L'eau à la bouche (1960) User Reviews

a witness of the surge of French New Wave(let)

[dbdumonteil · 5/10 · 11 March 2007]

At the dawn of the sixties in France, the New Wave was like a tsunami on the shore of the domain of French cinema and even nowadays, it still fuels many movie-lovers' bickering. Claude Chabrol shot two works in a row: "le Beau Serge" (1958), "les Cousins" (1959) and they were the jewels of the New Wave crown. François Truffaut received kudos for his treatment of stolen childhood with the overrated "les 400 coups" (1959). Jean Luc Godard (excuse me "God Ard") was kicking the detective genre (and French cinema into the bargain) with "A Bout De Soufflé" (1960).

So, on this surge, it was inevitable for Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, both a critic and the editor of "les Cahiers Du Cinéma" to step back into the breach and to show his own methodology of film-making with "l'Eau à la Bouche". But if his peers left well-known pieces of work, practically all Doniol-Valcroze's films are now in limbo except this one, helped by Serge Gainsbourg's languorous music and "la Maison Des Bories" (1970).

"L'Eau à la Bouche" paved a reliable way for Eric Rohmer's sloppy filmography who was certainly paying close attention to Doniol-Valcroze's debut effort. Set in a lascivious castle, the grandchildren of a dead lady are gathered with a notary to share her inheritance. Very quickly, light-hearted gallantries brew and underpin this reunion. Unlike "la Maison Des Bories" which wasn't very New Wave, l'Eau à la Bouche is a zeitgeist of the tendencies of this trend: there are a lot of fades to black, sequences that are quite abruptly cut and a scenario that tends to get loose halfway through. As for these characters who haven't got weighty problems, is it sensible to care for them? If you're a Rohmer devotee, you may disagree with me. It's watchable at a pinch for its actors who later were to find parts that lived up to their talents.

More mouth-extending than mouth-watering

[Spondonman · 7/10 · 14 March 2015]

I saw this many years ago but was too young or slow to know if it meant anything or was worth re-watching sometime; the answer a few decades later imho is No on both counts. It's classically pointless, coldly stylised and as arch as the lie that the flatlining plot depends on. I admit it was certainly good to look at and dreamily contemplate upon over the top of a glass! But, this is a motion picture not a tone poem, right?

After a stylish opening credit sequence it all begins with a rather corny "It all began a month ago" to flashback back to the beginning at the end. Unseen old grandmother dies, (some) of her relatives 2 men 2 women gather at a fantastic looking château in the Pyrenees for the reading of the Will and then indulge themselves languorously in humourless routine sexual horseplay in her memory. Although they then thought it was 1960 and frank and free there were only a few arty nude scenes; thankfully a full-frontal four-way was then out of the question for all of the libertines associated in the production of this - other masterpieces from the era such as L'Avventura, La Dolce Vita and Bout Le Soufflé were similarly hidebound by such convention too. The splendid château and the atmospheric black and white photography of it are the only things I can recommend the unwary to watch this particular film for. The naughty shenanigans and sly frisson continually going on are utterly childish and are pointless diversions - from a purely artistic study of all the eye-watering architecture…and all those paintings and statues of naked women! Milena says goodbye twice to Robert but then they get it on; Miguel has it bad for Milena but services Fifine who has it bad for Robert; dear Prudence has it away with Cesar, a man she thought a pig a few hours previously; yawwwwn. And as for the Lie itself: what was the point in it, in revealing it, in ignoring it? It was extremely well-made and got the languid ambiance over perfectly but apart from that the only point I could see in it was that I was watching six sex-mad human animals in a precise arty romp for precisely no reason at all.

Love and lies in a french castle

[andrabem-1 · 8/10 · 27 March 2011]

The death of their grandmother leaves to her grandchildren Milena , Jean-Paul and Seraphine all her possessions. Milena (Françoise Brion) waits at her grandmother's castle for her cousins Jean-Paul (Paul Guers) and Seraphine (Alexandra Stewart). Milena hardly knows them. The last time she saw Jean-Paul he was one year old. Seraphine (called Fifine by her friends) arrives first and later comes Jean-Paul. Other characters in the film are the majordomo Cesar (Michel Galabru) and the maid, Prudence (Bernadette Lafont) that will provide the comic moments of the film. Miguel (Gerard Barray, the notary, will be in the castle for the reading of the will. Miguel knows Milena quite well and has been her intimate friend. And there will be the fourth man. He's the real man!

"L'eau a la bouche" (whose English title seems to be "A game for six lovers") is a comedy of errors and mistakes. Its story is simple enough - the women are looking for love (and sex) and so are the men. There will be love, lies, misunderstandings, little dramas etc., but "L'eau a la bouche" doesn't lose the light touch and it plays a game with the story and its formulas. The story may remind some people of the vaudeville plays of the early 20th century in France, but "L'eau a la bouche" is typical "nouvelle vague". The film should be watched in the same way that one listens to good jazz music. A story is told but it's the atmosphere and the mood that make the film. Those that watch the film just for the story will probably be disappointed. They could find the film fluffy and inconsequential, but those that really love cinema as an audiovisual art will like the cameras, the discreet lighting, the scenery, in short, they will feel the charm of the film. I also liked particularly well the beautiful actresses Françoise Brion, Bernadette Lafont and Alexandra Stewart - three different kinds of beauty.

The story takes place in a castle in the countryside (a green valley that spreads till the horizon and from far away we can see the mountains). The castle is surrounded by gardens and there's an artificial round pond (good for swimming) that has a wooden pavilion in the middle. Inside the castle, luxurious decors, soft lights that help to create an intimate atmosphere, old pictures where naked women show and look - maybe they point the way. There's a moment of joy when the night is deep and the camera circles round the castle, the soundtrack enhances the beauty of the moment. We see just the outline of the castle lost in the vastness of the night - the poetry of darkness.

I've really enjoyed "L'eau a la bouche". The film doesn't intend to be a masterpiece, but it's intelligent and stylish. Recommended for those who love the "nouvelle vague".

a waste for novelle vague

[Ricky-70 · 24 October 2000]

apart from the beautiful sound track by Gainsbourg the film in itself is a waste of time for the spectators. A very corny love story, a classical menage a trois where the life experience of the character result obscure, hide. The film is based on a white lie that is the foundation of the plot. Anyway I suggest it to the film collectors.