255. Madame de... (1953)

Directed By Max Ophuls

Synopsis

Madame de... has some gambling debts so she sells the earrings her husband gave her when they were married to pay them off. She reports them stolen, the jeweller sells them back to her husband after he hears of the theft, her husband aware of her deception gives them to his lover that is going to Constantinople. His lover gets into some more gambling debts and sells the earrings which are bought in Constantinople by a diplomat making his way to Paris. He falls in love with the Madame and gives her the earrings, she is so in love with him that she now wants to wear them and tells her dumbfounded husband that she found them. He confronts the diplomat about the earrings and the diplomat is ordered to sell them back to the jeweller who sells them again to the husband, who decides to offer them to his poor niece. The poor niece sells them to the jeweller AGAIN and they are bought by the Madame this time. Her husband and the diplomat have a duel and the Madame leaves the earrings in an altar as an offering for the protection of the diplomat. Her husband shoots first, there is no second shot and she, hearing this, faints... maybe forever.

Review

As you can see from that synopsis this isn't an easy plot line, but the merit of the film is that it makes it seem easy, and exciting. All the cast are superb actors, the direction is amazing, Max Ophuls camera moves like there are no obstacles anywhere.

The plot is brilliant, full of twists and turns but always easy to follow, the dialogue is impressive, smart and interesting. This film really is near perfect, there is very little fault to point at. In fact I can think of no faults in it. It even has Vittorio de Sica in the part of the Diplomat/Lover.

It is refreshing to see a good French film with that lightness of touch so reminiscent of Renoir and Carne, with an interesting social subtext of the high-classes behaving badly and if anything comparable to La Regle Du Jeu, which is high praise indeed. Highly Recommended.

Final Grade

10/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

In 1954, Georges Annenkov and Rosine Delamare were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design (black and white) but lost to Edith Head for Sabrina.

Nothing on the film on Youtube so here's Bernardo Bertolucci talking about Max Ophuls, in italian: