Jules and Jim (1962)

I had not expected to see another movie set in a world war so soon. The next disc in my queue must have had an unannounced wait. Thankfully, only a small portion of this one takes place in war. It's mainly a romantic drama.

Jules is Austrian but, while in France at least, pronounces his name the French way. Jim is French but pronounces his name the English way, because it suits him. The fast-paced opening establishes them as friends via art appreciation. Two factors put that friendship to the test: They serve on opposite sides of World War I, and they both have feelings for a mutual friend and Manic Pixie Dream Girl named Catherine (Jeanne Moreau). Only Jules gets lucky with her, while Jim takes up with a Gilberte instead. None of them remains satisfied.

The story comes from an Henri-Pierre Roché novel inspired by events in his own life. Director François Truffaut befriended him and regretted that he didn't live to see the film adaptation, tho in Truffaut's opinion, the book is better anyway.

From what I gather, J&J was daringly inventive in cinematography for the time. It does feel more like a whirlwind than I had anticipated. OK, part of that comes from heavy narration and dialog. If you need subtitles (which don't come on by default with this Criterion Collection DVD), you'll hardly be able to take your eyes off the screen without pausing. Sometimes you'll see another set of subtitles in French for the German dialog.

The production also stands out for having an especially shoestring budget. There were 15 crew members, and the money ran out, leading Moreau to pay for things herself. I guess it paid off, as both American and European entertainers keep citing it as an inspiration.

You may feel a "but"-type clause coming on. Well, here it is: Despite the pacing, the story usually doesn't feel like it's going anywhere fast. Jules and Jim never get seriously hostile to one another; their resentment is pretty subdued. Only Catherine is extreme, and her ultimate actions illustrate why you probably shouldn't date someone extreme. If only her ultimate actions were more characteristic of what goes on in the rest of the movie. It almost feels like Band of Outsiders with half the crime and less than half the humor.

I'd had some warning of this from the Netflix jacket, whose description is unusually brief. It sounded like little more than a typical love triangle. Maybe that's why I can enjoy only so many romantic dramas: Outside of an emotional standpoint, there's not much to them.

If you like the genre or want a French New Wave history lesson, by all means, check out J&J. Of course, in the former case, you may prefer to read the novel. The rest of you are likely to get a little dissatisfied.