Wow, that Max character is a good candidate for biggest asshole in movie history. Or as Trump would say, "a fine person".

The train is by far the best character in this. Only its motivations could I truely follow. 

Some beautiful shots and lighting in this but so far my least favorite Melville I’ve watched. Ready for some more crime, baby!

I pretty much detested this from the beginning, fell asleep halfways, had a nice dream about travelling the Balkans, continued the film and still didn't like it.

Although there was some interesting existential sensibility somewhere in this, as a whole it was messy and incredibly dumb at times. And not in a fun, entertaining way either! The narrative seemed to desperately shift its focus every 15 minutes, and especially that male chauvinist Max's character lacked any depth or interesting traits whatsoever, even though I felt he was made out to be "complex" or something. It kind of shone through that this was not a personal project for Melville.

When Bad Things Happen to People Who Deserve Worse

Melville apparently tried to disown this film, and it is an outlier compared to the crime dramas for which he is best known. But this tale of a garage mechanic who attempts to better his life by exploiting women, only to meet his match in a novitiate who has involuntarily left her convent for the sake of her little sister, is a well-constructed melodrama, if you can accept it on those terms.

a strong start muddled by truly unreadable intentions. was internally screaming at the nun to go full ms. 45.

Deliberate ambiguous romantic melodrama from Jean Pierre Melville. This has many of the elements one associates with the filmmaker, but organized in a manner that feels rather alien to him. The immersive quality of his world in particular eludes him here. A curious transitional film.

I ended this film thinking of what it could have been.

The ideas are there, interesting and complex by nature. But most of it's good concepts get screwed by it's undeveloped script, and the lazy and kinda ridiculous execution of many scenes. It pains me to say that Therese had to potential to be an outstanding character, and was completely wasted.

“There is a god for lovers. Didn’t you know?”

Em honra de Juliette Gréco (1927 - 2020).
Acho que o que mais gosto nesse filme é que ele começa como termina, numa volta circular para chegar no mesmo ponto, plus a mise-en-scène tinindo do Melville.
BlurayRip no MakingOff.

Criterion
Not sure why Melville disowned this one, I thought it was bloody excellent, great restoration from Rialto.

Movie Challenge 2021: 104 Years in 52 Weeks: Movie #49 out of 104

Intense drama, great melancholic atmosphere, absolutely solid performances, beautifully photographed (that scene on the beach around the 85-minute-mark - just amazing).

#52years21

Sorry Jean-Pierre I still love you.

It‘s not bad but it’s also not very good and it pales in comparison to other Melville movies.

Bruttino. E onestamente non ci credo che questo è Melville, perché praticamente contravviene a tutto quello che ha mostrato nei primi film. Qui, ancora più che in Les Enfants, non c'è più quella tensione psicologica e quell'asciuttezza che aveva caratterizzato il bellissimo esordio. Anzi. Tutto sembra andare nel verso del facile patetismo. La struttura del melò è assolutamente troppo smielata, sulla scia delle rom-com americane anni '50 da cui, però, riprende solamente gli aspetti più fictionali e faciloni. Nonostante una messa in scena che comunque regala alcuni segnali di brillantezza in due-tre scene, c'è comunque troppo poco mordente rispetto a quello che aveva mostrato lo stesso Melville precedentemente, che qui appare oltremodo appannato. Ingessati e fuori luogo i protagonisti. Juliette Gréco e Philippe Lemaire dimostrano di essere completamente fuori ruolo e fuori tempo, così come anche Irène Galter, onestamente, dà vita ad una figura troppo stereotipata e ai limiti del sopportabile cinematografico.
Brutto.

Melville this was down bad. 

💀💀💀

This took me MONTHS to track down a copy of, because fuck you, I refuse to pay $50 AUD to buy a blu ray of this film and it wasn’t available to rent anywhere in Australia and in no public library’s. It took me four days to finish because I just kept running out of time, but I just finished it off on the bus on my computer. 

This has some great elements don’t get me wrong but I’m sure this is Melville’s worst film. Some truly amazing cinematography though.

These characters were all petty terrible people hahaha. 

He clearly just needs to stick to genres where he can excel and that is in the crime and war genre. 

Still better than Breathless 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I managed to get a copy of Two Men In Manhattan too so I’ll be watching that next probably 

- Melville Ranked -

Early Jean-Pierre Melville film with psychological depth. If you've been exploring the great director's filmography, you may find this one a fish out of water, along with LES ENFANTS TERRIBLES. But WHEN YOU READ...is well worth getting to know. A tale of frustrated passion focused on a young woman on the verge of becoming a nun, who is forced to take over her family's business when her parents are accidentally killed. Set in Cannes and nicely shot in black and white, the film has an attractive atmosphere, with dark undertones. The woman (well played by famed singer Juliette Gréco) has a younger sister who is seduced by an evil playboy. Big trouble comes in when the older sister tries to force a marriage on him. Mostly well-acted all around and tautly directed, a decent film that stands on its own somewhat outside Melville's well-known canon.

I can't believe this was directed by Melville

Em honra de Juliette Gréco (1927 - 2020).
Acho que o que mais gosto nesse filme é que ele começa como termina, numa volta circular para chegar no mesmo ponto, plus a mise-en-scène tinindo do Melville.
BlurayRip no MakingOff.

My least favorite Melville I've seen so far. Let's get back to the crime my guy.

Phenomenally well made! God damn Melville knew how to make them.

a touch of Brechtian.

the lead male character is so aggressively disgusting and french

Opened in the Virtual Screening Room on Friday, July 3 and closed on Thursday, October 1.

The movie Harvey Weinstein should have seen in youth to scare him into taking better care of beautiful girls. At least Max of this piece is just as disgusting and self-centered as him so only a vengeful nun with a mission from God can stop him. Great photographed film with Melville choosing the best-looking French actresses he can find for Max’s desires. Only the add-on scene after the train affair ruin the impact.