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

Truffaut had already bought the rights to the book Fahrenheit 451, but because it took such a long time to start production on that movie, he wrote and directed this movie first.

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Goofs

Pierre and Nicole are in a hotel elevator approaching the 8th floor, Pierre is on the right side. The following shot from outside the elevator shows Pierre on the opposite side.

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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

Referenced in Band of Outsiders (1964)

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Soundtracks

Retour À L'Hôtel
Written and Performed by Georges Delerue Et Son Orchestre

User Reviews

Love is sweet and bitter. Honeymoon becomes Bittermoon.

For starters, this movie wasn't really all that successful when it first came out. Things have changed since but I think that much of the people who see it today probably wouldn't if it wasn't for the prestige the director's name enjoys today. If you wanna know what I think, it's superior to the okay but mildly disappointing 'Jules et Jim'.

This is a movie that I'd recommend to all men who can't be loyal to their girlfriends/wives. I can recommend it for two reasons, depending on each case: to men who are aware of their lack of loyalty but can't stop and yet want to learn something from that ; or to men who simply don't want to get married and have kids or don't care about taking affairs with women seriously.

This movie is well directed, fun, romantic and at the same a harsh and almost sick movie about love. The ending is so harsh and shocking, proving how love can turn to hate and just how sick love can get.

Jean Desailly and Françoise Dorléac are superb in their respective roles and despite their age difference of 20+ years they have a perfect chemistry.

This should definitely be on Top 250.