Le bon Dieu sans confession

At the time, the movie was slagged off and it was Autant-Lara's poorest box office since the Liberation.

Although it cannot be mentioned in the same breath as the director's greatest achievements , "le Bon dieu sans confession" (butter wouldn't melt in his/her mouth ) has worn remarkably well. Its construction makes dizzy : the movie looks like a giant jigsaw puzzle , which can confuse the viewer : some of its pieces are only added in the last part ;Two thirds are made of flashbacks , and the story is never linear , flouting chronology .

As always in Autant-Lara's works,the actors are masterfully directed :Danielle Darrieux is not the romantic woman who married the wrong man ,but a selfish calculating one ;Henri Vilbert ,playing the not-so-handsome lover and Ivan Desny,the abandoned husband are cast against type and it works.

But it may well be the young generation who walks off with the honors: Claude Laydu ,as the idealist son who shows the director's anticlerical side ,and isabelle Pia ,who makes her great scene count , are Autant-Lara's hope against hope :"do you think that a child can be happy when he sees that his father does not love his mother?"Their last scene 's soundtrack was to be a working sound symphony ,but the producer had it replaced by JS Bach music .

In spite of his infamous last years, Autant-Lara's Occupation and post-war works are to be considered French finest hour.