Based on Roche’s autobiographical second novel, ‘Two English Girls’ is an inverted version of Jules and Jim set in the Belle Epoque with two English girls, sisters of very different temperament, throughout their lives loving the same man - a Frenchman. Truffaut’s alter ego, Leaud, brings his persona of solitariness and passivity to the character of Claude at the apex of the triangle. Although both films are about wasted lives, ‘Two English Girls’ is sadder and more complex than Jules and Jim which is dominated by “Moreau’s charismatic capriciousness which spills all over the movie”, to quote Pauline Kael, giving it more vitality. ‘Two English Girls’, with its detached narration, is more introspective, dealing with emotions at one remove - ‘feelings about feelings’.
Credits: Director, Francois Truffaut ; writers, Francois Truffaut, Jean Gruault ; photography, Nestor Almendros ; music, Georges Delerue.
Cast: Jean-Pierre Leaud, Kika Markham, Stacey Tendeter.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
X000126
Languages
English
French
Subject category
Foreign language films
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
16mm film; Limited Access Print (Section 2)