Les amants de demain (1959)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Marcel Blistène

Writers:

Pierre Brasseur (writer)
Jacques Sigurd (writer)

Release Date:

26 August 1959 (France)

Cast

Édith Piaf	...	Simone
Michel Auclair	...	Pierre Montfort
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Georges Aminel
Marcelle Arnold
Joëlle Bernard	...	Yvonne
Robert Castel
Robert Dalban	...	Le garagiste
Janine Dubarry
Gabrielle Fontan
Mona Goya
Olivier Hussenot	...	L'agent de police
Gina Manès
Armand Mestral	...	Louis
Jacques Moulières
Raymond Souplex	...	Charles
Françoise Vatel

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Black Xmas

Marcel Blistene had already directed the great chanteuse in the superior "Etoile Sans Lumière" ,which,in its own way ,predated some aspects of "singing in the rain" (how to pass from the silent age to the talkies).Sadly ,'Les Amants de Demain" suffers from a very poor screenplay and a weak directing.

This is Realisme Poetique at a time France was going another way.The writers obviously borrowed from Marcel Carné ("Hotel du Nord",1938: the Xmas' eve dinner recalls the Communion meal ) and from his followers (Yves Allégret: "Une Si Jolie Petite Plage" 1949, a man who takes refuge in a seedy place;the scene when Piaf and Michel Auclair talk about their doomed life in a pouring rain directly comes from Allégret's work.

A seedy place,full of brutes ,of informers ,of ugly gossipy women ,where tomorrow's lovers cannot find a place of their own.Réalisme Poétique indeed.But no Jacques Prévert.The only (macho) interesting line is: "don't you talk about politics !there are women in here!" (it was 1959 and in France ,women did not vote before 1946) Fortunately ,Edith Piaf sings and her terrific voice provides some moments of real joy: particularly "Fais Comme Si' which she sings to her new love who is behind the wall;and the "Noel de Finlande" lullaby she performs as she rocks a little boy to sleep;the title track is a good Marguerite Monnot -who wrote the whole score- song ,but as a final it's a bit ludicrous and turgid.