Jules et Jim (1962)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

François Truffaut

Writers:

Henri-Pierre Roché (novel)
François Truffaut (adaptation) ...
(more)

Release Date:

23 January 1962 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Decades of a love triangle concerning two friends and an impulsive woman.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Friendship | Love Triangle | WWI | Promiscuity

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 3 wins

Cast

Jeanne Moreau	...	Catherine
Oskar Werner	...	Jules (as Oscar Werner)
Henri Serre	...	Jim
Vanna Urbino	...	Gilberte
Boris Bassiak	...	Albert (as Bassiak)
Anny Nelsen	...	Lucie
Sabine Haudepin	...	Sabine, la petite
Marie Dubois	...	Thérèse
Michel Subor	...	Récitant / Narrator (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Danielle Bassiak	...	Albert's companion (uncredited)
Elen Bober	...	Mathilde (uncredited)
Pierre Fabre	...	Drunkard in cafe (uncredited)
Dominique Lacarrière	...	One of the women (uncredited)
Bernard Largemain	...	Merlin (uncredited)
Kate Noelle	...	Birgitta (uncredited)
Jean-Louis Richard	...	Customer in cafe (uncredited)
Michel Varesano	...	Customer in cafe (uncredited)
Christiane Wagner	...	Helga (uncredited)

Directed by
François Truffaut

Writing credits
Henri-Pierre Roché		(novel)
François Truffaut		(adaptation and dialogue) &
Jean Gruault		(adaptation and dialogue)

Produced by
Marcel Berbert	....	executive producer (uncredited)
François Truffaut	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Georges Delerue

Cinematography by
Raoul Coutard

Film Editing by
Claudine Bouché

Production Design by
Fred Capel		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Fred Capel		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Simone Knapp	....	key hair stylist (uncredited)
Simone Knapp	....	key makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Maurice Urbain	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Bober	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Florence Malraux	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Georges Pellegrin	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Ferracci	....	poster designer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Claude Beausoleil	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Raymond Cauchetier	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Fernand Coquet	....	electrician (uncredited)

Other crew
Suzanne Schiffman	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Les Films du Carrosse
• Sédif Productions (as S.E.D.I.F.)

Distributors

• Cinédis (1962) (France) (theatrical)
• MK2 Diffusion (2000) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MK2 Éditions (2001) (France) (DVD) (special edition)
• Concorde Filmverleih (1985) (West Germany) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Gala Film Distributors (1962) (UK) (theatrical)
• Slovenska Kinoteka (2004) (Slovenia) (theatrical)
• Suomi-Filmi (1962) (Finland) (theatrical)
• AV Channel (2003) (Australia) (DVD)
• Alpha Filmes (Brazil) (VHS)
• Altomedia. Co. Ltd. (Korea) (DVD)
• Atlantic Film (2007) (Sweden) (DVD)
• BIM Distribuzione (2006) (Italy) (DVD)
• Ciné Vog Films (Belgium)
• Concorde Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (USA) (laserdisc)
• Fox Lorber (USA) (DVD)
• Fox Lorber (USA) (VHS)
• Future Film (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Janus Films (1962) (USA) (subtitled)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (1996) (Germany) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV) (1970) (Finland) (TV)
• Sunar Film (Turkey)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2003) (Australia) (DVD)
• YLE Teema (2008) (Finland) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1989) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Les Films de la Pléiade  archive footage source (as Les Films de la Pleïade)
• Éditions Gallimard  book publisher

Also Known As:

Jules and Jim (UK) (USA)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | German | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/12 (re-rating) (1975) | Portugal:M/16 (DVD re-rating) | South Korea:15 | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Hong Kong:IIA | Portugal:17 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | Sweden:7 (re-release: 2003) | UK:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Alpes-Maritimes, France

Company:

Les Films du Carrosse

Trivia:

In Jean-Luc Godard's picture Une femme est une femme (1961), Jeanne Moreau appears as herself. This becomes obvious because Jean-Paul Belmondo's character, while meeting her at a café, asks her: "How is 'Jules And Jim' coming?" Une femme est une femme (1961) was released in 1961, while Jules et Jim (1962) in 1962, but the reference exists because François Truffaut and Godard were friends at the time, and often collaborated in each others movies.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Catherine lights the letters on fire, they are at first away from her dress, but in the next shot they are burning on top of her dress.

Quotes:

Jules: She's more optimistic than you where time's concerned. She was at the hairdresser's and and arrived at 8:00 to dine with you.
Jim: If I'd known she might still come, I'd have waited til midnight.

Movie Connections:

References Un chien andalou (1929)

Soundtrack:

Le Tourbillon

Truffaut's "Hymn to Life"

Although "Jules and Jim" was made over 40 years ago and takes place 40 to 50 years before that, the amazing thing is that it barely seems to have dated. Because it focuses on the universal human relationships between its characters, rather than the specific time in which they live, it's the rare film set in the past that doesn't feel like a "period film." And, especially in the first half of the movie, Truffaut's New Wave techniques lend a remarkable energy and freshness.

The movie explores friendship and love among three semi-bohemian types: Parisian Jim (Henri Serre), Austrian Jules (Oskar Werner), and Catherine (Jeanne Moreau), the beautiful, free-spirited woman whom they both love. She's the most vibrant character in the movie, and impossible to pin down. It's never clear who she loves—she contradicts herself repeatedly, and perhaps loves no one but herself—or whether she's diabolical or simply misunderstood. Moreau nearly steals the movie, if not for the fact that the title reminds us to focus on the relationship between the two men, and that Serre and Werner give good performances too. Even if Jim and Jules aren't as mysterious as Catherine, they're complex and interesting characters in their own right.

The story plays out rather episodically, which means "Jules and Jim" is full of wonderful little moments, often involving the crazy things Catherine does. Some of my favorites include her dressing up as a man and racing Jules and Jim across a bridge; her jumping into the Seine in frustration; and her singing the movie's charming theme song, "The Whirlpool of Life." The episodes are linked together by surprisingly unobtrusive off-screen narration, which keeps the film moving along rather than slowing it down.

"Jules and Jim" does get a little tiresome toward the end, with Catherine continually vacillating between the men in her life, Jim vacillating between Catherine and his old girlfriend Gilberte, and Jules remaining loyally devoted to Catherine despite how foolish this may seem. However, the movie is redeemed by its tragic final scenes, which poignantly contrast with the carefree gaiety of the beginning. Jules, Jim, and Catherine are caught in a destructive spiral, tossed and defeated by the whirlpool of life. Still, the tone of the movie is gentle and human, not pessimistic. Truffaut considered "Jules and Jim" a "hymn to life," and it is most memorable as a vivid celebration of friendship and youthful possibility, even as it acknowledges how those things can sour.