Benjamin ou Les mémoires d'un puceau (1968)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Michel Deville

Writers:

Nina Companéez (writer)
Michel Deville (writer)

Release Date:

23 March 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Bound to be the 'IN' movie for '69!

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win

Cast

Michèle Morgan	...	Comtesse Gabrielle de Valandry
Michel Piccoli	...	Le comte Philippe de Saint-Germain / Count Philippe
Pierre Clémenti	...	Benjamin
Catherine Deneuve	...	Anne de Clécy
Francine Bergé	...	Marion
Anna Gaël	...	Célestine
Catherine Rouvel	...	Victorine
Tania Torrens	...	Mme De Chartres
Odile Versois	...	La conseillère / Married woman
Simone Bach	...	Mme La Tour
Angelo Bardi	...	Basile
Sacha Briquet	...	Celestin
André Cellier	...	Le conseiller
Lyne Chardonnet	...	Jacotte
Madeleine Damien	...	La vieille dame

Also Known As:

Benjamin (France) (short title)
The Diary of an Innocent Boy (USA)

Runtime:

USA:90 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:X

Company:

Parc Film

Surprised by simplicity

There is a very French economy in the story-telling here: how a young man loses his virginity. An experience that we all recognise, simply told. The park at the château Hennessy in Cognac is evocatively photographed, giving that sense of the idealised, lost manor, that the French love so much. (Alain-Fournier wrote a very pretty novel about that)

Pierre Clementi and Catherine Deneuve, two VERY decorative figures, are loved by the camera; their climactic, moon-lit encounter is wistfully nostalgic of the '60s, when taking off your clothes was An Event. Mme Morgan is the very embodiment of A Presence.

Now that châteaux are invariably conference centers for greasy-haired accountants, now that all Presences have left us for ever, now that we have taken off our clothes just about a million times, this simple film is surprisingly moving.