Amazon.com

This documentary about the life and career of the late French master, François Truffaut, offers a lot of intriguing information that draws striking parallels between the stories he told in film and the ones he lived in real life. The film goes to great lengths to find the truth about his long-missing father and to tell relate his attempts to track down his real dad. Still, despite interviews with most of the stars and contemporaries who knew him best, the man at the center of this retrospective kept himself too deeply hidden to be able to truly explore what led to the amazing body of work he left behind. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (2)

For Truffaut fans only
This movie is very well titled. This is by no means a complete portrait of Francois Truffaut. It is only a few "Stolen Portraits" strung together.

Much of the footage here is quite interesting and informative. What is most noticeable about the film, however, is not what is included but what is missing. A previous reviewer remarked on the notable absence of Jean-Pierre Leaud. To that I would also ask, since Truffaut was so noted for his work with children, why no interview with the grown-up Jean-Pierre Cargol from the "Wild Child"? Or with any of the kids from "Small Change?" And what I wouldn't have given for an interview with Isabelle Adjani!

There is one brief scene where Truffaut and Cargol are seen talking between takes of "The Wild Child." It is the only scene in this movie where we see Truffaut being Truffaut, and it leaves you wanting much, much more.

Still, I give the movie three stars because it is a valuable reference for anyone who considers themself a major Truffaut fan. However, the movie should really come with the warning "For Truffaut fans only" because if you are asking yourself "Who is Francois Truffaut?"...this movie is not a good introduction. Go watch "The 400 Blows" instead.

Incomplete Portrait
Rarely-seen photos and personal reminiscences color much of this occasionally dry but often compelling 1993 French documentary on the life and work of landmark film director Francois Truffaut. Most of the interviewed participants are those one would expect - close colleagues and family members. However, several vital figures are conspicuously absent; despite appearances from fellow New Wave directors Eric Rohmer and Claude Chabrol, Truffaut's friend (and equally important filmmaker) Jean-Luc Godard is nowhere to be seen. Gerard Depardieu (who starred in two Truffaut films) speaks; leading ladies Fanny Ardant and Marie-France Pisier are also included. Jeanne Moreau (who starred in Truffaut's "Jules and Jim" and had a longterm relationship with the director), however, is not. Neither is equally legendary Catherine Deneuve, who was also an offscreen paramour and onscreen lead in two Truffaut films. Perhaps the most conspicuous absence is that of actor Jean-Pierre Leaud, who for five films inhabited the role of Truffaut's alter ego, Antoine Doinel, from adolescence to adulthood. The father-son bond between actor and director lasted for 25 years (until Truffaut's untimely death). With the film's apparent focus on Truffaut's paternal manner with some of his actors and the director's nonexistent relationship with his own parents, Leaud's experiences and observations would have undoubtedly provided further insight. Infrequently seen footage, including Leaud's screen-test for "The 400 Blows", and of Truffaut presenting an award to Alfred Hitchcock, nearly make up for the notable absentees. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Alfred Hitchcock hadn't made a spy thriller since the 1930s, so his 1969 adaptation of Leon Uris's bestseller seemed like a curious choice for the director. But Hitchcock makes Uris's story of the West's investigation into the Soviet Union's dealings with Cuba his own. Frederick Stafford plays a French intelligence agent who works with his American counterpart (John Forsythe) to break up a Soviet spy ring. The film is a bit flat dramatically and visually, and there are sequences that seem to occupy Hitchcock's attention more than others. A minor work all around, with at least two alternative endings shot by Hitchcock. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (21)

