Review of Jules and Jim (1962) by Art S — 07 Oct 2017

Jules and Jim is the story of an Austrian and a Frenchman who become best friends but both fall in love with the same woman. The friendship between the two guys was charming and I liked how they respected one another and did their best to be open and honest about the whole situation. They also touched on the idea of two friends on opposite sides of the war which could have been really cool. But we only hear about that part in voiceover.

Catherine, the object of their affection, is one of the most infuriating characters ever captured on film. The fact that these guys put this much effort into being with her made me want to rip my hair out. The film fully invests in the idea that you can?t help who you fall in love with and that you?re bound like an idiot to that person you love no matter how horrible they behave. And there was no hiding the fact that people were completely unfaithful either.

There was something about the way people behaved in Jules and Jim that didn?t make sense to me. It?s possible that there?s a cultural difference that I didn?t connect with, but I can?t count how many times I thought ?Why are you doing that?!? The conclusion of the film was probably my biggest moment of confusion, because a character seemed clueless to what was obviously going to happen and just blindly followed. A combination of illogical behavior and annoying characters was enough to ruin this film for me..