User reviews

I came across this film, purely by chance, when it was shown on terrestrial TV a couple of years ago. It's a beautiful study of a complex relationship between an older man - the urbane, world-weary Monsieur Arnaud (Michel Serrault) - and the beautiful young woman (Emmanuelle Béart) he hires to assist him in the writing of his memoirs. Initially, they are dependent on each other for different reasons - Nelly financially and Arnaud on the direction Nelly brings to his work - but as the film progresses they become more emotionally attached and the implications of this is the film's main theme. The depth of feeling that develops between the two characters comes across very strongly, thanks mainly to the quality of the two lead performances, while the sexual aspect is merely hinted at and is all the more erotic for it. If subtlety and suggestion are what you look for in a film, "Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud" should be high on your list of 'must see' movies.

I guess the main reason for "Nelly" to be one of the most popular Eruopean movies of the last years is the presence of the Goddess Beart in each and every one of the sequences: her eyes, her mouth, her perfection. Without any make-up, without wonderful dresses... she does not need anything but her natural beauty to make Mr. Arnaud to fall in love her. He hires her as a personal assistant while he's writing his memoirs, but she'll end up being his closest confident. The connection between both of them is neither sexual nor platonic... it's something else. Maybe they're just kindred spirits that meet each other at the wrong time: he knows she's too young and beautiful to stay with him. It doesn't matter if she'd be willing to begin a relationship with Arnaud, 'cause the truth is that he won't let her beauty to fade in the company of an old man which has anything but memories.

This is a sober and reflexive movie, that doesn't live up to its world wide fame (in my opinion); but, as I said before, the presence of Emmanuelle Beart worth watching it.

*My rate: 7/10

Michel Serrault, of whom I have the highest regard for his great talent, hits yet another home run with this role. He portrays a wealthy widower, who per chance, meets a sweet young woman, many years his junior. Nellie needs a job and Mr. Arnaud needs an editor. The wonderful friendship that these two engage in, is so sweet and affecting; it'll remind even the most independent person that friends are as real and precious as gold. Mr. Serrault's character has a humor drier than sherry. A very good film.

In the 1995 film, Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud, director Claude Sautet depicts the relationship between an attractive young woman of 25 (Emmanuelle Beart) and wealthy retired judge (Michel Serrault). The setting is in upper middle-class Paris, replete with cognac, 1961 Chateau d"Yquem, stacks of books on the shelf and comfortable looking apartments. As in another Sautet film, Un Coeur en Hiver, the subject is the fear of being involved. "We all want love, but when we find it, we pull back. It scares us," states Monsieur Arnaud.

At the opening, Nelly is having marital problems with her husband Jerome (Charles Berling) who has not worked in a year. At a café one afternoon she is introduced by a friend to M. Arnaud and, after only a brief conversation about the state of her affairs, he surprisingly offers to give her 30,000 francs to help her get out of debt. She first refuses, then later agrees and also accepts his offer to type his memoirs on his computer. As she transcribes his verbally-dictated notes several hours a day, it becomes clear that he is paying her to be not only his assistant but his companion and personal confidant as well. The talk starts out with book-related matters but soon veers off into the personal. Though there is an unspoken yearning for closeness, their relationship develops into a power struggle over who can get the other to reveal their secrets.

Arnaud is attracted to the younger woman but does not pursue it for fear of rejection. He is reluctant to take risks and is content with the companionship he looks forward to every few days. Neither is comfortable with fully expressing their feelings. Nelly holds people at a distance, seeming to notice their needs but ultimately rejecting their advances with small but hurtful lies. She begins a relationship with M. Arnaud's book publisher Vincent (Jean-Hugues Anglade) but when she suspects that Arnaud is becoming possessive, she lies and tells him that she has slept with Vincent. Having made Arnaud jealous, she then callously dismisses Vincent when he asks her to move in with him. Some changes do seem to open up, however. Nelly leaves her husband and rents a studio apartment. Arnaud opens up and begins to share more of his life. There is a gallantry about the older man as he begins to communicate the pain of his divorce, his estranged relationship with his son, his financial dealings that turned bad, and his unfulfilled longings.

Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud is the type of film that comes to mind when we think of French cinema: thoughtful, restrained, and sensitive; a delicately nuanced character study performed by accomplished actors. The film is "talky" but the conversation is so thoughtful and civilized that we can just sit back and drink it up like a glass of vintage Sauterne. While the characters are not without flaws, they are nonetheless very human and Sautet makes us care about them, revealing their subtleties to us in a way that evokes our compassion. The film conveys the characters' deep longing for connection but, like many of us, they are more comfortable with maintaining the status quo. At the end, nothing much seems to have changed but when Arnaud's ex-wife (Francoise Brion) comes to visit, a hint that passion may have entered the picture in an unforeseen manner is unmistakable.

What a beautiful, tender film...melancholy in tone, with an underlying sense of passion! I was so moved by it I was inspired to write a poem . There might be those (militant feminists, perhaps) who would object to the theme of an older man yearning (but discreetly) for a beautiful much younger woman...but I found it not only true to life, but humanly evocative. What a genius for film-making...Claude Sautet..("Un Coeur En Hiver" his masterpiece, in my opinion). He will be sadly missed. Thank you and farewell, M.Sautet.

This comment, in the form of a poem, is dedicated to the late Claude Sautet, one of France's premier directors...

NELLY ET M. ARNAUD

Empty shelves: his library divested. Nothing written, except memory, invests this moment, this immediacy. In the dim light his worn hand almost caresses her young body, but we, in the dark, must estimate the camera's intent. What he had held in abeyance too long shadows his face.

And the rain, the hard Parisian rain. Cognac at tables for two. Another man, a younger man. These scenes will lead us to believe in temporary convenience... the "stolen moments." Vivid beauty flashed on the computer screen, four centuries preserved. Manipulated, changed, "seared with trade." What remains, embraced, has no passport, has no traveling bags. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Thank you and farewell, M. Sautet

Emmanuelle Béart is the beauty personified and the main character in this modern French film. Wish I had still photographs of certain scenes with her in this film. Amazing eye movement by her as well as Michel Serrault, who also acts very well. Well crafted, well acted, very good ending... Not a single piece of music till close of the end; could have been more of that I think. Almost the whole movie is filmed indoors, and pretty much in the same locations, a lot of talking, ... I liked watching it, but mostly because of Béart. Otherwise it was only moderate captivating and exciting.

3,5 / 5

One of France's last truly great directors, Claude Sautet, shuffled off this mortal coil in 2000 and this film became his swansong.

Unlike so many directors he went out with a bang rather than a whimper, winning a César in the process.

It has all of what one comes to expect from his work from 'Les Choses de ma Vie' onwards, in terms of subtlety, intelligence, psychological penetration and meticulous construction.

Sautet had taken a break from films as a result of his devastation at the deaths of Romy Schneider and Patrick Dewaere. When he resumed his last three films acquired a certain austerity of style.

When the Nelly of Emmanuelle Béart leaves her shiftless husband she takes a job typing the memoirs of former judge Monsieur Arnaud played by Michel Serrault. There is a definite 'connection' from the outset between employer and employee but it is unspoken. In Sautet's films of course it is often the unspoken that speaks volumes. Being an extremely attractive young woman she is obviously flattered by his attentions but he holds back, fearing perhaps rejection as he is much older than she. The crucial scene is where he sits by her bedside watching her as she sleeps. She opens her eyes and her reaction when she sees him is totally unexpected! Throughout the film they engage in what Roger Ebert describes perfectly as 'a delicate emotional and intellectual dance'.

The magnificent Michel Serrault fully deserved his César for this performance. He has reached that sublime state when he is not acting at all, just 'being'. He also bears an uncanny resemblance in this to Sautet himself. Michel Lonsdale has a small role but with this actor of course, no role is small. The fascinating Francoise Brion impresses as Arnaud's estranged wife.

Mlle Béart is in the full bloom of her beauty here and has the same intensity and air of mystery that makes her so intriguing. She is however not quite as convincing a typist as she is a violinist in Sautet's 'Un Coeur en Hiver'!

Like Sautet's earlier 'César et Rosalie' this film ends with a question mark which might frustrate those who like their endings to be conclusive but then again no story really has an end..........

Unspoken words are sometimes the most meaningful.. "We all want love, but when we find it, we pull back. It scares us." ..

