Diagonaldi
Very well executed
Actuakers
One of my all time favorites.
TrueHello
Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
Polaris_DiB
Truffaut's Antoine Doinel avatar returns in a cute movie about a young man newly experiencing marital bliss. This means, of course, that arguments are to be had, babies to be birthed, and infidelity to be explored. Now of course I wouldn't mind a beautiful Japanese woman either, but I'm not married and this turn of events was rather predictable. Nevertheless, it's all romance and good cheer as Doinel slowly learns that he really does love his wife and no other, and grows more and more frustrated with the other woman who expects too much of him. At least it's not Fatal Attraction, but a strange Jan Svankmajer-like flower decomposing scene, followed by a campy reveal, makes the movie a little bit more interesting than your typical domestic drama.Though, to be perfectly honest, I prefer the 400 Blows. Nevertheless! Francophiles will have a lot of fun watching the small urban community that satellites the action, and Truffaut's direction and cinematography is gorgeous in its own right. Just don't expect anything profound in this comedy about a moody young Frenchman feeling a little confused (haven't seen that before, aye?).--PolarisDiB
rjyelverton
"Board" almost becomes a great film, but is dragged down by a regrettable, forgettable romance between Antoine and a stereotypically exotic, distant Asian temptress. Christine and Antoine are now married and "Board" will focus on the simultaneous distance and close connection that marriage can create. Antione finds himself bored with his wife sexually--"Bed and Bored"--without the challenge of pursuit, but ultimately finds himself longing the connection and comfort he shares with his lover.While "Kisses" featured a frequently slapdash editing style, Truffaut's direction in "Board" is fluid and dynamic. It opens with a delightful sequence following Christine's feet down a city street as we are cleverly introduced to Mrs. Doinel for the first time. "Kisses" is often chaotic and oddly directed while Truffaut appears to be in full control of this installment. The camera pans and swoops with precision and grace and the editing is concise. This film features some of the most assured direction of the series.Much of the film's action takes place in Antoine and Christine's neighborhood: a collection of apartment buildings with windows and doors emptying into a shared courtyard. It's a small, boisterous community whose characters in their boisterousness and choleric temper recall a Fellini ensemble. While in this neighborhood, the film enchants, but then we are taken outside of it and into a regrettable storyline involving another dead end job for Antoine and a boring affair.Antoine and Christine anchor the film and keep you watching. Leaud still charms and scenes late in the film when he realizes he loves Christine deeply, though his lust may have cooled, are touching and painful. The two portions of the film inside and outside the marriage are uncomfortably incongruous, but Truffaut's assured direction and the film's ensemble ultimately redeem the uneven film.
RARubin
No #4 in the Antoine series, five films beginning with 400 Blows, Antoine, the dreamer, has got himself a fine young wife, his opposite really, prim and well mannered. Their romantic first year is a series of funny neighbors and comical whimsy. I learned how to die the color of flowers, more interesting than one would think. I learned about hurrying a wife along by throwing her coat and bag down a stairway. I learned that relationships go wrong when one gives in to lust. Hey, I knew that.Jean-Pierre Leaud has a physical resemblance to Truffaut. These episodic films, the ones in color that I have seen remind one of a HBO mini-series. His autobiographical Doinel is from a broken family. In the 400 blows, a masterpiece really of the New French Cinema in the late 50's, we see the lonely kid grasping for understanding. In subsequent films, we see the young adult Doinel grasp at relationship and career. The next beautiful woman is always around the corner. In Bread and Board, the femme fatale is 70's Japanese Go Go Chick, Hiroko Berghauer. Notice the heavy eye make-up on the women that make them look like zombies.
MartinHafer
Unfortunately, I saw this film AFTER I saw the other Antoine Doinel films by Truffaut. Because it was seen out of sequence, I KNEW that Antoine was destined to destroy his happy marriage with his philandering. So, the movie was a wistful "what might have been" throughout for me. And this is a REAL shame, as the first 2/3 of the movie really captivated me. It was charming, the characters likable and I really found myself rooting for them--even though I KNEW it wouldn't last. If only Truffaut had resisted the cynicism that so permeated the French New Wave of the 1960s and 1970s--it was as if, according to an unwritten rule, they HAD to make the story a real downer. I don't mind movies that end sadly, but after a healthy dose of "marriage and love stink" movies from Truffaut (and many of his contemporaries), I can't help but feel depressed and wonder if I should spend more time watching Japanese, American or other types of cinema. CAN'T they just live happily ever after SOME TIMES!?
