La sirène du Mississipi (1969)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

François Truffaut

Writers:

François Truffaut (dialogue)
François Truffaut (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 June 1969 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Louis Mahe is a tobacco planter at Reunion Island. He is waiting for Julie Roussel to marry her. He only knows her by mail...

Plot Keywords:

Island | Tobacco | Private Detective | Stockings | Coffee

Cast

Jean-Paul Belmondo	...	Louis Mahé
Catherine Deneuve	...	Julie Roussel / Marion Vergano
Nelly Borgeaud	...	Berthe
Martine Ferrière	...	Landlady
Marcel Berbert	...	Jardine
Yves Drouhet	...	Detective
Michel Bouquet	...	Camolli
Roland Thénot	...	Richard

Also Known As:

La mia droga si chiama Julie (Italy)
Mississippi Mermaid (USA)

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Netherlands:12 | Canada:PG (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:12 (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Company:

Les Films du Carrosse

Trivia:

The original French title is spelled "La Sirène du Mississipi" (one P) in some sources, and "La Sirène du Mississippi" (two Ps) in other sources.

Movie Connections:

References Le crime de Monsieur Lange (1936)

Romantic and suspenseful drama well realized by Truffaut in his own directorial style

This agreeable French movie deals about a millionaire owner of a tobacco factory on an African island nearly to Madagascar named Louis(Jean Paul Belmondo). He's a single man looking wife, then he advertises a bride and gets a gorgeous woman named Julia(Catherine Deneuve). When she spontaneously appears turns out to be much more attractive than expected. He marries to Julia but she suddenly disappears.A French eye private(Michael Bouquet) is hired by Julia's sister and soon he's on the trail of his previous spouse. Later Louis encounters her in a dancing-hall under another name. In spite of the romantic delusion and everything, Louis goes on enamored with his enigmatic wife.

This film is a splendid drama plenty of betrayal,deception, killing, theft and Hitchcockian suspense. Good performances by Jean Paul Belmondo as young proprietary of a cigarette company who seems determined to fall under the spell of a femme fatale and a wonderful Catherine Deneuve as suspect heroine. The film gets several references to the American cinema, but Truffaut(400 blows) was a fervent moviegoer, such as : Johnny Guitar, Colorado Jim, Bogart, and Hitchcock.The USA version was cut numerous minutes and deserves an urgent restoring and remastering. Loosely based on the novel titled'Waltz into darkness' by Cornell Woolrich (Rear window and screenwriter of Alfred Hitchcock hour) who also was adapted in 'Truffaut's The bride wore black'.Colorful cinematography by Denys Clerval(Stolen kisses) and atmospheric musical score by Antoine Duhamel, Truffaut's usual musician.This is one of the best of his suspense movies along with ¨Farenheit 451 and Shoot the piano player¨. Remade by an inferior version by Michael Christofer(2001) with Antonio Banderas, Angelina Jolie and Jack Thompson, full of erotic and lust scenes.