The Soft Skin (1964)

Pierre Lachenay is a well-known publisher and lecturer, married with Franca and father of Sabine, around 10. He meets an air hostess, Nicole. They start a love affair, which Pierre is hiding, but he cannot stand staying away from her.

Director:

François Truffaut

Writers:

François Truffaut (original scenario) (as F. Truffaut), Jean-Louis Richard (original scenario)

Stars:

Jean Desailly, Françoise Dorléac, Nelly Benedetti

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Jean Desailly	...	Pierre Lachenay
Françoise Dorléac	...	Nicole (as Françoise Dorleac)
Nelly Benedetti	...	Franca Lachenay
Daniel Ceccaldi	...	Clément
Laurence Badie	...	Ingrid
Philippe Dumat	...	Directeur cinéma Reims
Paule Emanuele	...	Odile
Maurice Garrel	...	Bontemps
Sabine Haudepin	...	Sabine Lachenay
Dominique Lacarrière	...	La secrétaire Dominique
Jean Lanier	...	Michel
Pierre Risch	...	Chanoine
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Maurice Magalon

Storyline

Pierre Lachenay, a middle-aged, well-known publisher and lecturer, is married to Franca, an unbalanced woman, and father of Sabine, a 10-year-old girl. While traveling to Lisbon for a lecture, Pierre Lachenay has a one night stand with Nicole, the Panair do Brasil air stewardess. He wants to see her again and again, they travel to Reims together, and Pierre hides the affair from his family, mostly to spare his daughter the anguish of a separation. Nicole is taking it lightly but Pierre, misunderstanding her feelings and expectations, decides to live with her. The couple's break-up leads to a tragic end.

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Plot Keywords:

neglected wife | adultery | flight attendant | airport | reims | 

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Taglines:

The Eternal Triangle At Its Most Eternal

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French Portuguese English

Release Date:

20 April 1964 (France)

Also Known As:

The Soft Skin

Filming Locations:

Lisbon, Portugal

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films du Carrosse,Societé d'Exploitation et de Distribution de Films (SEDIF),Simar Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min 119 min (director's cut) 110 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's seemingly melodramatic concluding incident is actually based on a real event which François Truffaut read about in a newspaper.

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Goofs

When Pierre is about to slip Nicole's phone number into his wallet, the close-up of the wallet has a different background (desk with white paper) than the previous medium shot.

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Quotes

Pierre Lachenay: I've learned that men's unhappiness arises from the inability to stay quietly in their own room.

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Connections

Featured in François Truffaut: Portraits volés (1993)

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Soundtracks

Pierre Et Nicole
Written and Performed by Georges Delerue Et Son Orchestre

User Reviews

Well-done but slow and a terrible ending

A middle-aged married man (Jean Desailly) starts an affair with young beautiful Nicole (Francoise Dorleac). It leads to predictable complications and a real howler of an ending.

Supposedly this is considered one of Francois Truffant's worst films. When it was shown at the Cannes Film Festival back in 1964 it was a fiasco. People were bored silly, there was LOTS of shiftings in seats, a few walk-outs and people hissing at the ending! While I agree it's not a good movie it's not THAT bad! It is well-directed with some sharp observations on love and relationships. There's some beautiful black and white cinematography and excellent acting from Dorleac and Nelly Bendetti (as the man's wife). However Desailly was a terrible actor (he didn't like Truffant and it comes across loud and clear), the film is slow-moving and the ending was so over the top I thought they were kidding! It's worth seeing a little for the acting, cinematography and ending but don't expect any great masterpiece.