Great directional effort by master Louis Malle. But the story is that same old crap about a woman tired of her rich husband, finding a lover, then another lover, then leaving her family (including her little daughter) and everything is built like if it was a beautiful romance. But again, I insist on the qualities of the direction, Malle seems to be able to do anything, anytime he wants it.

Hm...polo and a wiener dog in the first couple minutes (I knew I was in trouble from the get-go). Good cast and direction and look...and it definitely does appear to be a New Wave bridgehead; but it looks like it was a concept first before it had characters (so the characters never really became fully fleshed out). This effect became more pronounced in the second half, so the overall result was (to me at least) a bit silly.

One of Malle's weaker films that plods along and never fully picks up. It's not terrible, and fans of Jeanne Moreau will appreciate it. The history and controversy the film caused is far more interesting than the film itself. If you don't like reading cheap romance novels, then you probably won't like watching one either.

Through an illicit, life-shifting affair Louis Malle conveys pleasant and soft-hearted romance. In fact this is among the sweetest, most tender films I've ever seen. Jeanne Moreau sulks it up beautifully; her stony features and longing eyes fit the unsatisfied and uncertain lead role like a glove. Henri Decae's photography is gorgeous as usual, using bold, crisp black & white.

It plays out like a Harlequin romance novel: bored bourgeois housewife with a boring bourgeois lover finds true love in a moonlit night of steamy passion. Moreau brings a small amount of complexity to the role, which is really the film's saving grace. I found myself disliking the character... despite the attempts to gain my sympathy in her rebelling against her conventional lifesytle, she still struck me as tremendously selfish and thoughtless. I was mostly unimpressed although mildly intrigued.