Les petits câlins

This was Jean-Marie Poiré's first feature; five years later he made Le Père Noel est une ordure, that classic black comedy with so many quotable lines. Here he's learning his craft--some scenes don't tie together very well, there's a suspicious lack of discord between the three roommates. He has Jean Bouise and Claire Maurier as the parents (she was Leaud's mother in The 400 Blows) to firm up the box office.

So far, so dull. I want to talk about Dominique Laffin, this almost forgotten actress, who combines solidity--you believe her as a motorcyclist--with a dreamy, solitary air. She's sexually freewheeling here, yet never gives up her desire for a stable relationship. Hard to believe somebody so vital died at 33.