A Verdade

Far from the best of Clouzot and consequently not much revived but of considerable interest nevertheless for giving Bardot her best part. She plays a young woman on trial for murdering her lover and it alternates between the trial itself and the events leading up to the killing. It's got an outstanding cast, (Charles Vanel and Paul Meurisse are excellent as opposing lawyers and Bardot herself is terrific), and yet it often feels rather common-place, (Clouzot, his wife Vera and 4 others are credited with the screenplay; maybe a case of too many cooks?). For once, he doesn't build any suspense and you never really care what happens to Bardot. In the end it's the personality of the victim, (a first-rate Sami Frey), that proves to be the film's point of interest, though at 130 minutes it is something of a long haul.

French sex symbol Brigitte Bardot occasionally alternated her standard titillating vehicles with films of greater substance (though, invariably, she was still required to shed her clothes!) often helmed by a top name within her native cinema – notable examples being Claude Autant-Lara's LOVE IS MY PROFESSION (1958), Julien Duvivier's THE WOMAN AND THE PUPPET (1959; the only one I have not watched, since it seems not to be available in an English-friendly version – but, of course, I am familiar with the three other adaptations of the Pierre Louys source material, as well as owning the novel itself!), the film under review (sharing disc space with the first-mentioned title on the copy I watched, after acquiring one on which the English subtitles did not work – that said, even here, translation for a slew of dialogue at a time is intermittently skipped – but, then, these are burnt-in on the print obtainable via "You Tube"!), Jean-Luc Godard's CONTEMPT (1963) – unquestionably the finest of the lot – and Louis Malle's A VERY PRIVATE AFFAIR (1962), VIVA MARIA! (1965) and the "William Wilson" episode from SPIRITS OF THE DEAD (1968). As for director Clouzot, this was his last mainstream film – since his next, "Inferno" (begun in 1964), would be aborted due to his poor health and a subsequent one, LA PRISONNERE (1968), was perhaps too 'specialized' (read: extreme) to cater for other than 'underground' audiences! For the record, I still need to watch his MANON (1949) and LES ESPIONS (1957) from the ones I own.

THE TRUTH – included in the all-time top 3,000 movies ranked by the "Wonders In The Dark" website – was the only title involving either to be nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar: incidentally, it is preceded by the Columbia logo and, apparently, was simultaneously shot in English as per contemporary posters!; for what it is worth, the film deservedly missed out to Ingmar Bergman's beautifully stark parable THE VIRGIN SPRING (1960) – even if they actually emerged joint winners at the Golden Globes! Anyway, what we have here is the trial of a crime of passion (with the star herself in the dock), the backstory of which is then seen in flashback – triggered off by the interrogations of various witnesses. Clouzot managed to rope in an impressive supporting cast for his plethora of characters: Charles Vanel as Bardot's practiced Defense Counsel, Paul Meurisse as the showy Prosecutor – incidentally, both these actors had already appeared together for Clouzot in one of his greatest works, DIABOLIQUE (1955) – and youngsters Sami Frey and Jacques Perrin among the uninhibited (what else?) protagonist's numerous lovers, the former being also the victim in the case.

The director's renowned clinical eye for detail is well in evidence throughout – but the film's two sections do not necessarily jell in this particular instance (perhaps tellingly, the 122-minute movie had as many as six scriptwriters assigned to it!). The narrative proper, then, seems to belong to the 'wasted youth' trend kickstarted by Federico Fellini's I VITELLONI (1953); indeed, despite their highbrow aspirations (musician Frey juggles a relationship with Bardot and her 'saintly' elder sister, all the while attempting to set up his own orchestra!), these singularly colourless personages come across as low-lifes more than anything else: the crime itself, followed immediately by the heroine's attempted suicide, is easily the standout here. Conversely, the backhanded tactics prevalent in the over-crowded courtroom lend much cynical enjoyment – thus countering the necessarily static nature of the cinematography during these sequences.