International Top-Cast
After a Russian officer defects to the United States, the gouvernment learns of a special French intelligence agent in Cuba, called Topaz. It seems Topaz has access to NATO secrets and in turn, deals that information to the Russians, which means a double agent must be involved somewhere. The Russian agent reveals all this to Michael Nordstrom (John Forsythe), who decides the best course of action to call on his friend and trusted associate,Andre Devereaux (Frederick Stafford, who spend some days with his wife Nicole (Dany Robin), his young-married daughter Michèle (Claude Jade) and his son-in-law Francois Picard (Michel Subor) in New York. So Devereaux heads off to Havana, where he hopes to learn more about Topaz and also scout the potential missiles that have been rumored to exist in the area. There his love Juanita (Karin Dor) is killed by diplomate Parra (John Vernon). Andre follows his family to Paris to find out, who leads "Topaz". Michèle ask her mother for help to Andre, but Nicole says "There's nothing I can do" - Nicole haves an affair with the leader von "Topaz"... This movie turns out to be decent enough, but it seems like a real let down, since it came from the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. Betrayal between all the persons, played by an international cast: young Claude Jade, made famous by Francois Truffaut's "Stolen Kisses" and "Bed & Board", as Andre's worried daughter, Dany Robin also from France as her mother, Michel Subor from Godard's "Little Soldier" as son-in-law, Michel Piccoli and Philippe Noiret as "topaz"-spies, the german actress Karin Dor as the cuban lady in Hitchcock's most underrated thriller.

Good, But You Can Certainly Do Better
After 1966's "Torn Curtain" flopped, Hitchcock decided to make another spy thriller. "Topaz", based on Leon Uris's best - selling novel of the same name, is meant to be an exciting, suspenseful espionage thriller involving nuclear missiles in Cuba. Despite a few engaging sequences, that show Hitch still had it, the film comes off as a second - rate James Bond flick rather than a Hitchcock masterpiece.

John Forsythe (the only recognizable actor in the entire cast) plays a CIA agent who recruits a French Operative named Devereaux (Frederick Stafford, who gives a great performance despite the film's flaws)to help him find out if rumors of Russian missiles in Cuba are true. His investigation leaves behind a string of casualities who either kill themselves or get murdered. The plot seems cool, but it's slow - moving and hard to follow at some points.

The main thing that keeps "Topaz" afloat is the top - notch acting. Hitchcock clearly thought that great acting would triumph over starpower, which is why he filled the cast with highly talented unknowns. In the past, legends like Sean Connery, Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, Gregory Peck, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, and a host of others starred in Hitchcock masterpieces and gave great performances in their roles, but at same points were unconvincing. The acting in "Topaz" is flawless; I recommend it.

Decent Hitchcock espionage drama
Frederick Stafford playing a French intelligence officer collaborates with John Forsythe, an American counterpart to garner information concerning Russia's involvement in Cuba in 1962. A high ranking KGB official defects from Russia and his debriefing prompts Stafford to enter Cuba, at the urging of the U.S., to conduct surveillance on the import of missiles.

Stafford gathers intel provided by his Cuban mistress, a widow of a top revolutionary played by an attractive Karin Dor of James Bond fame. He manages to smuggle out the information under the suspicious eye of bearded Castro crony John Vernon.

Learning from Forsythe of the existence of an espionage ring, code named Topaz, a group of French politicos spying for the Russians, Stafford sets out to smash it.

Topaz lacked the gripping intrigue so often present in Hitchcock's work. My appreciation for his body of work led me to be generous with my rating.

Excellent spy movie.
This is an excellent film. First rate. It has an intelligent plot cleverly scripted by Samuel Taylor (Sabrina, Vertigo), based on Leon Uris's novel. Uris had probably access to inside information about the "Saffire" affair (whence "Topaz") and mingled fact and fiction as masters of his craft can do.

Hitchcock delivers suspense, humor, great cinematography, a story that unfolds with ease and relative verossimilitude. Karin Dor is very beatiful, and Frederick Sttafford cuts a fine figure of a man.

The bonus material includes an interview with Leonard Maltin, who shows great appreciation of the movie. However, he doesn't mention a factor which, in my view, stood in the way of its recognition when it was released and still stands now: Communist Cuba is presented as a place where torture is practiced, and its leaders are uncouth and ridiculous. The CIA men are the gooddies. Unforgivable in 1969, and even now, in Europe and it seems in the US where we must sing praises for "Comandante" and things like that. This is surely at least 70% of its lack of appreciation, and not the "transparencies" or the uncertanties about its ending.

One scene has been particularly praised, and it is only one among a score: when Cuban head Rico Parra (John Vernon) kills Juanita de Cordoba (Karin Dor). Not only the image is visually astounding, but the words: "You can't judge... not you" Rico says to Juanita before sparing her torture... bu shooting her. Also stunning the image where the two members of the Cuban resistance lie after martyrdom like Jesus and His Mother in Michelangelo's "Pietà". Wonderful movie, exiting, epic... without the excesses of the caritaturesque Bond series.

