Stolen Kisses
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| Stolen Kisses (Baisers Volés) |
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| Directed by | François Truffaut |
| Produced by | François Truffaut Marcel Berbert |
| Written by | François Truffaut |
| Starring | Jean-Pierre Léaud Claude Jade Delphine Seyrig |
| Release date(s) | August 14, 1968 |
| Running time | 90 min. |
| Language | French |
| IMDb profile | |
Stolen Kisses (French: Baisers volés) is a 1968 French film directed by François Truffaut. It follows the "Adventures of Antoine Doinel" from The 400 Blows and begins his relation to Christine; it is followed by Bed & Board and Love on the Run.
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[edit] Plot
Antoine (Jean-Pierre Léaud) loves his new sweetheart, violinist Christine Darbon (Claude Jade). Christine is with friends when he drops by, and her parents must entertain Antoine themselves. After she learns that Antoine has returned from military service, she goes to greet him at his new job as a hotel night clerk. It is a promising sign that perhaps this time, the romance will turn out happily for Antoine.
Later, Christine attempts to guess Antoine's latest job, amusingly tossing out guesses like cab driver or water taster. Finally, his job as a private detective is revealed. Throughout the film, Antoine works to maintain the job, working a case that requires him to pose as a shoe store stockboy. The job separates Antoine from his relationship with Christine. Soon, he falls for his employer's attractive wife. By the film's end, Antoine has become a TV repairman. He has been holding a grudge against Christine, so she wins him back by calling his company for TV repair service. The company sends Antoine, who is then forced to stay for hours trying to fix an irreparable TV. Morning finds the two of them in bed together.
The film's final scene shows the newly engaged Antoine and Christine, strolling in the park. A strange man who has trailed Christine for days approaches the couple and declares his love for Christine. He describes his love as “definitive” and unlike the “temporary” love of “temporary people”. When he walks away, Christine explains that the man must be mad. Antoine, recognising similarities in much of his own previous behaviour, admits, “He must be”.
[edit] Casting
For the role of Christine Darbon, Truffaut cast a nineteen-year-old actress, Claude Jade, who had impressed him in the stage play Enrico IV. Truffaut had been "completely taken by her beauty, her manners, her kindness, and her joie de vivre."[citation needed]
[edit] Cast
- Jean-Pierre Léaud (Antoine Doinel)
- Claude Jade (Christine Darbon)
- Daniel Ceccaldi (Christine's father)
- Claire Duhamel (Christine's mother)
- Delphine Seyrig (Fabienne Tabard)
- Michael Lonsdale (Georges Tabard)
[edit] Critics
"Stolen Kisses" was loved by critics all over the world. An article from the New York Times published March 4, 1969, said: "With what can only be described as cinematic grace, Truffaut's point of view slips in and out of Antoine so that something that on the surface looks like a conventional movie eventually becomes as fully and carefully populated as a Balzac novel. There is not a silly or superfluous incident, character, or camera angle in the movie. Truffaut is the star of the film, always in control, whether the movie is ranging into the area of slapstick, lyrical romance or touching lightly on DeGaulle's France (a student demonstration on the TV screen). His love of old movies is reflected in plot devices (overheard conversations), incidental action (two children walking out of a drug store wearing Laurel and Hardy masks), and in the score, which takes Charles Trenet's 1943 song, known here as "I Wish You Love," and turns it into a joyous motif."
[edit] External links
- Stolen Kisses at the Internet Movie Database
- Stolen Kisses review from the New York Times, published March 4, 1969
- Criterion Collection essay by Andrew Sarris
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The Adventures of Antoine Doinel by François Truffaut |
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The 400 Blows | Antoine and Colette | Stolen Kisses | Bed and Board | Love on the Run |
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| 1950s | Une Visite • Les Mistons • Une Histoire d'eau • The 400 Blows |
| 1960s | Shoot the Piano Player • Jules and Jim • Antoine and Colette • The Soft Skin • Fahrenheit 451 • The Bride Wore Black • Stolen Kisses • Mississippi Mermaid |
| 1970s | The Wild Child • Bed and Board • Two English Girls • Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me • Day for Night • The Story of Adele H. • Small Change • The Man Who Loved Women • The Green Room • Love on the Run |
| 1980s | The Last Metro • The Woman Next Door • Confidentially Yours |
| Screenplay only | Breathless • The Little Thief • Belle Époque (miniseries) |
