BED & BOARD (Domicile conjugal)
Directed by Francois Truffaut
Written by Francois Truffaut, Claude de Givray, Bernard Revon
Starring Jean-Pierre Leaud, Claude Jade
Directed by Francois Truffaut
Written by Francois Truffaut, Claude de Givray, Bernard Revon
Starring Jean-Pierre Leaud, Claude Jade
Everyone else is an expert on director Francois Truffaut. All I know from the point of view of an expert is that what was once light may one day be weighty. In other words, there is more than one way to defy gravity.
Everyone else memorized the script from The 400 Blows, the first new wave French film, the movie that introduced the world to Antoine Doinel, the Truffaut-like character who carries on through Stolen Kisses and into Bed and Board, wrapping up in Love on the Run. Everyone, in short, knew the whole story before I ever thought about it and that may put me at a disadvantage when dealing with one of the world's best directors. On the other hand, if ignorance is really bliss, why don't I care about not finding my umbrella? Hell, I didn't even know who Francois Truffaut was until I saw him acting as the scientist in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Of course, that was back in 1977.
Unlike everyone else in the world, I like a good movie, a designation based on the criteria of innovative and either pleasing or distressing cinematography, the existence of a storyline that I cannot figure out right away or else no storyline at all, characterization that intrigues or alienates, and either brilliant acting or something so weird that I might not even describe it as acting.
With those criteria in play, at least approximately, then Bed and Board is a first-rate film, one that features Antoine (Jean-Pierre Leaud) evolving from teenage games of thievery and hide-the-snake into young adulthood, marriage and the demands of social responsibility, none of which include a fling with an attractive Asian woman. Either this interests you or it doesn't. What interests me in this movie is the beauty of the camera-work. Maybe a favorite moment would be near the opening when Christine (Claude Jade) is filmed at leg-level, insisting that everyone address her as "Madame," to acknowledge her matrimony. Maybe a favorite is the night blue of the in-laws' house. Most likely, however, it is the shot of Christine indicating to Antoine that she has learned of his affair. He didn't see that one coming and neither did anybody else.
Bed and Board stands alone satisfactorily and sheds some nice insight into the autobio of the director. But unless you are a film student or want to bed someone who is, you might do better to download Jules et Jim instead.
Everyone else memorized the script from The 400 Blows, the first new wave French film, the movie that introduced the world to Antoine Doinel, the Truffaut-like character who carries on through Stolen Kisses and into Bed and Board, wrapping up in Love on the Run. Everyone, in short, knew the whole story before I ever thought about it and that may put me at a disadvantage when dealing with one of the world's best directors. On the other hand, if ignorance is really bliss, why don't I care about not finding my umbrella? Hell, I didn't even know who Francois Truffaut was until I saw him acting as the scientist in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Of course, that was back in 1977.
Unlike everyone else in the world, I like a good movie, a designation based on the criteria of innovative and either pleasing or distressing cinematography, the existence of a storyline that I cannot figure out right away or else no storyline at all, characterization that intrigues or alienates, and either brilliant acting or something so weird that I might not even describe it as acting.
With those criteria in play, at least approximately, then Bed and Board is a first-rate film, one that features Antoine (Jean-Pierre Leaud) evolving from teenage games of thievery and hide-the-snake into young adulthood, marriage and the demands of social responsibility, none of which include a fling with an attractive Asian woman. Either this interests you or it doesn't. What interests me in this movie is the beauty of the camera-work. Maybe a favorite moment would be near the opening when Christine (Claude Jade) is filmed at leg-level, insisting that everyone address her as "Madame," to acknowledge her matrimony. Maybe a favorite is the night blue of the in-laws' house. Most likely, however, it is the shot of Christine indicating to Antoine that she has learned of his affair. He didn't see that one coming and neither did anybody else.
Bed and Board stands alone satisfactorily and sheds some nice insight into the autobio of the director. But unless you are a film student or want to bed someone who is, you might do better to download Jules et Jim instead.
