Jules and Jim (1962)

3 out of 10

First, let's self-credential. I think Day For Night is brilliant, I appreciate some Godard, and wasn't scared away by Last Year in Marienbad, so my dissatisfaction cannot be explained away by mere francophobia, or ugly Americacentrism.

This movie is simply too inscrutable. When character motivations and sensibilities are so alien, their actions are essentially random to the viewer. Random action makes for a plotless movie. Then again, I suspect this movie makes no sense in any language.

As when reading philosophy, when confronted so, the intellectual has two choices. One is to look at the confusing text peppered with bon mots and say "This is brilliant/deep/ineffable." In other words: "I "know" this is supposed to be important, so there must be something there I'm missing. There's something wrong with me." The other path: "This is balderdash cloaked in mystery. There's something wrong with it."

I choose the latter.

Fmovies: There is a book by Goethe mentioned in this movie, it's "Wahlverwandschaften", and its appearance is quite meaningful. Because the movie takes a look on human loves and lives that is quite similar to older Goethe's fatalistic world-view in his novel, very far from hope and idealisms. Strength (Moreau's character) and Weakness (Jim) are equal forces of nature, and both conduct us to death. The stoic attitude (Jules) is resignation and, seen this way, it is "weakness" too, but, on the other hand, it seems to be the STRONGEST way, because it means survival. JULES ET JIM, both in its content and in its aesthetics, has an air of antique tragedies, but - and this is more like the German novel - without complain, without crying. That's why it leaves you so "unsatisfied", and that's why it's still disturbing, even today.

Although "Jules and Jim" was made over 40 years ago and takes place 40 to 50 years before that, the amazing thing is that it barely seems to have dated. Because it focuses on the universal human relationships between its characters, rather than the specific time in which they live, it's the rare film set in the past that doesn't feel like a "period film." And, especially in the first half of the movie, Truffaut's New Wave techniques lend a remarkable energy and freshness.

The movie explores friendship and love among three semi-bohemian types: Parisian Jim (Henri Serre), Austrian Jules (Oskar Werner), and Catherine (Jeanne Moreau), the beautiful, free-spirited woman whom they both love. She's the most vibrant character in the movie, and impossible to pin down. It's never clear who she loves—she contradicts herself repeatedly, and perhaps loves no one but herself—or whether she's diabolical or simply misunderstood. Moreau nearly steals the movie, if not for the fact that the title reminds us to focus on the relationship between the two men, and that Serre and Werner give good performances too. Even if Jim and Jules aren't as mysterious as Catherine, they're complex and interesting characters in their own right.

The story plays out rather episodically, which means "Jules and Jim" is full of wonderful little moments, often involving the crazy things Catherine does. Some of my favorites include her dressing up as a man and racing Jules and Jim across a bridge; her jumping into the Seine in frustration; and her singing the movie's charming theme song, "The Whirlpool of Life." The episodes are linked together by surprisingly unobtrusive off-screen narration, which keeps the film moving along rather than slowing it down.

"Jules and Jim" does get a little tiresome toward the end, with Catherine continually vacillating between the men in her life, Jim vacillating between Catherine and his old girlfriend Gilberte, and Jules remaining loyally devoted to Catherine despite how foolish this may seem. However, the movie is redeemed by its tragic final scenes, which poignantly contrast with the carefree gaiety of the beginning. Jules, Jim, and Catherine are caught in a destructive spiral, tossed and defeated by the whirlpool of life. Still, the tone of the movie is gentle and human, not pessimistic. Truffaut considered "Jules and Jim" a "hymn to life," and it is most memorable as a vivid celebration of friendship and youthful possibility, even as it acknowledges how those things can sour.

Jules and Jim fmovies. Truffaut is one of my favourite directors and Jules et Jim one of my favourite films. As Jeanne Moreau recalls in an interview re her relationship with Truffaut at the time (they were briefly in love), this was a movie no one wanted to finance, that she had to help finance herself with money she had just scored from her latest film success (even her car was used to carry sets and other filming equipment) and which depended to a large extent on conditions on the ground and inspiration on the part of all, especially Truffaut, at any given time.

Thus, creation happened as inspiration came to Truffaut, Moreau and the crew and as Moreau remarks, the whole movie feels and flows like a song (she does sing the theme song, rather well at that too!).

