César et Rosalie

I saw "Cesar and Rosalie" at the Jerusalem Cinematheque. I had only seen Claude Sautet's later movies (which I loved), and was unsure what to expect. The cinema was packed full of people, and some of the older members of the audience were laughing out loud almost immediately at Yves Montand's antics. I was a bit more restrained. But it didn't take long for me to find myself laughing as well. And not only me; it seemed like everyone there was in good spirits, young and old alike. Yves Montand's acting was incredible, Romy Schneider is terribly desirable, and the film just floated along. Definitely worth seeing, both if you're a Claude Sautet fan or if you want a charming movie about the interesting relationship which develops between the movie's three protagonists.

'Cesar et Rosalie', the title of the 1972 movie by French film director Claude Sautet, can easily be misleading. It is not a simple love story, or rather it is not a single love story, but two. In other words, it is the story of a love triangle, in which a woman is loved by two men, and returns love to both of them. The situation seems awkward and could be the subject of a passional film about jealousy with the potential to end tragically, or it could be a pretext for a wild comedy. I confess that I know very little about Claude Sautet, the film's director and co-writer. If my memory serves me well, this is his first film I've ever seen. His merit here is to have written a sensitive and intelligent story and to have chosen and led a formidable team of actors with the help of which he made a film that withstands the test of the almost half century that passed from production.

Rosalie (Romy Schneider) is newly divorced taking care of her little daughter. Cesar (Yves Montand), her boyfriend, is much older than her, but he is rich, charismatic, and full of self-confidence, at least until the appearance of David (Sami Frey), Rosalie's first love from the time just before her marriage. The two men love Rosalie, each of them in his own way, very different from each other. Rosalie hesitates as she cannot decide between the younger man who has left abandoned her years before and the older man who ensures her safety and who seems willing and able to do anything for her. Where will the romantic competition between the two lead? What will Rosalie decide? I will say, of course, nothing about the ending except that it is one of the few cases in which I do not agree with my favourite film critic, the late Roger Ebert, who criticised it quite severely. I really liked the open and surprising final. Today's feminists may be irritated for much of the film, but they will be rewarded in the end. In fact, a new movie could start here.

Yves Montand and Romy Schneider are fascinating, and it's hard to believe that it's been almost 50 years since this film was made and 3-4 decades since they've left this world. Sami Frey completes this triangle that draws the kind of plot that was very fashionable during the French New Wave, but which is described here with the methods of classic French cinema based largely on text and the charm and talent of the actors. Claude Sautet knew how to direct his actors and leave them enough freedom to get the best of them. The cinematography, the music, the natural and urban scenery are no more than effective, serving the plot. An interesting extra detail, proof of Sautet's casting talent, is the appearance of a 19-year-old red-haired actress named Isabelle Huppert in a supporting role, one enough well defined and with enough presence on screen so that we can remember it - probably the first more consistent role of the future star in a feature movie. 'Cesar et Rosalie' is a beautiful and interesting film, which has withstood the test of time and is still worth watching or re-watching today.

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.

"Cesar et Rosalie" is about a love triangle between Rosalie (Romy Schneider), Cesar (Yves Montand) and David (Sami Frey). Claude Sautet would revisit the theme of a love triangle in his later film "Un coeur en hiver" (1992). In this review I will compare these two films.

Lets start with a comparison of the two men. In "Un coeur en hiver" the difference was introvert versus extrovert. We see the same difference in "Cesare et Rosalie", Cesar being the extravert one and David the introvert. This distinction is in "Cesar et Rosalie" however of secondary importance. More important is that Cesar is the businessman and David is the creative artist. If the link between the two distinctions is logical is for everyone to decide. I would rather expect that the creative one would also be extravert and the other way round.

The role of the woman is very different between the two films. In "Un coeur en hiver" Camille (Emmanuelle Beart) has a clear preference for one of the men. In "Cesar et Rosalie" Rosalie cannot choose. She likes / loves both of them. Her perfect lover would be the combination of Cesar and David.

The most surprising element of the film is the effect the behaviour of the woman has on the realtionship between the men. In "Un coeur en hiver" the love triangle creates tension between the two friends. Also in "Cesar et Rosalie" the two men (and especially Cesar) see the other one initially as an opponent. When they realise that Rosalie is never gonna choose between them a friendship gradually emerses.

"Cesar et Rosalie" is extremely well acted, at least by Yves Montand and Romy Schneider. Sami Frey remains somewhat behind. His introverted character maybe difficult to play, but in some scenes David seemed a fassion doll to me.

In love Rosalie is a very independent woman. When it comes to housekeeping however we see how much the genderroles have changed since the 70's. When Cesar and his friends are having a poker evening Rosalie becomes the waitress and when David and his colleagues are working Rosalie becomes the coffee lady. In both instances without a sign of protest.

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.