La sirène du Mississipi

I am surprised that nobody has yet pointed out that the ending in the snow is an homage to Jean Renoir's "Grand Illusion." The film is dedicated at the beginning to Renoir.

Jean Renoir was the great humanist director. For him, all that matters is how we treat human beings. The same here for Truffaut. The film tells us that it does not matter if you're rich or poor, male or female, upholding the law or fighting it, the only thing that matters is love. This is a romantic film that has occasional touches of a good mystery/detective/noir film. The Hitchcock film that it most reminded me of was "Marnie". There, like here, it is hard to know if crime or patient love will win out in the end.

I did not care much for the New Wave style editing, which seemed out of sync with the dramatic story at times. The many shots of Belmondo driving kept reminding me of the beginning of "Breathless." The color seemed a bit dull and washed out.

The locations are lovely, but Truffaut seems to have only one thing on his mind, the relationship between the lead characters, Louis and Juli/Marion. The characters and the audience think they know each other, but the film keeps fooling them and us. We are constantly getting new information that makes us re-evaluate who they are and they are constantly surprising each other. For example, Louis has been telling Juli/Marion how much he loves her and how beautiful she is and then suddenly he gets upset and tells her how there are many of her kind - she is not really a woman or a girl, but a "chick". The term "chick" is far more demeaning here then the term "bitch" or "slut" could ever have been. He tells her that her cold attitude actually makes her ugly. Watching the scene, one thinks about how easily and naturally men can degrade women, even women they love.

The film is a bit long and occasionally meanders, but it is emotionally intense at many points along the way. It seems that nothing is happening and then suddenly there's a surprise that makes you think, "Oh my goodness, I didn't expect that." It may not be one of Truffaut's best films, but second-rate Truffaut is still better than 90% of other directors' best stuff.

Francois Truffaut's Mississippi Mermaid is a film I've wanted to see for years. Featuring Catherine Deneuve, Jean - Paul Belmondo and the great director behind the camera himself, well, who wouldn't want to see it? And the first third of the movie, set on Reunion Island, didn't let me down. I've seen plenty of movies in my time, but don't think I've ever seen one set on the French territory in the Indian Ocean. The storyline too, about a tobacco planter who engages a mail order bride is intriguing in a time and place far removed from Tinder. It becomes even more so, when she arrives and he discovers it is not the same woman he expected, but he marries her anyway.

We are gifted some telling footage of the tropical island, a potted colonial history of its relationship with France and an extended amplified soundtrack consisting of a mixture of bird and animal exotic sounds. Unfortunately as we descend deeper into the story Truffaut soon relies on colossal contrivances to propel things along.

Belmondo's character Louis, says early on that he didn't fully reveal facets of himself in early correspondence, so as to sensibly establish some secure boundaries. Yet, it would appear in the film that barely a day or two after getting married, he gives his new wife, (Deneuve playing) Julie, open slather on his personal banking and business accounts. Then after Julie subsequently cleans him out (with no-one in the bank obviously batting an eye - lid) and disappears into the ether, of all the women in the world, he just happens to see her on TV and tracks her down quicker than you can say bloodhound. And narrative wise things don't get any better after both individuals reunite.

Twists occur, but again, they appear out of character and forced. Deneuve, at the height of her beauty, is too chic, cultured and well - spoken to play a supposedly poorly educated and raised grifter. Belmondo, never strikes one as a vengeful suitor, capable of murder. However this is the sort of unbelievable stuff Truffaut expects us to swallow.

Miscast as they are, I can't say I didn't appreciate seeing the 2 charismatic French stars, but I have to sadly reiterate, that in my opinion, things fall rather flat, after the lead characters leave their initial tropical locales. However might I suggest that watching Mississipi Mermaid is a much better venture, than chasing up its far inferior 2001 remake Original Sin, with Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas.

This agreeable French movie deals about a millionaire owner of a tobacco factory on an African island nearly to Madagascar named Louis(Jean Paul Belmondo). He's a single man looking wife, then he advertises a bride and gets a gorgeous woman named Julia(Catherine Deneuve). When she spontaneously appears turns out to be much more attractive than expected. He marries to Julia but she suddenly disappears.A French eye private(Michael Bouquet) is hired by Julia's sister and soon he's on the trail of his previous spouse. Later Louis encounters her in a dancing-hall under another name. In spite of the romantic delusion and everything, Louis goes on enamored with his enigmatic wife.

This film is a splendid drama plenty of betrayal,deception, killing, theft and Hitchcockian suspense. Good performances by Jean Paul Belmondo as young proprietary of a cigarette company who seems determined to fall under the spell of a femme fatale and a wonderful Catherine Deneuve as suspect heroine. The film gets several references to the American cinema, but Truffaut(400 blows) was a fervent moviegoer, such as : Johnny Guitar, Colorado Jim, Bogart, and Hitchcock.The USA version was cut numerous minutes and deserves an urgent restoring and remastering. Loosely based on the novel titled'Waltz into darkness' by Cornell Woolrich (Rear window and screenwriter of Alfred Hitchcock hour) who also was adapted in 'Truffaut's The bride wore black'.Colorful cinematography by Denys Clerval(Stolen kisses) and atmospheric musical score by Antoine Duhamel, Truffaut's usual musician.This is one of the best of his suspense movies along with ¨Farenheit 451 and Shoot the piano player¨. Remade by an inferior version by Michael Christofer(2001) with Antonio Banderas, Angelina Jolie and Jack Thompson, full of erotic and lust scenes.

On the surface, Francois Truffaut's Mississippi Mermaid is a taut, well- made Hitchcockian thriller that features good looking actors (including the alluring, icy blonde), exciting chases and bizarre circumstances. However, Truffaut gives the story his own twist by focusing on the characteristic of obsession and how it claws at the protagonist and affects his judgment.

Jean-Paul Belmondo puts aside his typical suave and cool demeanor to play a wealthy but lonely and somewhat naive tobacco plantation owner who puts in a request for a mail-order bride, only to discover that she looks like Catherine Deneuve. Naturally, he is taken under her spell and soon discovers she is much more duplicitous than he expected. Many film lovers may know this story better as it was remade in 2001 with Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie as Original Sin. Despite having not seen that film, I am confident it cannot be better than this version for two reasons. First of all, Truffaut is a much better director, able to seemingly tie all these various strings together into a coherent and plausible story. Second, there is no way Banderas and Jolie could match the sizzling chemistry between Belmondo and Deneuve. They are capable of being remarkably sexy and sultry without resorting to complete nakedness. This is a sign of true thespian abilities.

While not one of Truffaut's stronger works such as his Antoine Doinel series or Jules and Jim, it is still an entertaining romantic thriller that manages to be both romantic and thrilling. Given the status of many of these types of films recently, there is plenty of reason to revisit this New Wave example.

This is one of the best films I've seen in the last years.Belmonndo and Deneuve shine in their respective roles, he as a naive plantation owner and she as an enigmatic trickster.Words won't do this masterpiece justice,suffice it to say that this is a movie that explores the darker side of love and the pain,humiliation and capacity for self-delusion that go with it, although it's dressed as a film noir. Forget that feeble remake with Jolie and Banderas, see the genuine artticle instead and treat yourselves to some moments of great cinematic beauty.