Chiaro di donna

This had some promise, given the track records of Costa Gavras (Z) and the writer Christopher Frank (La Derobade, L'Important, c'est d'aimer), but this film is a mess. Romy Schneider, always so good in roles in which she's under a lot of pressure, here just looks haggard and irritable. Yves Montand, who can do these roles in his sleep, here does.

The story is simple: two people who have recently suffered a great deal come together for consolation rather than love. The emotional tone of the picture is so confused, so lacking in human interest that even the feeble attempts at humour are welcome--the animal trainer who gets a monkey and a poodle to dance. A new low in cinematic fake compassion is surely the scene in which Montand attempts to communicate with Schneider's brain-damaged husband by means of gibberish. Lila Kedrova as the man's mother displays some welcome charm here.