Una strana domenica

Yet another slight French film from a director past his prime; presciently, at the same time, it signaled the debut of one of the major icons of the "Nouvelle Vague" – actor Jean Paul Belmondo, who somewhat inconsequentially here plays the second romantic lead. Two of the three stars involved, in fact, had been leading ladies since the late 1930s (Danielle Darrieux and Arletty) and whose careers had understandably started dwindling by now; the third is comic Bourvil whose career would peak during the next decade. The film is a bittersweet romance with Bourvil still pining for the woman (Darrieux) whom he had met during WWII and who had left him 5 years previously: unbeknownst to him, she is currently in a relationship with one of his war buddies and, by chance, he notices her aboard a bus and catches up with her but they part ways soon after; however, he follows her and storms the office she had entered – where he comes face to face with his ex-colleague, but then leaves in dismay. So, Bourvil concocts a plan – with the help of his landlady (Arletty), her daughter and the latter's unruly trumpeter boyfriend (Belmondo) – by which he gives appointment to Darrieux, ostensibly to discuss their divorce settlement, at his office (where he purports to impress his ex-wife by letting her believe he is top man) and, later, at a country villa actually owned by Arletty (having also borrowed his real boss' swanky car for the occasion)! Incidentally, Bourvil has to act quickly if he wants to regain the woman he loves back – since Darrieux (who even gets to sing here) is to emigrate to Canada on that same day; the titular outing, then, is fraught with incident (having taken a gun and toyed with the idea of killing her if she insists on leaving, Arletty & Co. embark on a race-against-time to stop him) but also reminiscences of their life together. Of course, this being an old-fashioned French film, our couple gets back together in the end – with Darrieux even happy that Bourvil still owns his rickety ancient car. A pleasant enough effort, then, if strictly minor (and, ultimately, pretty forgettable) fare.