Hello-Goodbye

Lame, charmless and pointless film that seems more like a vacation for the cast and crew than a serious attempt at movie making. Puckish Michael Crawford is dull and bland and has no chemistry with Genevieve Gilles in her first and only film; it was a hello-goodbye for her film career. And the film seems to have put an end to Michael Crawford's big screen career as well. They are a notably lackluster pair, and Jurgens as he did in Mephisto Waltz waltzes away with the picture or what's left of it. Pretty backdrops with undeveloped characters and their uninteresting dilemmas does not constitute a film.. The film is bad for tourism; worse for film-goers. I wouldn't be surprised if the film opened and closed on the same day. There's nothing at stake here, no characterization, no palpable conflict...I dare you to give a damn! The film was deservedly given a 1 star (out of 4) rating by Roger Ebert.

A film about a serendipitous meeting and how it develops. Yes it is whimsical and clunky in places. However the first half particularly captures a more carefree time and place.

I still remember it fondly over 40 years later. A timely reissue would be appreciated as it is very hard to find.

Cheeky chappy Michael Crawford manages to keep his jolly-o-meter under control for once in a serious role as a car salesman out to bed the beautiful wife of aristocrat Curt Jurgens. She's played by the preposterously proportioned (and acting impaired) Genevieve Gilles, whose frequent nude scenes must have pushed the limits of the GP rating in America. Francis Lai's score is breathtakingly beautiful, and it's a shame that Henri Decae's cinematography is compromised by the pan and scan print currently airing on the Fox Movie Channel. Approach with low expectations and you may enjoy Hello-Goodbye--though fans of late '60s pop psychedelic cinema will be more enthusiastic than others.

I first saw this movie on TV in th mid-70's . I found it on youtube recently and realized it was even better than when I first saw it . The early 70's were fantastic for those movies made in France with a mixed cast . The main characters chemistry makes the film a classic and that is why I could never get it off my mind . It's unfortunate that no one saw Geneviève Gilles's potential , she basically radiates. The critics killed this movie but as my grandma used to say " everyone is entitled to his/her opinion " . I beg to differ.... This was a great film !