È simpatico, ma gli romperei il muso

Special. A clear and precise Claude Sautet film. A story of love and jealousy and addiction and friendship. Beautiful acting.

Each definition works in same measure , being correct but hiding a significant part of a very simple story about two men loving, in different way, a woman.

Seduced, long time ago , by Romy Schneider, I am tempted to define Cesar and Rosalie as her film. But the jealousy of Cesar expressions, so nice translated by Yves Montand, the house of childhood and the sea, the new meeting between Rolie and David and Cesar on the beach , the powerful last scene are proves about a film who can not be defined in easy manner. Because it is a solid - gentle portrait of a relation ambiguous but so clear . And because the gift of Claude Sautet proposes the fair definitions who can be only feel.

After the 25th anniversary of Romy Schneider's death, I decided to see this film once again after a number of years. CESAR E ROSALIE is Romy Schneider's third movie she made with her favorite director during her French career, the one who, unlike some others, knew her as a brilliant actress and as a gentle person, Claude Sautet. And what were my impressions after the latest view: I was enchanted. I liked this film and, strangely, in spite of the light content it offers, it's rather a profound film.

From the very beginning, there are three aspects that draw one's attention: unforgettable performances, very down to earth story and unique musical score. Let me analyze these three factors in more details:

Romy Schneider gives a profound performance of a woman torn between men and her personal freedom, her personal independence. She represents a simple woman with whom mostly female audience may identify. Her feelings are changeable but her life heads to be straightforward. She fails many times but isn't it something most of us experience? Romy does a terrific job in the role, reaches the ultimate ability to feel the role to the very core. She once again proves how great actress she was, how flexible, how dynamic, how talented! I also liked Yves Montand as Cesar, a furious, jealous, nervous, sometimes loving authoritative man. His fury ends with calmness, his jealousy with forgiveness, his enemies with friends. Mr Montand portrays his character in a dynamic way and truly becomes the second great star of the movie.

The entire content is really very simple, yet not too simple not to be sophisticated enough. It is a complicated story of life, sometimes even confusing one but truly well executed. All is there for a strict purpose: humor in the story is to amuse at the most right moment so that it cannot disturb the point (consider, for instance the moment Cesar shows Rosalie his new shoes); drama is to tell us how attached to every single life it is (consider emotional insights galore), forgiveness to remind us that the world cannot exist without pardoning. As for simple life story, mind you a lot of scenes shot in a car - isn't that a symbol of journey, a sort of "voyage" that life is...? The highly unpredictable ending makes a perfect sense only when you analyze the whole story integrally, as life built upon joys and sorrows, quarrels and reconciliations. So in this aspect of showing simple people, Claude Sautet does a great job in this film, really innovative and extremely involving.

The music surprised me, even enthralled me. These were such memorable unique tunes that so much fitted to the entire story, to every single scene. The music absolutely reveals the confusion we find in life as well as the explanation that enlightens all previous doubts. Every single piece fits to the scene, one particular scene and in another one, it wouldn't fit at all. That goes in pairs with a number of memorable words that are said by the characters. I was under the spell of Rosalie when she said to Cesar "everything or nothing." Consider also how Cesar explains the purpose of his arrival on the beach one summer day when the sun shone onto heads more intensely.

Nice film, original one, a work that did not only remind me once again how great Romy Schneider was but the movie which made me interested in Claude Sautet. Although I have not seen many of his films, I'll look for them now and only thanks to this charming movie, CESAR E ROSALIE. Hope it'll be the same with you when you decide to see it and I give you my heartfelt advice, do watch it. It's not a 100 minute waste of time.

This is a good drama romance. Anyone who loves 60s and 70s French cinema, will like this as well. It starts as a typical "love triangle" movie, and whereas it's not brilliant or revolutionary, it has a few tricks up its sleeve. After the first hour, things get exciting and there are some interesting turns. First hour was still good, not for a second it got boring, however during the second hour, movie got better and more unpredictable : I couldn't guess what's gonna happen in the next minutes.

For me, ending was great. Sure it was strange but that's why i appreciated it. Ending could have been a typical 70's ending, i love 70's cinema but many endings are identical and unimaginative, regarding drama/romance movies. Not the case here. Unfortunately, in the last 10 seconds, something illogical happened, something against the flow of this particular ending. But that's ok, i choose to pretend it never happened.

Romy Schneider is captivating, Sami Frey was good but anyone who has watched this movie, knows who stole the show.

Yves Montand is tremendous. Not only he's charismatic, but his character is real, mean, we all know guys like him. This character is a deeply flawed person, a person who other people should avoid because they are so self-centered that can't be trusted. Yet, he made this character as likeable as he could possibly be. And that's proof of his greatness.

It was Claude Sautet who revitalised the career of Romy Schneider in 'Les choses de ma vie' for which we owe him a great debt of thanks. 'César et Rosalie' is their third collaboration and although the later 'Simple Story' provided her with her best role, this is my personal favourite. An actress of immense grace and sensitivity adored by the camera whose sad end is a grim reminder that even those gifted by the Gods are subject to the hammer blows of Fate. As for Yves Montand his performance is out of the top drawer and decidedly one of this best. He plays a self-made man who is happy in his relationship with Rosalie and seemingly confident in his masculinity. He then meets Davide, a former lover of Rosalie and it is then the insecurities start to show...... Davide is perfectly played by the enigmatic Sami Frey whose shy, gentle character represents the other side of the coin. The ever-changing dynamics of this trio's relationships are fascinating to watch and although those who prefer their film endings to be conclusive might find this one unsatisfactory, the fact that it ends with a question mark makes it, in my opinion, even more interesting. Good writing makes good actors even better of course so mention must be made of Sautet's regular script collaborator Jean-Loup Dabadie. There were more beauties to come from Sautet over the next twenty years but this is certainly one to treasure. Highly recommended.

Yet another object lesson in how to do relationships. Why is it the French find it so effortless to explore the Human Condition As Entertainment. Why is it they can deal so facilely with pain and heartbreak and still make us smile. Okay, it helps if you have a great leading man, a beautiful leading lady, plus a great writer and a great director but that's still not quite enough and what you really need is something in the water. Jean-Loup Dabadie is still under-appreciated as the multi-talent he is. He thinks nothing of adapting Foreign plays into French (Bill Gibson's 'Two For The See-Saw' became 'Deux pour la balancoir' at Dabadie's hand and was a great hit at the Theatre Montparnasse three or four seasons ago) turning out screenplays like this one and even writing lyrics (he wrote 'Valentin' for Montand's son and in so doing gave Montand a late hit). Here he contributes a virtually perfect screenplay on our old friend the Eternal Triangle theme. This film is so perfect that you get the feeling that on the first day of shooting the Good Fairy turned up on the set and waved her Magic wand blessing the entire project. Love, Desire, Pain, Laughter, if you don't get enough of those at home pull up a chair, slip in the DVD/video and sup your fill. You won't regret a moment of it.