John Forsythe makes the film. Three different endings.
This is perhaps the only Alfred Hitchcock color film I have not seen, until now. It is a rarity for television. And it would be edited for television broadcast anyway. Now on DVD, you can see TOPAZ in its entirty. If you have seen TOPAZ before, well here is the surprise. There are three very different endings of the film you may have not seen yet. This DVD version will show them all to you. If the ending chosen leaves you flat, in the Bonus Material section, you can see all three alternate endings and decide the one you like best. John Forsythe (Bachelor Father [1957-62],Charlie's Angels [1976-1981] as voice of "Charlie", Dynasty [1981-89]) sure does make the beginning act of the film much more interesting to watch. I can not say this is the best of Hitchcock, but I would recommend: REAR WINDOW (1954) and ROPE (1948). ... Read more

Reviews (21)

International Top-Cast
After a Russian officer defects to the United States, the gouvernment learns of a special French intelligence agent in Cuba, called Topaz. It seems Topaz has access to NATO secrets and in turn, deals that information to the Russians, which means a double agent must be involved somewhere. The Russian agent reveals all this to Michael Nordstrom (John Forsythe), who decides the best course of action to call on his friend and trusted associate,Andre Devereaux (Frederick Stafford, who spend some days with his wife Nicole (Dany Robin), his young-married daughter Michèle (Claude Jade) and his son-in-law Francois Picard (Michel Subor) in New York. So Devereaux heads off to Havana, where he hopes to learn more about Topaz and also scout the potential missiles that have been rumored to exist in the area. There his love Juanita (Karin Dor) is killed by diplomate Parra (John Vernon). Andre follows his family to Paris to find out, who leads "Topaz". Michèle ask her mother for help to Andre, but Nicole says "There's nothing I can do" - Nicole haves an affair with the leader von "Topaz"... This movie turns out to be decent enough, but it seems like a real let down, since it came from the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. Betrayal between all the persons, played by an international cast: young Claude Jade, made famous by Francois Truffaut's "Stolen Kisses" and "Bed & Board", as Andre's worried daughter, Dany Robin also from France as her mother, Michel Subor from Godard's "Little Soldier" as son-in-law, Michel Piccoli and Philippe Noiret as "topaz"-spies, the german actress Karin Dor as the cuban lady in Hitchcock's most underrated thriller.

Good, But You Can Certainly Do Better
After 1966's "Torn Curtain" flopped, Hitchcock decided to make another spy thriller. "Topaz", based on Leon Uris's best - selling novel of the same name, is meant to be an exciting, suspenseful espionage thriller involving nuclear missiles in Cuba. Despite a few engaging sequences, that show Hitch still had it, the film comes off as a second - rate James Bond flick rather than a Hitchcock masterpiece.

John Forsythe (the only recognizable actor in the entire cast) plays a CIA agent who recruits a French Operative named Devereaux (Frederick Stafford, who gives a great performance despite the film's flaws)to help him find out if rumors of Russian missiles in Cuba are true. His investigation leaves behind a string of casualities who either kill themselves or get murdered. The plot seems cool, but it's slow - moving and hard to follow at some points.

The main thing that keeps "Topaz" afloat is the top - notch acting. Hitchcock clearly thought that great acting would triumph over starpower, which is why he filled the cast with highly talented unknowns. In the past, legends like Sean Connery, Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, Gregory Peck, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, and a host of others starred in Hitchcock masterpieces and gave great performances in their roles, but at same points were unconvincing. The acting in "Topaz" is flawless; I recommend it.

Decent Hitchcock espionage drama
Frederick Stafford playing a French intelligence officer collaborates with John Forsythe, an American counterpart to garner information concerning Russia's involvement in Cuba in 1962. A high ranking KGB official defects from Russia and his debriefing prompts Stafford to enter Cuba, at the urging of the U.S., to conduct surveillance on the import of missiles.

Stafford gathers intel provided by his Cuban mistress, a widow of a top revolutionary played by an attractive Karin Dor of James Bond fame. He manages to smuggle out the information under the suspicious eye of bearded Castro crony John Vernon.

