At the Liberation, Ilva escapes infamy thanks to two American soldiers, a black boxer and a wealthy family’s son who, heir to one of the great fortunes in the United States, joined the war to relieve his boredom as a photographer.
Ilva falls in love with both men and shares them. But one day, she must choose which one to marry.
Indecisive, Ilva decides by flipping a coin.
Her troubles are just beginning and form the starting point and the thread of the film’s plot, which concludes with a murder accusation and a court trial where a young lawyer, a jazz pianist in his spare time, defends her. There, the film resumes its main storyline, leading to its stereotypical conclusion.
Claude Lelouch, whose significant contribution to modern French cinema since his first opus ‘A Man and a Woman’ (1966) and other successful films cannot be denied, could he be like those old sports champions accused of having played one too many matches or raced one too many races?
At over 70 years and for his 50 years in cinema, his 43rd film leaves the viewer with the feeling of having watched a romantic serial, with a pleasant script, well shot in the director’s characteristic style (disjointed episodes connected by flashbacks), good actors, and beautiful music by the eternal Francis Lai that sets both the tone and rhythm.
But ultimately, after two hours of footage, one is left without emotion, like in a modern Western where the roles are assigned from the beginning and the outcome is already known.
Finally, a Lelouch film, now repetitive in its obsession with vast frescoes filled with clichés, conventional dialogues, laborious transitions, is still undoubtedly able to hold the viewer’s attention but no longer to inspire enthusiasm.
Time passes for everyone, and in Claude Lelouch’s work, there are signs of wear due to time: we are not necessarily what we once were!