Still, the film is considered as the one in which the star gave her best performance (she even won the Italian equivalent of the Oscar for it as Best Foreign Actress): though the events leading up to the night of the crime and where the real guilt lay (hence the title) are hotly debated by both sides, it is inconceivable to accuse Frey (who could hardly be blamed for lusting after Bardot) over her (whose feelings for him – whether genuine or merely to spite her "square" sibling – are never properly defined)…which is perhaps why the trial ends abruptly as it does! In retrospect, the movie can be seen to have much in common with the afore-mentioned "Inferno" – whose troubled shoot was delineated in a feature-length documentary released in 2009 (after Claude Chabrol had already impressively refashioned Clouzot's original script for his own 1993 effort L'ENFER).

Here Brigitte Bardot strips bare and the precedent writer was completely right;it's not Dominique who's judged ,but Bardot herself.Never a character had been closer to the actress -I'm obviously speaking of the public figure- than this victim.Because she's primarily a victim : of a family who was dreaming of a good girl,respectful of family values -see Marie -José Nat 's Annie ,the perfect sister ,the "good" ,the earnest musician :she's so "straight"so "holier-than-thou,that she's almost frightening-;of a society ,not prepared to accept this new way of life,which predates the events of MAY 1968 and woman's lib;and finally,and mainly ,of men:they,too, are not prepared to accept the fact that a woman wants to live like .. a man:Samy Frey,the well-respected and well-meaning young man is actually a macho as well as a future mean bourgeois.

The man who worked this miracle ( turning Bardot into a first -class thespian) is none other than Henri-Georges Clouzot,one of the most daring clever gifted directors France has ever known.It was probably a hard time for him:he was about to become ill ,and that would prevent him from making another movie before 1968 ("the prisoner" ,his final achievement);besides the nouvelle vague on the rise dismissed Clouzot as a man of of the past,one of those creeps who "did not live what he was filming" (sic).Clouzot ,at his best, was better than 10 Chabrol ,20 Truffaut and 100 Godard ,but there's no accounting for tastes.Suffice to say that Clouzot,during his relatively short career (20 years ,and 11 films) ,took more chances single-handedly than the three artists mentioned above ,and his best works ("l'assassin habite au 21","le corbeau","quai des orfèvres","Manon","les diaboliques" -which got more praise abroad than in its native country- and "wages of fear" )are all classics.

"la vérité" is a long flashback ,a giant jig-saw the pieces of which will not completely put together at the end.The lovers of "les diaboliques" will appreciate the duel Paul Meurisse /Charles Vanel.They say HG Clouzot was very hard on his actors:but what a filmography!

In her memoirs ,BB wrote that it was HER favorite movie.

By far the best Brigitte Bardot picture, engaged with the avant-garde director Henry-Georges Clouzot, fitting perfect with a drawn up screenplay, about a lazy girl Dominique (Bardot) tired of his hometown lifestyle, decides by any mean living together with her old sister Annie (Marie-Jose Nat) at glamorous Paris in the early sixties, meanwhile his sister makes a hard efforts to learning classic music, otherwise Dominique dropped her preparatory course to work at beauty parlor, spending her time at bars and night clubs with questionable friendship, until meets Gilbert Tellier (Sami Frey) a promising musician which his sister raising hopes for future marriage, Tellier gonna crazy by so beautiful and sexy Dominique, although she scorns him, when he finally got her, he treats her possessively and grossly, they break apart, she suffers and end up sell yourself on prostitution, at their last meeting she on its kenees begs your pardon, then they had a love night and Dominique is merciless waived on the morning by his cold lover, abased deeply for such ruthlessness, later she kills him and tried out committed suicide afterwards saves in time, brought to trial, she is judge in her dingy background lifestyle, there lawers's battle begin although an unexpected ending, mastery Clouzot explores all strong sexy appeal that BB can delivers with dared scenes, told by countless and overlong flashbacks, my favorite Bardot picture!!

Resume:

First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8.75

Through contemporary eyes, you might be quite surprised, what most of the courtroom did surmise, without any question or compromise, but the flashbacks tell no lies and the romance, sadly, 'meurts'.