Learning from Forsythe of the existence of an espionage ring, code named Topaz, a group of French politicos spying for the Russians, Stafford sets out to smash it.

Topaz lacked the gripping intrigue so often present in Hitchcock's work. My appreciation for his body of work led me to be generous with my rating.

Excellent spy movie.
This is an excellent film. First rate. It has an intelligent plot cleverly scripted by Samuel Taylor (Sabrina, Vertigo), based on Leon Uris's novel. Uris had probably access to inside information about the "Saffire" affair (whence "Topaz") and mingled fact and fiction as masters of his craft can do.

Hitchcock delivers suspense, humor, great cinematography, a story that unfolds with ease and relative verossimilitude. Karin Dor is very beatiful, and Frederick Sttafford cuts a fine figure of a man.

The bonus material includes an interview with Leonard Maltin, who shows great appreciation of the movie. However, he doesn't mention a factor which, in my view, stood in the way of its recognition when it was released and still stands now: Communist Cuba is presented as a place where torture is practiced, and its leaders are uncouth and ridiculous. The CIA men are the gooddies. Unforgivable in 1969, and even now, in Europe and it seems in the US where we must sing praises for "Comandante" and things like that. This is surely at least 70% of its lack of appreciation, and not the "transparencies" or the uncertanties about its ending.

One scene has been particularly praised, and it is only one among a score: when Cuban head Rico Parra (John Vernon) kills Juanita de Cordoba (Karin Dor). Not only the image is visually astounding, but the words: "You can't judge... not you" Rico says to Juanita before sparing her torture... bu shooting her. Also stunning the image where the two members of the Cuban resistance lie after martyrdom like Jesus and His Mother in Michelangelo's "Pietà". Wonderful movie, exiting, epic... without the excesses of the caritaturesque Bond series.

John Forsythe makes the film. Three different endings.
This is perhaps the only Alfred Hitchcock color film I have not seen, until now. It is a rarity for television. And it would be edited for television broadcast anyway. Now on DVD, you can see TOPAZ in its entirty. If you have seen TOPAZ before, well here is the surprise. There are three very different endings of the film you may have not seen yet. This DVD version will show them all to you. If the ending chosen leaves you flat, in the Bonus Material section, you can see all three alternate endings and decide the one you like best. John Forsythe (Bachelor Father [1957-62],Charlie's Angels [1976-1981] as voice of "Charlie", Dynasty [1981-89]) sure does make the beginning act of the film much more interesting to watch. I can not say this is the best of Hitchcock, but I would recommend: REAR WINDOW (1954) and ROPE (1948). ... Read more

Reviews (11)

ANTOINE STRIKES BACK
Antoine Doinel, French director François Truffaut's cinematographic double, returns in STOLEN KISSES after an eight years break (if one excepts the short movie ANTOINE ET COLETTE ). Back to a beloved character for Truffaut, back to the civilian life for Antoine - Jean-Pierre Léaud - Doinel who tries to survive in the Paris of 1967.

STOLEN KISSES is not a realistic movie, it's rather a mixture of light comedy and psychologic melodrama. I could say that Antoine Doinel is the big brother of the characters described 30 years later by Wes Anderson in BOTTLE ROCKET or RUSHMORE.

STOLEN KISSES is also a movie about how Truffaut saw the relations between men and women. According to this movie, they are more than complex and this theme, from this moment on, will be one of the constants of François Truffaut's next movies of the 70's and the 80's.

A dozen Truffaut trailers as bonus features, filmographies and english subtitles. Average sound but below-average images with faded colours.

A DVD for the Doinel fans.

Charming romantic comedy that really is funny
This is a delightful Truffaut movie starring Jean-Pierre Leaud who played Antoine Doinel, the running boy in Truffaut's famous Les Quatre cents coup (1959). He's a young man now just discharged from the army bouncing from one temporary job to another, from being a night watchman to being a TV repairman. He gets into scrapes and gets fired, but presses on (in-between impulsive liaisons with ladies of the evening).

He gets his big chance when he lucks into a job with a private detective agency. After some mishaps he is called upon to take a job (within a job, as it were) at a shoe store to find out why the owner is not liked. There he meets the owner's wife, Fabienne Tabard, played by Delphine Seyrig (Last Year at Marienbad 1961; The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie 1972, etc.). He is immediately smitten by her. In typical French cinematic fashion it is not clear whether she is a goddess or a maternal figure for the thoroughly bewitched Antoine.

