Three

I became aware of this one fairly recently via a thread on the “Criterion Forum”, where several people were asking about it; I happened to recollect that the film was turning up regularly on Cable TV and, so, made it a point to check it out the next time it was on!

Well, it emerges as nothing really special: a ménage-a'-trois romance on the lines of JULES AND JIM (1962), filmed in a fragmentary but not unattractive style. The script makes the occasional perceptive comment about its central theme (especially through the contribution of Sam Waterston as the shy prospective lawyer) but, given that the three friends/lovers agree on the fickle nature of the relationship beforehand, the romantic element isn’t particularly stressed – so that there’s little character growth and, consequently, none of the potential jealousy and heartache inherent in such a situation!

Frankly, the film is more valuable as a travelogue: the narrative (based on a story by Irwin Shaw!) denotes the adventures of a couple of vacationing American students in Europe – with Florence (Italy’s art mecca), provincial France and Spain for backdrops – falling under the spell of a sophisticated but free-spirited girl of British and French descent (played by Charlotte Rampling). Along the way, however, the two boys meet and hitch up with a number of other girls – one of these is Gillian Hills, whom I recently watched perform the notorious-but-now-very-mild nude scenes in Michelangelo Antonioni’s BLOWUP (1966); the film also boasts a pleasant score by Laurence Rosenthal.

Apparently, James Salter (whose only directorial effort this proved to be) is a highly respected author but I’d never heard of him personally; looking at his filmography on the IMDb, I notice that I’d already watched a film he scripted – Sidney Lumet’s THE APPOINTMENT (1969) – and I’ve got another one in my “To Watch” pile (recorded off Italian TV) that was based on a novel he wrote – the aviation drama THE HUNTERS (1958), starring Robert Mitchum!

Young Americans Bert (Robie Porter) and Taylor (Sam Waterston) buy an old Puegeot to drive across southern Europe. They encounter various female travelers. Marty (Charlotte Rampling) joins them and puts them to the test.

I don't know much about director James Salter. He seems more of a writer and this is his only directing credit. The sense of bored youth is all over this movie. The girls almost don't have the strength to lift their arms. The people live so slowly that they almost travel back in time. It's a more amateurish production. It does have the great Waterston and the great Rampling in their youth. These are beautiful people in their 20's. Rampling is especially adapt at playing beautiful, young, bored, and yet mentally alert. There are moments which struck me as funny. It's not a movie of action thrills but the old world charms do have its own particular thrills. Let's watch them lie around some more.

Charlotte Rampling was really beautiful... A subtle film on a subject treated so many times in the movie history. But this one is elegant and interesting not the least because of the very good actors. The characters have depth. Dialogues are good. Marvellous spots for the film shooting on the French Riviera. Definitely worth seeing.

My vote : 8 / 10.

I didn't catch up to this film until thirty years after the fact, but I was pulled in by its simple, elegant emotional resonance. This is a pretty young Sam Waterston. Though the plot is rife with potential rivalries over Charlotte Rampling, the film lays an astute and well-observed tale about friendship over a road film and, happily, these guys aren't ugly Americans, and even make an attempt to try to speak the languages along the way. Wonderful, spare location photography. I started watching it out of morbid interest, but ended up being lulled by that heart ache and yearning at the center of a vacation and adventure movie.

Two young American students (Bert played by Robie Porter, and Taylor played by Sam Waterston) meet an intriguing young woman while on their vacation in Europe.

What follows is a contemplation on the passage of youth and a tribute to those periods of time in one's life when there is a temptation to disengage from life's responsibilities and dwell in an aimless pursuit of pleasure.

The photography and the scenery are beautiful and full of a fin d'ete quality. The camera lingers on the three young people, who wander in search of the next town, the next experience, something to vanquish boredom, while reveling in idleness. Marty (Charlotte Rampling) is the focus of the men's attentions, but the film centers on Taylor, who Waterston portrays as full of eagerness, self-doubt, and lack of guile, reminiscent of a young Anthony Perkins. He tries to free himself from the conventions of (American) society, but they are too deeply ingrained.

Though the messages of the film might be personal to the viewer, I think it does capture a moment in life that many can identify with. And as someone who was around to experience 1969 (when the film was released), I think it captures the mood of the times and reminds one of the choices available, remembering that the military draft was a reality that hung over the heads of all male college students.