This "elegant" French feature is about a winter-summer romance between a judge in his seventies (Michel Serraut) and a hot woman in her twenties (Emmanuelle Beart) who has just separated from his brutish, good-for-nothing, young husband (Charles Berling). He cancels her debts, pays her for her work as a sub par typist of his memoirs, and they go and dine in fancy restaurants in Paris where he spouts supposedly profound witticisms about life. This is really a sexual fantasy by the director (Claude Sautet who was about 70 when he filmed this and looked a lot like the white haired Serrault, surely not by chance) that young women in their twenties will still be attracted to men like him for their "mind", their "sophistication" and their "intelligence". "Sophisticated" French films of this sort were ridiculed by the New Wave in the 1960s as "films de qualite", the term quality of course being ironic. This was Sautet's last film.

How many film-makers make their greatest masterpiece as their last film? Not many, but to that select list, add Claude Sautet. Nelly & M. Arnaud is exquisite.

It is cinema.

This is to say that, in common with most truly and unquestionably great films, it could not exist with such power in any other art. The most difficult and also the most wonderful films are the films that take place, primarily in their character's hearts. It was not important what Charles Foster Kane *did*, but what he felt. In this film too, we experience the primacy of human feelings.

We do this through two luminous performances that reveal just how coarse is the acting that we habitually see in block-buster movies. One of the many deep emotions that overcame me when I first saw this film was that sheer privilege to see such acting.

To see the very gradual, subtle and beautiful love that develops between the two central characters is to get a glimpse of heaven. A film, then, not of love, but the possibility of love, and a warning without didacticism that we all should grasp love if we are given the opportunity.

Perhaps the greatest joy of cinema is its ability to allow us to experience rare emotion. This wonderful, wonderful film does that in an effortless way, without sentimentality, and for that we should be eternally grateful. Thank you M. Sautet, wherever you may be.

Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud (1995) is a French film that was co-written and directed by Claude Sautet. Director Sautet's career was based on movies about the French bourgeoisie, starring beautiful French actors. These included Romy Schneider, Stéphane Audran, Sandrine Bonnaire, and Emmanuelle Béart.

In this movie, Nelly is played by Emmanuelle Béart and Monsieur Arnaud is portrayed by Michel Serrault. Nelly is young, beautiful, and poor. Monsieur Arnaud is old, distinguished, and rich.

Monsieur Arnaud hires Nelly to help him with his autobiography. (In 1995 it was reasonable that he feared computers, and she was at home with them.) It's hard to know how much education Nelly has had, but at critically editing a manuscript, she is quite an expert.

The rest of the plot follows from there. Béart was strikingly beautiful, and, it's clear that--knowingly or unknowingly--Arnaud sees her as more than his editor and data entry person. The question I ask is if Nelly weren't that beautiful, would Arnaud have hired her on the spot? You can decide that after you see the film.

We saw this movie on the small screen, where it worked very well. It's not a must-see film, but you won't regret having watched it. The movie has a solid IMDb rating of 7.4. I rated it 8.0, because I enjoyed it, and because this is one of those French films that is so very French.

P.S. Watch for the brilliant actor Michael Lonsdale as the mysterious M. Dolabella.

"Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud" is all about a beautiful Parisian working woman (Emmanuelle Béart) and the men in her life. Suffering from marital ennui Nelly estranges herself from her husband and takes a job typing memoirs for an older Monsieur Arnaud as he dictates to her in his drawing room. During the course of the film we see a handful of miscellaneous characters come and go while Nelly has dinner, types, goes to a party, types, takes a swim, types, an does many more very mundane things. I was extremely disappointed in this film given its fine cast and excellent pedigree. An unfortunate drone of inconsequential busyness which ends abruptly and offers no reason for audience interest save sheer voyeurism, this film makes Nelly out to be a person without a single interesting thought in her lovely head. All in all, "Nelly and Monsieur" plays out like a whole lot of very nicely done nothingness. (C+)

When Nelly, a woman being just divorced, meets by chance M. Arnaud, a mature salesman just retired, begins a strange and special relationship between the two personalities.

Director Claude Sautet (1924-2000) has really been a force in French cinema. Many -- most? -- of his movies are already considered classics, at least among those who appreciate foreign film. (Among the average viewer, his name probably does not mean much.) For me, though, he will always be associated with "Eyes Without a Face", even though he was the writer and not the director.