Meanwhile there is Christine Darbon (Claude Jade) who plays Antoine's real love interest. What makes this film so thoroughly agreeable is Truffaut's light-hearted wit and his studious avoidance of cliche in a genre (the romantic comedy) in which cliches abound. The humor is often tongue-in-cheek, and as subtle as a diplomat's compliment. Leaud's charm and his oh so earnest style make him the perfect foil for life's little jokes. Along the way detective agencies are satirized as are its clientele, including a guy who wants his magician boyfriend tailed only to find that he is--horrors!--married, or the aforementioned shoe haberdasher who hires a private eye (not a shrink!) to find out why he is not beloved.

Bottom line: see this for Francois Truffaut, whose keen sense of humanity's foibles and unique style, sometimes playful and sometimes penetrating, have made him one of cinema's greatest directors.

Stolen Kisses, Wasted Time
The 400 Blows is deservedly one of the best movies of all time. Stolen Kisses, a continuation of the Antoine Doinel character, could possibly qualify as one of the worst (okay, a bit of an exaggeration, but it is bad). Truffaut obviously decided to go for a farcical Antoine, which proved to be a big, big mistake. Antoine is no longer that edgy, rebellious character struggling with the constraints imposed by authority. Remember how he reacted when he got slapped in the face? Very little reaction, which was perfect and believable. In Kisses, you have an Antoine who is more fawning than stoic, more mimicking than reserved. The result is this viewer's disappointment. In addition, the plot is haphazard, breezy, and meaningless. The ending is forgetful, in complete contrast to that of The 400 Blows. Do yourself a favor: instead of wasting your time watching this, watch The 400 Blows again.

~Lovely and Delightful~
"Stolen Kisses" is also one of those films that I can watch over and over again without getting bored. This film is charming and funny. Jean-Pierre Leaud's exaggerated expressions (his "declaration of love" for Madame Tabat scene and the "Chiquitita banana" scene) certainly contribute to the film's charm. I adore the characters Antoine and Christine very much. The film is very well made; like all Truffaut's films, the music, sceneries, casts, lighting, landscapes, angles etc all fit in like a perfect jigsaw puzzle. I feel that the best scene is the beginning of the movie where Truffaut shoot scenes of moving cars on the street and then slowly moves on to shoot the entrance of a cinema. It is also then the music fills in the background. I agree with one of the reviewers that this film makes good use of Charles Trenet's song "Que Reste-T-Il De Nos Amours". Simply delightful!

VIEW IT IN FRENCH IF YOU CAN
Third adventure of DOINEL,TRUFFAUT's semi-autobiographical character after THE FOUR HUNDRED BLOWS and ANTOINE AND COLETTE(not a full film).ANTOINE now a young man discovers love in the presence of a mature woman(DELPHINE SEYRIG)and then with a girl of his age(CLAUDE JADE).Not one of the director's best movie,it contains nevertheless many priceless moments like the scene that has ANTOINE testing his image in a mirror and saying the name FABIENNE TABARD(mesure your degree of tolerance with that scene)The film makes good use of CHARLES TRENET's song QUE RESTE-T-IL DE NOS AMOURS?The charms of many vignettes actually surpasses the coherence of the whole.Fans of the director have head start here. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Puzzle of Love
I enjoyed Truffant's early work, "400 Blows" and "Jules and Jim". They are real landmarks in Cinema, the "French New Wave," but by 1979 Truffant seems to be autobiographical with kiss and tell scenerios. His failures in love are examined. His final success in relationship is a clever romatic answer to a puzzle, a torn photograph of his latest lover. It's not overly convincing, but nobody makes movies with so much poetic conceit as the French. The women are beautiful, but I must say that the two blondes are difficult to tell apart and the captioning does not help. This is a date flick for college educated guy and gal, very romantic and sexy without the plumbing.

