Review of Jules and Jim (1962) by Adrian B — 04 Mar 2011

"Jules and Jim" is a tragic love story that begins as a innocent affair but ultimately leads to unstable infidelity, and strained friendships and relationships. Everyone involved feels some sort of pain.

Francois Truffait seems to love taking simple subjects and putting them up on the screen with clarity and beauty, and the results are marvelous. "Jules and Jim" is another sad film from the influential film critic and director.

The dialogue is clear and powerful; the filming techniques are magnificent and inventive, especially through the stills. In particular, one scene where Catherine, the woman at the centre of Jules and Jim, is showing off her attitudes towards life before she even met them and then after she met them.

Those were some very unique shots. Below the sadness, there is exhuberence, as well, showing how the two men are constantly flirting with Catherine, that is before the WWI came. There are number of poetic devices in the dialogue, including the reference that Catherine is the queen of hive (the house in which the three of them live in).

Truffait sure was a neat human and he came up with this fine, beautiful great work.