Bonjour tristesse (1958)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

Françoise Sagan (novel)
Arthur Laurents (screenplay)

Release Date:

April 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Cecile, decadent young girl who lives with her rich playboy father Raymond. When Anne, Raymond's old love interest...

Plot Keywords:

Playboy | Riviera | French Riviera | Foreign Language Adaptation | Father Daughter Relationship

Cast

Deborah Kerr	...	Anne Larson
David Niven	...	Raymond
Jean Seberg	...	Cecile - Raymond's daughter
Mylène Demongeot	...	Elsa
Geoffrey Horne	...	Philippe
Juliette Gréco	...	Herself as a night club singer.
Walter Chiari	...	Pablo
Martita Hunt	...	Philippe's Mother
Roland Culver	...	Mr. Lombard
Jean Kent	...	Mrs. Helen Lombard
David Oxley	...	Jacques
Elga Andersen	...	Denise
Jeremy Burnham	...	Hubert
Eveline Eyfel	...	Maid
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tutte Lemkow	...	Pierre Schube (uncredited)
Maryse Martin	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Otto Preminger

Writing credits
Françoise Sagan		(novel) (as Francoise Sagan)
Arthur Laurents		(screenplay)

Produced by
John Palmer	....	associate producer
Otto Preminger	....	producer

Original Music by
Georges Auric

Cinematography by
Georges Périnal		(as George Perinal)

Film Editing by
Helga Cranston

Production Design by
Roger K. Furse		(as Roger Furse)

Art Direction by
Ray Simm		(as Raymond Simm)

Makeup Department
Gordon Bond	....	hair stylist
George Frost	....	makeup artist
Janou Pottier	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Erica Masters	....	production manager
Philippe Senné	....	production manager (as Philippe Senne)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Serge Friedman	....	assistant director
Adrian Pryce-Jones	....	assistant director

Art Department
Kumi Sugai	....	paintings

Sound Department
David Hawkins	....	sound editor
David Hildyard	....	sound
Red Law	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Denys N. Coop	....	camera operator (as Denys Coop)
Wally Fairweather	....	focus puller (uncredited)
Robert Willoughby	....	special still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Hope Bryce	....	costume coordinator
May Walding	....	wardrober

Music Department
Lambert Williamson	....	conductor

Other crew
Saul Bass	....	title designer
Eileen Head	....	script supervisor
Tutte Lemkow	....	choreographer: dances
Max Slater	....	assistant to producer

Production Companies

• Wheel Productions

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1958) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Cartier  jewellery
• Givenchy  gowns
• Hermès  garment accessories

Runtime:

USA:94 min | Argentina:94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Finland:S | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Côte d'Azur, France

Company:

Wheel Productions

Trivia:

Dominique Wilms was Otto Preminger's first choice for the part of Elsa, but she refused.

Quotes:

Anne Larson: You know, I spent my honeymoon by the sea 12 years ago.
Cecile: Did you like it? I mean, the place?
Anne Larson: Yes, I liked both it and the place.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker (1991)

Soundtrack:

Bonjour Tristesse

Jean Seberg weaves her magical charm on the viewer like none other.

Jean Seberg is an absolute joy. I just wanna give her a big fat hug and kiss... well that's just two things anyway. What makes Otto Preminger's film so wonderful is that Seberg is the right age to play the part of a spoiled rich girl coming of age. Also the film is given an authenticity and heart because it was written by Françoise Sagan when she was the same age as Cecile (Seberg). That's right, this amazing and brilliant work was penned by a 17-year old.

The plot is fairly standard. A young girl living with her playboy father becomes jealous of his new love and when marriage is proposed she does her best to break it up. Gee nothing remarkable there. What is remarkable is the characters and their relationships. They have an extra amount of depth and the situation between Cecile and her father, Raymond (David Niven) borders on the incestuous. This gives it an added dimension and depth when Anne (Deborah Kerr) threatens to "steal" her father away. Another place where it avoids clichés is dealing with Anne. Kerr plays her magnificently and with a warm passion. She is not the wicked step mother here, but a sympathetic and self sacrificing woman who wants to bring love and stability into Cecile and Raymond's morally ambiguous and flighty lifestyle. This film while a modest success in America was a huge hit in Europe and inspired Jean-Luc Godard to work with Seberg.

Bonjour Tristesse also foreshadowed the films dealing with the idle rich that quickly popped up in its wake including two masterpieces, Antonioni's L'avventura and Fellini's La Dolce Vita. Preminger directs Bonjour Tristesse with a sure hand and I love how the flashbacks are in color and the present day scenes are in a somber black and white to fit with the mood. Oh and yes the story is told in flashback for the most part and the technique along with Seberg's narration gives a heightened sense of loss that Cecile and Raymond feel towards the events that transpired concerning Anne. Remarkable film and Seberg is so delightful and hot running around in her bathing suit practically the whole time.

Grade: A