Infidelity
Of other women in Love on the Run, Claude Jade, as Christine, is quite winsome, as always. Christine is easily the most likable character in the film, but Truffaut shuffles her into the background for much of the film. Instead, Sabine occupies the role of Antoine's new love. Played by Dorothée, Sabine is reminiscent of the younger Christine and even exudes some of her innocent charm and grace. But she is not as vibrant a character, mainly because she is not adequately developed as a character until the film's last scene. By then, it's too late. In addition, Truffaut also sabotages Sabine's introduction. She is first seen rolling around on the floor with Antoine. Opening credits obscure much of the dark scene, anyway, and there is a bland pop-lite theme song, "L'amour en fuite," that plays with the credits. Audiences will not know whether to focus on the credits, the murky photography, or the song. It's disorienting. Compare this scene to Claude Jade's simple appearance in "Stolen Kisses", in which she appears like an angel out of the night, waving timidly at Antoine and miming cute, little messages to him through a glass barrier. Furthermore, the fact that Sabine is introduced before Christine even appears in the film is also confusing for audiences, considering that Bed and Board concluded with Antoine and Christine together again. Audiences will eventually realize that the marriage has probably collapsed again, but will wonder immediately, was Sabine the cause? Since we are already familiar with Christine from the previous films, we will instinctively sympathize for her, and since we know nothing of Sabine, we will instinctively view her negatively. Again, it's not flattering and it starts the film off on the wrong note. When last we saw Antoine Doinel (in Bed and Board), he had recently married his sweetheart Christine and their marriage had just survived Antoine's first infidelity with a Japanese woman. Now, in Love on the Run, eight years after their marriage, Antoine and Christine are separated once more. The reason for this marital strife is Antoine's repeated infidelity, although this is conveyed in the film as almost an afterthought. The film does not pause to reflect upon the emotional impact of this new marital crisis. Unlike "Bed and Board", which offered several bittersweet but touching scenes relating to Antoine's infidelity, Love on the Run just throws it in for comic effect and moves right on along.

An intimate and priceless gem.
I've seen this film roughly 30 times since it first came out and each time I see it I walk away with some new insight. The Antoine Doinel series shows just how versatile a director Trauffaut was. This is warm and engaging filmaking with elegantly drawn characters of wonderful complexity. And true to Truffaut style, not a single frame is wasted nor does any moment feel false or misconstrued. Trauffaut was an undisputed master and seeing a master work on this intimate a scale is a wonderful, exhilarating experience. I also walk away from seeing this film with a sense of sadness that this was the last of the series and Truffaut is no longer with us.

Doinel divorce Claude Jade
It's marvellous when Jean-Pierre Léaud and Claude Jade sitting in the taxi who brings them to Christine's lawyer: two different flashbacks of the kisses between Doinel and Claude Jade in the cage of Jade's parents("Stolen Kisses" and "Bed and Board") or when Claude Jade meets Marie-France Pisier, to find out, that Doinel changes all his memories. Not so charming like the last adventures of Antoine and Christine, but must seen by all Truffaut-Lovers.

A magic good humour
Truffaut was a terrific director. This movie have love, hopes, interest people and his lifes,everything to give us fun. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

ANTOINE STRIKES BACK
Antoine Doinel, French director François Truffaut's cinematographic double, returns in STOLEN KISSES after an eight years break (if one excepts the short movie ANTOINE ET COLETTE ). Back to a beloved character for Truffaut, back to the civilian life for Antoine - Jean-Pierre Léaud - Doinel who tries to survive in the Paris of 1967.

STOLEN KISSES is not a realistic movie, it's rather a mixture of light comedy and psychologic melodrama. I could say that Antoine Doinel is the big brother of the characters described 30 years later by Wes Anderson in BOTTLE ROCKET or RUSHMORE.

STOLEN KISSES is also a movie about how Truffaut saw the relations between men and women. According to this movie, they are more than complex and this theme, from this moment on, will be one of the constants of François Truffaut's next movies of the 70's and the 80's.

A dozen Truffaut trailers as bonus features, filmographies and english subtitles. Average sound but below-average images with faded colours.

A DVD for the Doinel fans.

Charming romantic comedy that really is funny
This is a delightful Truffaut movie starring Jean-Pierre Leaud who played Antoine Doinel, the running boy in Truffaut's famous Les Quatre cents coup (1959). He's a young man now just discharged from the army bouncing from one temporary job to another, from being a night watchman to being a TV repairman. He gets into scrapes and gets fired, but presses on (in-between impulsive liaisons with ladies of the evening).

