian Jim (Henri Serre), his shy Austrian friend Jules (Oskar Werner), and Jules' girlfriend and later wife Catherine (Jeanne Moreau). Hailed as a definitive example ofFrench New Wave (Nouvelle Vague) cinema, the film is still regarded as a classic. It won the 1962Étoile de Cristal, with Moreau winning that year's prize for best actress.
In 1912, Jules, a shyAustrian writer living inParis, forges a friendship with the more extroverted Frenchman Jim. They share an interest in the world of the arts and thebohemian lifestyle.[2] At a slide show, they become entranced with a bust of a goddess with a serene smile and travel to an island in theAdriatic Sea to see it.
After encounters with several women, they meet the free-spirited, capricious Catherine, who reminds them of the statue, and the three become inseparable. Although she begins a relationship with Jules, both men are affected by her presence and her attitude toward life, and the three take a seaside holiday together. Jim continues to be involved with his girlfriend Gilberte, usually seeing her apart from Jules and Catherine. Catherine asks to speak with Jim at a cafe, but she does not show up on time and he leaves. A few days before the beginning ofWorld War I, Jules and Catherine move to Austria to get married. Both he and Jim serve during the war, on opposing sides; each fears throughout the conflict the potential for facing the other or learning that he might have killed his friend.
After the war, Jim visits, and later stays with, Jules, Catherine, and their young daughter Sabine at their chalet in theBlack Forest. Jules confides to Jim about the tensions in their marriage; Catherine torments and punishes him at times with numerous affairs, and she once left him and Sabine for six months. Catherine flirts with and attempts to seduce Jim, who has never forgotten her. Jules, fearful that Catherine might leave him forever, gives his blessing for Jim to marry Catherine so that he may continue to visit them and see her. The three live happily with Sabine in the chalet until tensions between Jim and Catherine arise over their inability to conceive a child.
Jim leaves Catherine and returns to Paris. After several exchanges of letters between Catherine and Jim, they resolve to reunite when she learns that she is pregnant. The reunion does not occur after Jules writes to tell Jim that Catherine has suffered amiscarriage.
After a time, Jim runs into Jules in Paris. He learns that Jules and Catherine have returned to France. Catherine tries to win Jim back, but he rebuffs her, saying that he is going to marry Gilberte. She pulls a gun on him, but he wrestles it away and flees.
Jim encounters Jules and Catherine in theStudio des Ursulines cinema during a screening of anewsreel depictingNazi book burnings. The three of them meet at an outdoor cafe. Catherine asks Jim to get into her car, saying that she has something to tell him. She asks Jules to watch them and then drives the car off a ruined bridge into the nearby river, killing both herself and Jim. Jules attends the burial of their ashes in thecolumbarium at thePère Lachaise Cemetery; Catherine had wanted her ashes to be scattered in the wind from a hilltop, but at the time this was not legal.[3]
The film is based on a 1953 semi-autobiographical novel byHenri-Pierre Roché describing his relationship with young writerFranz Hessel and Hessel's wife Helen Grund. Truffaut came across the book in the mid-1950s at a shop inParis, and later befriended Roché. The author approved of Truffaut's interest in adapting the work.[5]
The score was composed byGeorges Delerue.[6]
The film was hailed as a fine example of French New Wave cinema.[2]Encyclopaedia Britannica says it "epitomizes the type of groundbreaking cinema that originated in Europe during the postwar years through the 1960s".[7] The criticGinette Vincendeau definedJeanne Moreau's style as the incarnation of the French New Wave actress: "beautiful, but in a kind of natural way; sexy, but intellectual at the same time, a kind of cerebral sexuality—this was the hallmark of thenouvelle vague woman."[8][better source needed]
According toThe New York Times film criticBosley Crowther in 1962, "the emotional content [of the film] is largely carried in the musical score" byGeorges Delerue, which he lauded.[6] The soundtrack was named as one of the "10 best soundtracks" byTime magazine in its "All Time 100 Movies" list.[9]
The film remains a "cult classic".[10] English criticPeter Bradshaw, re-evaluating the film upon its re-release in cinemas in February 2022, givesJules and Jim 5 out of 5 stars.[2]
The film won the 1962Étoile de Cristal, with Moreau winning that year's prize for best actress. The film was ranked #46 inEmpire magazine's 2010 list of "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.[11]
| Year | Award ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | BAFTA | Best Film from Any Source | Jules and Jim | Nominated |
| Best Foreign Actress | Jeanne Moreau | Nominated | ||
| Bodil Awards | Best European Film | Jules and Jim | Won | |
| Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists | Best Foreign Director | François Truffaut | Won | |
| 1962 | Cahiers du cinéma | Annual Top 10 List | François Truffaut | 2nd |
| Mar del Plata Film Festival | Best Film | François Truffaut | Nominated | |
| Best Director | François Truffaut | Won |
According toShortList, "The pacy energy ofGoodFellas (1990) was influenced by[Martin] Scorsese’s love of French New Wave cinema, especially François Truffaut’s doomed love triangle classicJules et Jim. He wanted a similar voiceover to open, along with extensive narration, quick cuts andfreeze frame shots."[12]
The film has been cited as an influence onGeorge Lucas.[13]
The production ofJules et Jim was the subject of a documentary directed in 2009 by Thierry Tripod.[14]
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