La Peau douce
Encyclopedia
The Soft Skin is a 1964
French film
directed by François Truffaut
. It was entered into the 1964 Cannes Film Festival
.
Despite Truffaut's star being on the ascent after Jules and Jim
and The 400 Blows
, La Peau Douce failed at the box office
.
to give a conference about "Balzac
and money".
Despite being married, he becomes involved with a stewardess and what was a one night stand becomes a long-term relationship. Torn between his wife and child and his younger lover, his life rapidly becomes unbearable. Finally, he takes the decision to leave his wife but she takes revenge by shooting him in a Paris
ian café
.
. For the expectant audience, it was quite afar from the kinetic joie de vivre of Jules et Jim and possibly perceived as overly serious for a director who had tended towards lighter films up to that point.
1964 in film
The year 1964 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 29 - The film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is released....
French film
Cinema of France
The Cinema of France comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad.France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its early significant contributions. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle...
directed by François Truffaut
François Truffaut
François Roland Truffaut was an influential film critic and filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the French film industry. He was also a screenwriter, producer, and actor working on over twenty-five...
. It was entered into the 1964 Cannes Film Festival
1964 Cannes Film Festival
The 17th Cannes Film Festival was held from 29 April to 14 May 1964. The Palme d’Or is renamed 'Grand Prix International du Festival', the name that will be used until 1975.-Jury:*Fritz Lang *Charles Boyer...
.
Despite Truffaut's star being on the ascent after Jules and Jim
Jules and Jim
Jules and Jim is a 1962 French film directed by François Truffaut based on Henri-Pierre Roché's 1953 semi-autobiographical novel about his relationship with writer Franz Hessel and his wife, Helen Grund....
and The 400 Blows
The 400 Blows
The 400 Blows is a 1959 French film directed by François Truffaut. One of the defining films of the French New Wave, it displays many of the characteristic traits of the movement. The story revolves around Antoine Doinel, an ordinary adolescent in Paris, who is thought by his parents and teachers...
, La Peau Douce failed at the box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
.
Synopsis
The story revolves around Desailly's character, Pierre Lachenay, a successful writer and director of a literary magazine. At the beginning of the movie, he flies to LisbonLisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
to give a conference about "Balzac
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the 1815 fall of Napoleon....
and money".
Despite being married, he becomes involved with a stewardess and what was a one night stand becomes a long-term relationship. Torn between his wife and child and his younger lover, his life rapidly becomes unbearable. Finally, he takes the decision to leave his wife but she takes revenge by shooting him in a Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian café
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
.
Analysis
Despite receiving very mixed reviews upon release, La Peau douce is considered by some Truffaut specialists to be one of his strongest efforts. Strangely, the director's own life followed the same path as the uncertain Lachenay's when Truffaut left his wife for Fanny ArdantFanny Ardant
Fanny Marguerite Judith Ardant is a French actress. She has appeared in more than fifty motion pictures since 1976. Ardant won the César Award for Best Actress in 1997 for her performance in Pédale douce.-Early life:...
. For the expectant audience, it was quite afar from the kinetic joie de vivre of Jules et Jim and possibly perceived as overly serious for a director who had tended towards lighter films up to that point.
Cast
- Jean DesaillyJean DesaillyJean Desailly was a French actor. He was a member of the Comédie-Française from 1942 – 1946, and later participated in about ninety movies.Desailly was married to the French actress Simone Valère....
- Pierre Lachenay - Françoise DorléacFrançoise DorléacFrançoise Dorléac was a French actress. Born in Paris, she was the daughter of screen actor Maurice Dorléac and Renée Deneuve, and was the elder sister of Catherine Deneuve. The two sisters starred together in the 1967 musical, The Young Girls of Rochefort...
- Nicole - Nelly Benedetti - Franca Lachenay
- Daniel CeccaldiDaniel CeccaldiDaniel Ceccaldi was a French actor.He was born in Meaux, Seine-et-Marne, France. The mild-mannered Daniel Ceccaldi is famous as Claude Jade's father Lucien Darbon in François Truffaut's movies Stolen Kisses and Bed & Board.Note: Christine refers to him twice as "Lucien", not papa, indicating...
- Clément - Laurence Badie - Ingrid
- Sabine HaudepinSabine HaudepinSabine Haudepin is a French actress. She has appeared in over 50 films since 1962. She was born in Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.-Selected filmography:* Jules and Jim * The Soft Skin * Sweet Movie...
- Sabine Lachenay - Philippe Dumat - Movie theater manager in ReimsReimsReims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
- Dominique Lacarrière - Lachenay's assistant Dominique
- Paule Emanuele - Odile
- Jean Lanier - Michel
- Maurice GarrelMaurice GarrelMaurice Garrel was a French film actor.Garrel was born in Saint-Servais, Isère. He appeared in over a hundred films and was nominated twice for a César Award for best supporting actor: in 1991 for La Discrète and in 2005 for Kings and Queen.Garrel was the father of producer Thierry Garrel and...
- Bontemps - Pierre Risch - Chanoine
- François TruffautFrançois TruffautFrançois Roland Truffaut was an influential film critic and filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the French film industry. He was also a screenwriter, producer, and actor working on over twenty-five...
- Gas station attendant (voice) - Carnero - Lisbon organizer (uncredited)
- Georges de Givray - Nicole's father (uncredited)
- Catherine-Isabelle Duport - Young girl (uncredited)
- Maximiliènne Harlaut - Mme. Leloix (uncredited)
- Charles Lavialle - Night watchman at Hôtel Michelet (uncredited)
- Gérard Poirot - Franck (co-pilot) (uncredited)
- Olivia Poli - Mme. Bontemps (uncredited)
- Thérèse Renouard - Cashier (uncredited)
- Jean-Louis RichardJean-Louis Richard-Biography:Born as Jean Marius Richard in Paris, Richard was Jeanne Moreau's first husband from 1949 to 1951.-Selected Filmography:* 2003 : Mister V. by Émilie Deleuze : Patrice Lemoigne* 2003 : Mauvais esprit by Patrick Alessandrin...
- Man in street (uncredited) - Brigitte Zhendre-Laforest - Linen delivery woman (uncredited)