In "Nelly", we get one of Sautet's last big films. Definitely not my favorite, but then again, I already mentioned that I love "Eyes", so how could this compare?

Unbeliveable as a director can "tell us" a simple and commonplace story such a exquisite notion of time and place. Indeed, Claude Sautet, in my opinion , wrote his name in the Hall of Fame of The Greatest Directors of All Times, with this movie. The "décors" are simply splendid(!) given us the impression that we are "inside the scene", specially those photographed in the "parisiens cafés". Michel Serrault, in the role of M.Arnaud, transmit us all the metamorphosis produced in his soul, while performing his Job as a Judge, not failing to take into account the real situation: an old man versus a young woman...Likewise, Emmanuelle Béart stands out as the uncomplaining human being that lately wakes to the reality... Unlosable work of art for those who want to see through the often impenetrable disguises put on our faces in order to support the roughnesses of our lives... I vote:10/10.

I mean.. It is a well-written and pleasantly-boring story of people and their interactions under a well constructed-premise (assisting with typing and critiquing a memoir) and their current circumstances (money issues, love and life in general). The right background setting to putting one's life back together. It's subtle and not very dramatic.. almost like a straight line.

The leads have an almost father-daughter bond that sometimes feels like it could be more or less. It knows how to keep the pacing of the dialogue flowing.. never stagnant. But! It also feels like it is always teetering on the brink of saying something more "interesting" than it is capable of producing. The developments are varied enough to entertain, showing an every-day life that is often as enjoyable as an objective-driven narrative, because it is quite well made.

But. I didn't particularly enjoy it too much.. ?

And even if I don't think I would rewatch it, the adverse reaction I initially had to the plot summary evaporated with how easy it is to transition into it once it starts. Frankly, kind of glad I gave it a chance as I cannot complain at all, and would still recommend it to anyone interested. Though the ending is somewhat abrupt and a tad underwhelming. But I get it, real life just goes on and rarely ends like the last chapter of a book.

----

I just had a thought while watching this.

Most people can't seem to find space for new things.. as if they felt new boxes coming into a room pushed others out the window. Taking some out don't cause the house to collapse. One's life seems to always accommodate to one's load. We adapt, and nothing really seems to weight us down enough to stop us.

'Nelly & Mr. Arnaud' released in 1995 is the last film directed by Claude Sautet. Reading about it I found it many times compared to his previous film, 'Un Coeur en Hiver' from 1992 and the result of the comparison is in almost all cases favorable to the older film. I personally found them to be at about the same level, and with many common points between them. One of them is of course the presence in the female lead role of Emmanuelle Béart, an actress who combines physical with inner beauty, radiating optimism, kindness, but also fragility through her fascinating eyes. At the time these films were made, she was young but already quite experienced, having grown as an actress under the guidance of directors such as Sautet but also Claude Berri or Ettore Scola. But 'Nelly & Mr. Arnaud' has a quality in addition to other films by Sautet. Love triangles are no longer the main concern (although they are not completely absent), but another theme is addressed, always delicate and always interesting - that of the possibility of love relationships between elderly men and women much younger than them. The understated, sensitive and intelligent approach of this film makes it survive well 27 years since its release, years in which so much has happened both on the screens and in the entertainment industry.

The story takes place in the bourgeois-intellectual Parisian environment of the last decade of the 20th century. Everyone seems to frequent the same restaurants, cafes and parties, but not everyone is wealthy, the economic differences are actually quite stiff. Nelly is a young woman mired in debt and in a marriage that is failing because of a husband who prefers to stay at home and do nothing. Mr. Arnaud is an old man, handsome and aging beautifully, a former diplomat and businessman, for whom money seems not to be a problem. They meet through a common acquaintance and Arnaud offers her a loan repayable "when and if you can" that can relieve her of material worries and give her the opportunity for a new start, which begins with the divorce. Nelly will work ('without obligation') as typist, critic and editor of Mr. Arnaud's memoirs. A relationship develops between the two in which the initial generosity turns into friendship which in turn turns into attraction - an attraction that is never consumed in more than looks, but looks that say it all. Age difference, social background, mutual respect combine in the story of a relationship that avoids turning into love in the sense we know.

