Who would have thought that a romantic melodrama could be so riveting? This is perhaps the ultimate proof that great direction can lift a film from mediocrity to awesomeness. For Ophüls' direction here is indeed flawless. The attention to detail in the mise en scène along with an incredible use of space make every composition as absorbing as the storyline itself. The spatial depth of this film makes it much more three-dimensional than most of those 3D films that is put out at the moment.

The tragic love story above them all.

Matching Tarkovsky in many ways, Ophuls comprehends the fundemental features behind the camera, not just a visual tool but an instrument that helps you create a certain mood and capture every bit of a character's emotional state, ultimately heightening our empathy with our character's plight. A film flowing with elegance and subtlety. I love Ophüls' films.

It's a wonderfully elegant film and very much appeals to my sensibilities (incredibly romantic and elegant tragedy, paying attention to transcience and chance, mixing the gooey, soft, sentimental innocence of earlier Hollywood stuff with a darker slightly more perhaps not worldweary but certainly worldwarey heart - all things I love). The way Ophuls uses the environment to pretty much change the aspect ratio for a shot is beautiful and would only work as well as it does in black and white.

Excellently acted and directed, this is the sort of story that repulses me. In a world where Twilight can be interpreted as "feminist" than Joan Fontaine's character is absolutely empowered to throw her life away mooning over a callow pianist. Her revenge, an immaculately documented guilt trip, takes passive aggression to astonishing levels. Okay, I could be missing the point.

"The course of our lives can be changed by such little things. So many passing by, each intent on his own problems. So many faces that one might easily have been lost. I know now that nothing happens by chance. Every moment is measured; every step is counted." Ophüls' profoundly tragic film is beautifully constructed, perfect even. The scene where Lisa realizes the truth is as magnificent as it is cruel. There are precious few films in which I wouldn't change a single shot. This is one of them.

Completely transcends its melodramatic trappings to deliver perhaps the finest screen romance I've ever seen. Ophuls' mesmerizing cinematography swirls around the architecture and the protagonists, light as air. Walking a fine line between genuine tragedy and tearjerker, the film is aided immensely by the delicate beauty of Fontaine in her defining performance. This is is what all other romance films should aspire to.

Cinematography as great as anything from that era. The story about a sick stalker, that won't let go of her playboy subject. When they finally date he complains that he hardly knows her. What's to know?! She's been spending every waken hour outside your fucking window! The "forever love" message is dated and quite frankly a little pathetic. Fontaine is brilliant and beautiful, but cannot save her shell of a character. This plus a few contrived incidents, makes the movie good, but never great.

Nobody does elegant like Max Ophuls (or Opuls, according to the opening credits). He can convey everything necessary about a relationship with the simplest gestures, giving us a portrait of all-consuming romance that spans a lifetime in only 85 minutes. Joan Fontaine is heartbreaking in the "title" role, maturing from puppy love to dignified independence without her passion ever extinguishing. And it's overwhelmingly beautiful, of course, with gorgeous cinematography and production design.

Not even Ophuls' camerawork or Franz Liszt's Un Suspiro (one of my favorite piano pieces -- damn you, Ophuls) can save this for me. Lisa's longing is submissive and pathetic and if you take away Stefan's piano abilities he's just a womanizer with a severe case of amnesia. I couldn't be more annoyed with these people.

Starts out brilliantly with Fontaine as naive kid lusting after a charming older neighbour but doesn't live up to its massive potential. A whole decade or so is skipped abruptly and much too early on and the way the story continues and concludes isn't nearly as interesting as the beginning suggested. It's still a decent enough movie, but it takes the unfortunate route of being a moral tale about a womaniser instead of being an imaginative fantasy of a kid hopelessly in love with an adult.

A bad crush on a superficial guy - so what else is new?

Great afternoon viewing.

#91

A truly romantic work about the transformative power of love. Joan Fontaine has never been better, and Louis Jourdan gives is best performance.

Tender at heart, delicate in its form. Joan Fontaine's facial expressions tell us far more than thousand words... In an elegant and lyrical way, Ophüls tell us that life is endlessly beautiful, painful and maddening all at once.

Such elegance.

ahh

Good tragic romance. Joan Fontaine is classy in a way that modern stars will never be

# 95

Good text, but as usual, Ophüls' virtuosic directing is better than the text and serves to elevate it.

Expertly filmed with wonderful camera moves, evocative lighting, and beautiful sets. It was well-acted, and there were some very memorable moments. It comments elegantly on the harsh realities of romance. The score was very nice, too. That is to say: I liked it, quite a bit. On the whole, however, it just didn't strike me as a masterpiece and I'm left wondering why it has such a mighty reputation. Sure, it was tragic and lovely, but it certainly didn't dig deep into my soul or anything.

A pitch perfect tragic romance. Fontaine is amazing, and gorgeous, as the lead, not just in her line delivery but in all of her non verbal expressions of love, happiness, awe, and disappointment. The beautifully composed shots complement the different moods throughout the film and Ophuls knows just when to move the camera and when to let it linger.

# 74

77

i found myself saying bullshit in various parts of the movie!!

82

Tragedy of the utter devotion of youthful romance bestowed on the unworthy and unaware. Fontaine's expressions of longing and coy evasion are a joy, as is watching her progression from doe-eyed youth to the epitome of elegance and grace.