Jules and Jim are star crossed friends. They have similar tastes and are ready to do anything for each other but being German and French they end up on different trenches in the war. They have imagined and then seen the bust of the ideal feminine beauty and and proceed to look for her in every nook and cranny, ultimately finding her in the shape of Moreau at a function.

Moreau is luminous in her role as Catherine that would have earned her permanent recognition if she had done nothing else. She is not just beautiful or alluring - she is Woman itself in all its complexities, falling in and out of love, holding on or letting go as is her wanton. There is a moment in the film when she does not get the attention of the two men because they are playing a game and immediately she demands attention and does not stop until she gets it.

Truffaut said on more than one occasion that his relationship with his mother (a rather distant one, reportedly) had had an impact on his relationship with other women but in Jules et Jim he is able to portray the female of the species with a depth and an understanding such as I had never witnessed before or have since.

Truffaut's direction is peerless in its acuity and sensitivity, and it is greatly aided by some of the loveliest photography ever. In addition, he extracts superlative performances from all three leads. Oskar Werner's performance is deft beyond words. Henri Serre reminds me of Daniel Day-Lewis with a steely performance to match.

As art lovers, they fall in love with a bust of a woman and look for her until they find Catherine. Is this Catherine an echo of Cathy in Wuthering Heights? Serre might be the Heathcliff while Werner sounds more like an undecided Hamlet knowing he cannot hang on to his Ophelia. The passions at work in the film more than match that of the Bronte novel's characters and, of course, that of the lukewarm Dane.

As lovers of the flesh, Jim has a child by Catherine and Jules her love - but it carries a price. The ending is a subtle mix of irony, sadness, insightful observation and even a touch of the clownish with an unsuitably dressed Jim walking away with the ashes of his beloved lover and friend... much as Hamlet might have walked away with a skull or two.

There is a lyrical quality to this film that I believe has never been surpassed. Judging from Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" -- which borrows shamelessly from the ideas of "Jules et Jim" -- it will take real genius and a many months of sustained inspiration to surpass it. Given the current never ending supply of mass produced flicks, I doubt it will ever be matched let alone surpassed...

"Jules et Jim" is a most intelligent film and a privilege to watc

This is the first movie by Truffault I've ever seen, and I have to say I'm now very intrigued in his other work...

"Jules et Jim" is the story of two friends who meet a very beautiful and strange woman who turns up to be a bit unstable...

It starts with how they all meet each other and end up together... I thought the beginning was pretty fast as many things happened and you just wonder if the whole movie will be like that. Also I thought I didn't care much for any character, but of course it was too quick to judge. There is also a narrator (throughout the movie) and at first you ask yourself if its really necessary...

Still, when I decided to go grab a snack, I realized I was so hooked by the story that I couldn't. The characters behaved like no other I've seen and you find yourself wanting two different things: for it to end and for it never to end.

The movie has it's many twists for those who like, even a laugh here and there, but if you see it as a whole is a very deep description of the relationship between the three main characters.

The end is somehow beautiful, maybe because is "fair", maybe because is "real", maybe because is "surreal", you'll just have to watch and find out...

Is one of those movies when after watching it you understand both sides: those who say it's overrated and those who claim it's a masterpiece... to me it was a one in a lifetime film experience

Those with heavy sensibilities along the lines of conventional "morality" seem to have a hard time allowing themselves to enjoy this film for what it is: A beautiful visual poem about the passing of time and the progression and growth of an unusual friendship. This friendship may be unusual but feels completely natural and true. Jules and Jim if anything, exhibit great maturity in their relationship with each other and Catherine. It's refreshing to see a film dealing with a deep love, friendship and emotional bond between two males and a mutual love for a woman, without the usual competitiveness and controlling possessiveness that is the norm. Jules and Jim come off more as an enlightened pair. It seems understood among them there is no real belonging of one human being to another. Catherine's whims of the heart are discussed between them at every stage throughout the film and they are willing to accept them and love her for who she is as well as each other.

I do feel that this film lost it's pacing toward the end and seemed to speed up to conclusion. That being it's only flaw. Visually it is stunning. Francois Truffaut was a poet with the camera and his subtle nuances are captivating. The scenes of Jules, Jim and Catherine enjoying days together seem so natural and evoke the feel of wonderful days spent together among best friends that transported me back to days gone by.

"we met with a kiss/ a hit, then a miss/ and we parted/ we went our own ways/ in life's whirlpool of days/ around and around we go/ together bound/ together bound."