Most French films set in intellectual settings are very verbose, and 'Nelly & Mr. Arnaud' is no exception. The dialogues, however, are subtle and discreet, but at the same time expressive, building the relationships between the heroes and gradually revealing their characters. Such a delicate subject also demands a good text and an adequate interpretation. The actors chosen and directed by Claude Sautet seemed perfect to me. Emmanuelle Béart uses her beauty to build a complex character whose decisions we understand, even when we know or feel they are not in her best interest. Michel Serrault achieves here one of the best roles of his career, bringing to the fore dignity in the face of irremediable advancing age. Also in the cast is Michael Lonsdale, an actor I really like, in a mysterious supporting role inserted to bridge the (apparently) venerable aristocrat Arnaud had become with his shady past.

I don't know if Claude Sautet knew that this would be his last film. It seemed to me a synthesis of the evolution of a filmmaker who understood the relationships between people and brought to the screen discreet and rarely happy stories of seldom shared love. Stylistically we can observe the combination of traditional French cinema, with its permanent concern for the intellectual and bourgeois classes, and the techniques introduced by the New Wave. A good quarter of the film takes place in cafes and restaurants, there are also quite a few scenes shot on the streets of Paris. All beautiful, well constructed, expressive. With 'Nelly & Mr. Arnaud' Claude Sautet concludes his career with one of his best films.

Emmanuelle Beart and the movie itself are simply beautiful, gentle and breathtaking. So-French -totally in a good way; the movie has its own pace and tone. Everything is beyond excellency: acting, cinematography, direction and first of all (it all starts with) the perfect original script. They don't make these kind of movies often (and so well-done). If you like heart and truth you have to see this quiet modern masterpiece (and Un Coeur en Hiver, also with the dazzling Emmanuelle Beart).

Silence, Talk, Silence, Talk and the again Silence, occasional dinners at different restaurants, the daily meeting to edit a book manuscript, routine and the mass of exception that goes along with it and the humans that meet in-between.

Nelly & Monsieur is all that and more. It's about humans leading their lives as good as they can, they care for each other but in the end they all live their own quiet desperation. This probably sounds much worse than it is. Through the routine they get close to each other, express tenderness and affection for each other, but the exceptions never seem quite big enough to top what the routine gives.

Still Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud is a delightful movie. It's a slice of life drama which isn't quite drama or really slice of life.

During the entire movie something builds up, the yearning for a big leap of faith. When Nelly leaves her husband at the beginning of the movie it seems to be nothing much, it's over in about a minute and her husband does not claim much more of the running time. That's how it goes during the entire movie: What should be big changes in Nelly's life are written off as nothing much. In fact what triggers most emotional response from her are the routinely meetings with Monsieur Arnaud, a man perhaps 40 years older than her. In these routinely meetings they edit the book he wants to publish and they talk, they talk about themselves, their lives, their past, but also about the book... clearly something is building up… and this is where I'm going to tell you: "go see the movie to find out!", it's much worth a watch or perhaps some more.

The conflict is clearly there, yet the movie never becomes overly dramatic, in fact it's quite restrained and that's what makes it so delightful. We witness all the characters meetings and their talk which is often comic, not in the way that you would loudly laugh, much rather in a way that could make the characters themselves chuckle, and in fact, they do. There's never done too much to drive the point home, that's the slice of life aspect about it. What makes it not so much slice of life is that it's actually about a very special part in both Nelly's and Monsieur Arnaud's life; both of their lives change drastically after their meeting.

Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud delivers the atmosphere of all the afternoons when you're doing something rather unexceptional but still have a fine time. This movie will be a delight for people fond of such an atmosphere but even people who might not be especially enthralled by the atmosphere might still find joy in the careful treatment of the theme.

If nothing convinced you yet I have to note that the acting of both Emmanuelle Béart (Nelly) and Michel Serrault (Monsieur Arnaud) is absolutely exceptional. Emmanuelle Béart delivers everything with her face, especially with her eyes. Michel Serrault has a stunning presence; he sustains a sense of mystery around his character without ever becoming sentimental.

It's 8,5 from me and I deem it a great last movie for any director. Even though he was over 70 when he made it, Sautet still very much had it.