Monday, January 25, 2010
DOINEL DONE
Today was the final film in the Antoine Doinel series by Francois Truffaut
L'amour en fuite / Love on the Run (1979)
This one is for those who have seen the prior films. Otherwise, the film makes no sense. It uses the device of flashbacks (black and white and color) as characters reminisce about their prior lives in the first four films.
That does not mean there is no fifth film. There is life in Antoine yet.
We see an attempt to analyze his problem with settling down. We get to think more about his particular problem with women. In this film and the last, the women tell him at least three times.
Jean-Pierre Léaud has incredible stamina to have maintained this personna this long through 20 years of his life. One cannot help but conclude that this is him. He is Antoine and Truffaut has lost his identification with the character.
Since as new wave flims, all of these are so improvised, this is probably inevitable and there is nothing wrong about that.
Truffaut's letting go is, in fact, probably part of the intention here. The character is freed to be himself and go on with his life. Making it up as he goes along.
The result in this film is particularly touching. The final frames are of the 14 year old Antoine/Jean-Pierre on the centrifugal carnival ride. He sticks to the sides and finds ways to crawl and wiggle into different positions nonetheless. His face is pure joy in the struggle. What a great piece of work these five films are.
All, a 5 out of Netflix5!
Labels: best films, films
