Jean-Pierre Mocky directs this time capsule of a time in France when virginity was increasingly a fading consideration before marriage in a world shorn of innocence and evolving into major technological progress following two world wars. I have never heard of Mocky but I have to say that he assembled young talent that would blossom in the ensuing years, notably Charles Aznavour, Gérard Blain, Derlac, Poiret, Sandrelli, among others.
Cinematography by Eugen Schufftan is the film's choiciest asset. Highly competent tracking and dolly shots, excellent night time B&W chiaroscuro.
Dialogue centers on young people wanting to break out of their virginal mode, and meeting both well-intentioned people and others who take advantage. Nothing overly dramatic, tempered by a lot of fun as some couples try to engage in premarital sex only to be thwarted by voyeurs, cops, and other inopportune souls, this time capsule is more about enjoying life than judging anybody.
I really liked Aznavour as the adult male genuinely in love with a young and openly flirting female. He gives up his marriage and high professional position out of feeling sorry for a worker who does not learn from her mistakes and seems totally in love with him - infatuation only, alas. She surrenders to another man, leaving Aznavour high and dry.
Other than that brutally realistic moment, the giddy 1960s with a great Paul Mauriat score.
Not memorable, but certainly watchable. 7/10.
