Chambre verte, La (1978)

Director:

François Truffaut

Writers:

Jean Gruault (writer)
Henry James (novella "The altar of the dead")

Release Date:

5 April 1978 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A French little town, at the end of the twenties. Julien Davenne is a journalist whose wife Julie died a decade ago...

Plot Keywords:

Based On Story | Death | Dying Young | Obsessed With The Dead | Based On Novel

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

François Truffaut	...	Julien Davenne
Nathalie Baye	...	Cecilia Mandel
Jean Dasté	...	Bernard Humbert
Patrick Maléon	...	Georges
Jeanne Lobre	...	Mme Rambaud (as Jane Lobre)
Antoine Vitez	...	Bishop's secretary
Jean-Pierre Moulin	...	Gerard Mazet
Serge Rousseau	...	Paul Masigny
Jean-Pierre Ducos	...	Priest in the mortuary room
Annie Miller	...	Genevieve Mazet
Nathan Miller	...	Genevieve Mazet's son
Marie Jaoul	...	Yvonne Mazet
Monique Dury	...	Monique
Laurence Ragon	...	Julie Davenne
Marcel Berbert	...	Dr. Jardine

Also Known As:

The Green Room (USA)
The Vanishing Fiancée (USA)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Spain:13 | UK:A | Brazil:14 | France:U | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Caen, Calvados, France

Company:

Les Films du Carrosse

Trivia:

The photos on the chapel wall consist of François Truffaut's friends and idols, such as Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner, Jean Cocteau, Guillaume Apollinaire, Oscar Wilde and Henry James, the author of the story on which the film is based, as well as Maurice Jaubert, whose music is used in the film.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Jin tian de yu zen me yang? (2006)

Somber, great

I totally disagree with Maltin. Truffaut's The Green Room was destined not to be a crowd pleaser: unlike his most famous films celebrating life (Jules and Jim being the most obvious example) the film is serious in tone and deals with death, Truffaut himself playing the death-obsessed newspaperman.

The Green Room is nonetheless a very impressive film; the questions of the forms of love, life versus death, possession and the remembrance of those who have passed away are treated both intellectually (but not in an 'artsy' or artificial way) and emotionally (but not in a melodramatic way despite an interwoven love story).

The film is surprisingly short and the ending comes even a bit abruptly, so contrary to possible expectations it is not long and dull. The Green Room reminded me of The Magnificent Ambersons and (John Huston's) The Dead, which are also films to be recommended.