Lehrjahre des Herzens

"Éducation sentimentale" is rather neglected, but probably best achievement of Gustave Flaubert. Careful reading reveals that it has more durable implications relating human nature and essence, than more famous "Madame Bovary". Marcel Cravenne's TV series in 1973 put new light to Flaubert's meaningful but in great extent forgotten masterpiece. The layered meanings and the atmosphere of mutual fatalistic giving up and hope, that represent the greatest value of the novel, are very precisely transmitted into the excellent TV series. It is very difficult to determine what is better in the series - directing, photography, music or editing. Jean-Pierre Léaud, Françoise Fabian and Catherine Rouvel achieved supreme performances in their roles.