He gets his big chance when he lucks into a job with a private detective agency. After some mishaps he is called upon to take a job (within a job, as it were) at a shoe store to find out why the owner is not liked. There he meets the owner's wife, Fabienne Tabard, played by Delphine Seyrig (Last Year at Marienbad 1961; The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie 1972, etc.). He is immediately smitten by her. In typical French cinematic fashion it is not clear whether she is a goddess or a maternal figure for the thoroughly bewitched Antoine.

Meanwhile there is Christine Darbon (Claude Jade) who plays Antoine's real love interest. What makes this film so thoroughly agreeable is Truffaut's light-hearted wit and his studious avoidance of cliche in a genre (the romantic comedy) in which cliches abound. The humor is often tongue-in-cheek, and as subtle as a diplomat's compliment. Leaud's charm and his oh so earnest style make him the perfect foil for life's little jokes. Along the way detective agencies are satirized as are its clientele, including a guy who wants his magician boyfriend tailed only to find that he is--horrors!--married, or the aforementioned shoe haberdasher who hires a private eye (not a shrink!) to find out why he is not beloved.

Bottom line: see this for Francois Truffaut, whose keen sense of humanity's foibles and unique style, sometimes playful and sometimes penetrating, have made him one of cinema's greatest directors.

Stolen Kisses, Wasted Time
The 400 Blows is deservedly one of the best movies of all time. Stolen Kisses, a continuation of the Antoine Doinel character, could possibly qualify as one of the worst (okay, a bit of an exaggeration, but it is bad). Truffaut obviously decided to go for a farcical Antoine, which proved to be a big, big mistake. Antoine is no longer that edgy, rebellious character struggling with the constraints imposed by authority. Remember how he reacted when he got slapped in the face? Very little reaction, which was perfect and believable. In Kisses, you have an Antoine who is more fawning than stoic, more mimicking than reserved. The result is this viewer's disappointment. In addition, the plot is haphazard, breezy, and meaningless. The ending is forgetful, in complete contrast to that of The 400 Blows. Do yourself a favor: instead of wasting your time watching this, watch The 400 Blows again.

~Lovely and Delightful~
"Stolen Kisses" is also one of those films that I can watch over and over again without getting bored. This film is charming and funny. Jean-Pierre Leaud's exaggerated expressions (his "declaration of love" for Madame Tabat scene and the "Chiquitita banana" scene) certainly contribute to the film's charm. I adore the characters Antoine and Christine very much. The film is very well made; like all Truffaut's films, the music, sceneries, casts, lighting, landscapes, angles etc all fit in like a perfect jigsaw puzzle. I feel that the best scene is the beginning of the movie where Truffaut shoot scenes of moving cars on the street and then slowly moves on to shoot the entrance of a cinema. It is also then the music fills in the background. I agree with one of the reviewers that this film makes good use of Charles Trenet's song "Que Reste-T-Il De Nos Amours". Simply delightful!

VIEW IT IN FRENCH IF YOU CAN
Third adventure of DOINEL,TRUFFAUT's semi-autobiographical character after THE FOUR HUNDRED BLOWS and ANTOINE AND COLETTE(not a full film).ANTOINE now a young man discovers love in the presence of a mature woman(DELPHINE SEYRIG)and then with a girl of his age(CLAUDE JADE).Not one of the director's best movie,it contains nevertheless many priceless moments like the scene that has ANTOINE testing his image in a mirror and saying the name FABIENNE TABARD(mesure your degree of tolerance with that scene)The film makes good use of CHARLES TRENET's song QUE RESTE-T-IL DE NOS AMOURS?The charms of many vignettes actually surpasses the coherence of the whole.Fans of the director have head start here. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Simply Love This Film!
I simply love this film! Everything in this film (music, dialogues, lighting, angles, actors/actresses, costumes, locations)fits perfectly. Claude Jade is beautiful in the film. By coincident, I saw this film right after a long trip from France. Made me relive my whole French experience all over again.

