Jules and Jim

Director: François Truffaut

Release Date: 1962

Should this be on the list?
Over-rated (clap clap clap-clap-clap). Over-rated (clap clap clap-clap-clap).

Rating: 2 Stars out of 5

Would I watch this again?
Maybe, in about twenty-five years or so.

When you start getting deep into the great movies of the past, eventually you’re going to run in to the name François Truffaut. He is justifiably a legend, arguably the best France has produced, and there are several movies for which he is remembered, this being one of them. François Truffaut is a name you bring up when you want to sound smart, like Noam Chomsky or Immanuel Kant. I really don’t know anything about either Chomsky or Kant other than their names, but I sure sounded smart there for a second, didn’t I?

But I have acquainted myself with François Truffaut, if for no other reason, because other people have considered him a genius. For a French class, years ago, I had seen Small Change and I didn’t really get a lot out of it, particularly because I wasn’t sure why were watching it, and I had watched a bit of The 400 Blows and it really didn’t stick with me, but I chalked that up to a lack of seriousness on my part. And I wanted to be serious about studying film.

The story of Jules and Jim is simplicity itself. Two men, one woman, in a love triangle, over the course of several years. Jeanne Moreau plays the Catherine, the object of their desire. They manage to co-exist without an excessive amount of jealousy, and then *spoiler alert* she drives off a bridge with Jim in the car. The End, be sure to tip your waitress.

I’d like to say that there’s more to it, but there really isn’t. For the back half of the movie, most of the actors look extremely bored and depressed and appear to be riding it out until it’s over. Which is to be understandable, I suppose, because it’s fairly obvious that she is in love with neither of them, but as a viewer, for that last hour or so, there was a deep feeling in my heart that I had gone to a particularly bad party. Apart from a really great shot of the trio running across a bridge, I’m not especially sure there’s anything to really recommend here. The one good thing I can say about it is that it helped me come to grips with the fact that just because critics and people you assume are smarter than you on a subject say something is brilliant and wonderful and amazing, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to take their word for it.

And just because I didn’t care for this movie, and I suspect most people who are being honest with themselves would not, don’t sleep on Truffaut entirely. Day for Night is tremendous, as is The Last Metro. I don’t particularly care for The 400 Blows, but it holds together better than Jules and Jim, and it is essential viewing for Truffaut’s later Antoine Doinel films. One movie not on the 1001 Movie list that I recommend is Confidentially Yours with Fanny Ardant and Jean-Louis Trintignant.