Watch Jules and Jim For Free

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

A lot of fun.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Jules et Jim was my introduction to Truffaut and I was completely blown away by it, I can't wait to watch more by him. Stephen Hawking said this was his favorite movie and I can see why. The film revolves around two best friends Jules and Jim and the enigmatic woman who captures both their hearts, Catherine. The film follows their lives for nearly a decade and a half. In the first arc of the film, it's established that while both are attracted to Catherine, she chooses Jules and Jim is a good sport is genuinely happy for his friend. Years pass and after the great war both the friends are reunited, Jules and Catherine now have a daughter but Catherine is too headstrong and adventurous of Jules, Jules actively persuades Jim to be Catherine's lover and husband so that she does not run away from his life and they can be a big happy family together, meanwhile Jim who never really got over Catherine rekindles his flame for her and she starts falling for Jim as well. As you might have guessed this is a very sexually progressive film especially for 1961. However through all this complexities, the film maintains it's infectious energy and who better to guide the viewer through this maze of emotions than these fleshed out well written characters. I found the film quite modern and "talky" it has aged very well, relevant not even today but will be so long after we are gone.

Jules et Jim was François Truffaut's most popular film. As such, it is a key film from the French New wave. Set between the years 1912-33, it tells the story of two male kindred spirits, one French and one German, who both fall in love with a free-spirited Parisian woman. They form an unorthodox three-some, with the girl unwilling to choose between the men. All the while, political upheaval causes despair in Europe, including the outbreak of World War I, which results in the two friends going off and fighting on either side of the conflict. Afterwards they return to an uneasier ménage à trois which is ultimately doomed.In all honesty, I don't really understand why this one is considered such a masterpiece. I suspect that much of its esteem comes from the new things it brought to the table in 1962, some of the subtleties of which are hard to detect nowadays. So context is probably a big part of understanding the significance of this one. I felt it did have a pretty ropey story, with poor characterisation. It did, however, have some dynamic direction from Truffaut, with hand-held cameras giving events an immediacy and care-free feel, while at other times there were distinctive freeze-frames and even elaborate aerial shots. So the film is certainly alive in ways associated with the New Wave, a movement which was all about innovation and imperfections. So maybe the faults in the story have to be forgiven to some extent, as I guess this odd romance was considering things beyond the narrative. A look at the impossibility of idealism, freedom and love existing together in harmony perhaps? The film's standout turn comes from Jeanne Moreau, as the woman who the two rather pathetic men orbit around. Overall, an interesting film but not one I fully connected with.

The basis for this movie is a love triangle between two friends (Oskar Werner as Jim and Henri Serre as Jules) and a free-spirited young woman (Jeanne Moreau as Catherine). It's a joy to watch, all three actors are fantastic, and the 'New Wave' filmmaking by Francois Truffaut is very creative,with brilliant sequences which make it clear that he had an influence on Wes Anderson. It was only his third movie, and there is a freshness about it, with several iconic scenes including the ending, but I won't spoil it. The movie captures universal truths about relationships, while at the same time highlighting the very French attitude towards affairs. Never slow, and definitely worth watching.

At the risk of over-generalizing about an entire nation, I've come to the inescapable conclusion that the French are a very strange people, to say the least. Seriously...they don't seem to find anything offensive (I think they'd find some rationalization for having sex with chimpanzees), and they seem to find everything interesting -- even one of the most boring films in cinematic history -- Jules & Jim.The one thing this film has going for it is this: I've never seen a film in which every single character suffers from an incurable mental disease. But if I want to see such extreme mental illness, I'll go visit a local state mental hospital. This film is NOT about LOVE -- it's about raging mental illness. That's what people who claim to "get it" really DON'T get. They're as delusional as the characters in this train wreck of a film if they honestly believe this movie is a great love story.