La sirène du Mississipi (1969)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

François Truffaut

Writers:

François Truffaut (dialogue)
François Truffaut (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 June 1969 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Louis Mahe is a tobacco planter at Reunion Island. He is waiting for Julie Roussel to marry her. He only knows her by mail...

Plot Keywords:

Island | Tobacco | Private Detective | Stockings | Coffee

Cast

Jean-Paul Belmondo	...	Louis Mahé
Catherine Deneuve	...	Julie Roussel / Marion Vergano
Nelly Borgeaud	...	Berthe
Martine Ferrière	...	Landlady
Marcel Berbert	...	Jardine
Yves Drouhet	...	Detective
Michel Bouquet	...	Camolli
Roland Thénot	...	Richard

Also Known As:

La mia droga si chiama Julie (Italy)
Mississippi Mermaid (USA)

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

French

Colour:

Colour (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Netherlands:12 | Canada:PG (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:12 (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Company:

Les Films du Carrosse

Trivia:

The original French title is spelled "La Sirène du Mississipi" (one P) in some sources, and "La Sirène du Mississippi" (two Ps) in other sources.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Psycho (1960)

Horrible Title, wanders a bit, remains interesting.

This must be one of the most horribly titled films of all time. The kind of title that ruins a film because it neither evokes the plot nor the characters. A title like this makes a film flop, even the French title is not much better. Too bad - Truffaut & Deneuve must have been enough to sell it..

This is a long film, but largely worth it. Clearly influenced by Hitchcock, we have an intercontinental story about a personal ad bride, her rich husband, a theft, an identity switch, and obsessive love. The plot here is actually very good, and takes us on an unexpected trip.

The thing that works both for and against the movie is the focus on the relationship. It is an interesting study in how these plot developments are played out in "real life relationship" with these two people. Unfortunately, this is what bogs the film down, and makes it ultimately dissatisfying. We do like films to have a real sense of finality, and that is missing here.

It was the case in many of her films that Deneuve became a canvas for Directors to play their fantasies out on, and this time it doesn't work as well. Messy here, is the fact that the Director clearly just wanted to have Deneuve take her top off a few times. Deneuve is an actress who always seems very deliberate and thoughtful, so these attempts to make her seem spontaneous fall flat.

Basically, the script needed to be worked out better before shooting began, to make this film tighter and shorter and to snap. But Truffaut didn't snap, did he? So - it wanders a bit, but remains interesting.