Bonjour Tristesse (1958)

Cecile, decadent young girl who lives with her rich playboy father Raymond. When Anne, Raymond's old love interest, comes to Raymond's villa, Cecile is afraid for her way of life.

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

Arthur Laurents (screenplay), Françoise Sagan (based on the novel by) (as Francoise Sagan)

Stars:

Jean Seberg, David Niven, Deborah Kerr

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Deborah Kerr	...	Anne Larson
David Niven	...	Raymond
Jean Seberg	...	Cecile
Mylène Demongeot	...	Elsa
Geoffrey Horne	...	Philippe
Juliette Gréco	...	Herself
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

Storyline

Cecile, decadent young girl who lives with her rich playboy father Raymond. When Anne, Raymond's old love interest, comes to Raymond's villa, Cecile is afraid for her way of life.

---

Plot Keywords:

playboy | french riviera | french literature | foreign language adaptation | based on novel | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

February 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bonjour Tristesse

Filming Locations:

Côte d'Azur, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wheel Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Mylène Demongeot, Françoise Sagan could buy a convertible Jaguar with the adaptation of her novel, a car which she drove barefoot.

---

Goofs

We hear the Band at c.6'50" and we see a clarinet-player performing, but the music has no clarinet part whatsoever included at that point in the soundtrack. Later, when the clarinet does eventually join the soundtrack, the fingering of the player bears absolutely no relation to the music actually being heard.

---

Quotes

Cecile: Albertine! I mean Léontine! Slight maid problem. Some weird sisters rotate working for us.
Anne Larson: Weird? How?
Cecile: Every week one or the other is suddenly stricken with some odd malady. Maybe it's us.
Maid: Yes, Mademoiselle?
Cecile: Oh! Léontine...
Maid: Léontine has a bad liver. I am her sister, Claudine.

---

Connections

Referenced in Bass on Titles (1977)

---

Soundtracks

Bonjour Tristesse
Music by Georges Auric
English lyrics by Arthur Laurents
Sung by Juliette Gréco

User Reviews

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