Baisers volés (1968)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

François Truffaut

Writers:

François Truffaut (scenario and dialogue) and
Claude de Givray (scenario and dialogue) ...

Release Date:

February 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Comedy

Plot:

Antoine Doinel joined the army but has just been discharged. The film tells his reunion with Christine Darbon...

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Female Nudity | Paris | Detective Agency | Magician

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Jean-Pierre Léaud	...	Antoine Doinel
Delphine Seyrig	...	Fabienne Tabard
Claude Jade	...	Christine Darbon
Michael Lonsdale	...	Georges Tabard (as Michel Lonsdale)
Harry-Max	...	Monsieur Henri
André Falcon	...	Monsieur Blady
Daniel Ceccaldi	...	Monsieur Darbon
Claire Duhamel	...	Madame Darbon
Catherine Lutz	...	Catherine
Martine Ferrière	...	Gérante
Jacques Rispal	...	Monsieur Colin
Serge Rousseau	...	L'inconnu
Paul Pavel	...	Julien
François Darbon	...	Adjudant Picard
Albert Simono	...	Albani (as Simono)

Also Known As:

Stolen Kisses (USA)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12 (re-rating) | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Les Films du Carrosse

Goofs:

Continuity: When Antoine kisses Christine in the basement, he pushes her back against the wall. The walls are dirty and leave black stains across the back of her sweater. When they leave and she reaches the top of the stairs the stains are gone.

Quotes:

Georges Tabard: Do you speak English, Antoine?
Antoine Doinel: I'm learning from records, but it's not easy.
Georges Tabard: Records are a joke. There's only one way to learn: in bed with an English girl. It's time you learned. I learned with an Australian girl while her husband was at work painting houses.
Fabienne Tabard: Like Hitler.
Georges Tabard: Don't ever say Hitler was a housepainter. That's slander. Hitler painted landscapes.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Day for Night: An Appreciation (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Que reste t'il de nos amours

Charmed

I saw this film not long after it first came out. I was at university, and about the same age as Antoine Doinel in the film. I was charmed by it then, and I have remained charmed by it ever since. I have seen it another 2 or 3 times in the more than 30 years since then.

A few scenes are prominent in my memory. The visit to the brothel after his discharge from the army, and Antoine's rejection there of the girl who refused to kiss. The scene where Antoine repeats the name of Fabienne Tabard, and then his own name, twenty or so times. Fabienne's hesitant offer to Antoine. The self-possession and delicately serene beauty of Christine. Antoine's written proposal and Christine's written acceptance (beautifully described in a comment here by OliverLamar).

I do not think Truffaut was attempting to make any deep statements about life or love, and certainly not politics, with this film. He was showing some incidents from the lives of two young adults, and pointing up their essential innocence. He had a very observant eye and the gift of being able to paint a picture with a few simple strokes, and in this film he uses those gifts fully. It's a lovely film.