Claude Jade is brilliant in this bitter Doinel-Adventure.
It's one of the best movies, I'll ever seen. The couple of "Stolen Kisses", Jean-Pierre Léaud and Claude Jade, is brilliant. You want to the how a director MUST work with actors? See this bitter comedy about the marriage. ... Read more

Description

In the final film of the "Antoine Doinel" series, Truffaut's alter ego pursues his favorite pastime: romance.With the sensitive touch that became his hallmark, Truffaut paints an affectionate portrait of Antoine at 35, renewing old acquaintances, reliving bittersweet memories, and once again, taking a chance on love. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Puzzle of Love
I enjoyed Truffant's early work, "400 Blows" and "Jules and Jim". They are real landmarks in Cinema, the "French New Wave," but by 1979 Truffant seems to be autobiographical with kiss and tell scenerios. His failures in love are examined. His final success in relationship is a clever romatic answer to a puzzle, a torn photograph of his latest lover. It's not overly convincing, but nobody makes movies with so much poetic conceit as the French. The women are beautiful, but I must say that the two blondes are difficult to tell apart and the captioning does not help. This is a date flick for college educated guy and gal, very romantic and sexy without the plumbing.

Infidelity
Of other women in Love on the Run, Claude Jade, as Christine, is quite winsome, as always. Christine is easily the most likable character in the film, but Truffaut shuffles her into the background for much of the film. Instead, Sabine occupies the role of Antoine's new love. Played by Dorothée, Sabine is reminiscent of the younger Christine and even exudes some of her innocent charm and grace. But she is not as vibrant a character, mainly because she is not adequately developed as a character until the film's last scene. By then, it's too late. In addition, Truffaut also sabotages Sabine's introduction. She is first seen rolling around on the floor with Antoine. Opening credits obscure much of the dark scene, anyway, and there is a bland pop-lite theme song, "L'amour en fuite," that plays with the credits. Audiences will not know whether to focus on the credits, the murky photography, or the song. It's disorienting. Compare this scene to Claude Jade's simple appearance in "Stolen Kisses", in which she appears like an angel out of the night, waving timidly at Antoine and miming cute, little messages to him through a glass barrier. Furthermore, the fact that Sabine is introduced before Christine even appears in the film is also confusing for audiences, considering that Bed and Board concluded with Antoine and Christine together again. Audiences will eventually realize that the marriage has probably collapsed again, but will wonder immediately, was Sabine the cause? Since we are already familiar with Christine from the previous films, we will instinctively sympathize for her, and since we know nothing of Sabine, we will instinctively view her negatively. Again, it's not flattering and it starts the film off on the wrong note. When last we saw Antoine Doinel (in Bed and Board), he had recently married his sweetheart Christine and their marriage had just survived Antoine's first infidelity with a Japanese woman. Now, in Love on the Run, eight years after their marriage, Antoine and Christine are separated once more. The reason for this marital strife is Antoine's repeated infidelity, although this is conveyed in the film as almost an afterthought. The film does not pause to reflect upon the emotional impact of this new marital crisis. Unlike "Bed and Board", which offered several bittersweet but touching scenes relating to Antoine's infidelity, Love on the Run just throws it in for comic effect and moves right on along.

An intimate and priceless gem.
I've seen this film roughly 30 times since it first came out and each time I see it I walk away with some new insight. The Antoine Doinel series shows just how versatile a director Trauffaut was. This is warm and engaging filmaking with elegantly drawn characters of wonderful complexity. And true to Truffaut style, not a single frame is wasted nor does any moment feel false or misconstrued. Trauffaut was an undisputed master and seeing a master work on this intimate a scale is a wonderful, exhilarating experience. I also walk away from seeing this film with a sense of sadness that this was the last of the series and Truffaut is no longer with us.

Doinel divorce Claude Jade
It's marvellous when Jean-Pierre Léaud and Claude Jade sitting in the taxi who brings them to Christine's lawyer: two different flashbacks of the kisses between Doinel and Claude Jade in the cage of Jade's parents("Stolen Kisses" and "Bed and Board") or when Claude Jade meets Marie-France Pisier, to find out, that Doinel changes all his memories. Not so charming like the last adventures of Antoine and Christine, but must seen by all Truffaut-Lovers.

A magic good humour
Truffaut was a terrific director. This movie have love, hopes, interest people and his lifes,everything to give us fun. ... Read more