Three

This film wears well since the story is an age old one. So nice to see the young Sam Waterston and Charlotte Rampling in very picturesque european locations.What happened to Robie Porter? Two male friends in Europe meet a beautiful English girl who then travels with them on their summer tour (many young Americans did this in the sixties in Europe) One, Sam Waterston, is an idealist about love, falling for Rampling, but keeping a promise to his friend that everything has to be kept platonic for the three to survive as a group. Rampling needs the attractive company but also wants a physical relationship which Porter, at the end, gives to her. Waterston realises the magic of the threesome is broken and gives up the the romantic thoughts of studying in Paris and breaks away to return home. Thoughtful and well told, more through subtle actions than words.

Two young American students (Bert played by Robie Porter, and Taylor played by Sam Waterston) meet an intriguing young woman while on their vacation in Europe.

What follows is a contemplation on the passage of youth and a tribute to those periods of time in one's life when there is a temptation to disengage from life's responsibilities and dwell in an aimless pursuit of pleasure.

The photography and the scenery are beautiful and full of a fin d'ete quality. The camera lingers on the three young people, who wander in search of the next town, the next experience, something to vanquish boredom, while reveling in idleness. Marty (Charlotte Rampling) is the focus of the men's attentions, but the film centers on Taylor, who Waterston portrays as full of eagerness, self-doubt, and lack of guile, reminiscent of a young Anthony Perkins. He tries to free himself from the conventions of (American) society, but they are too deeply ingrained.

Though the messages of the film might be personal to the viewer, I think it does capture a moment in life that many can identify with. And as someone who was around to experience 1969 (when the film was released), I think it captures the mood of the times and reminds one of the choices available, remembering that the military draft was a reality that hung over the heads of all male college students.

Story of two college buddys who are touring through Europe and meet a beautiful woman and of course they both vie for her affections. She of course likes both of them! The sites are beautiful and actually are important to the story. The scenery and Charlotte Rampling are both beautiful and mysterious and Sam Waterston has a difficult time accepting both for what they are. I guess this is the moral dilemma that the characters must ponder! Lots of shots of the characters doing nothing! Extetended scenes of them eating, drinking and just walking and looking around. The pace of the film is very slow and it seems deliberate. The director seems to want us to feel what its like to be consumed by the scenery and elements. I guess its effective, but I'm not sure how interesting it is.

Young Americans Bert (Robie Porter) and Taylor (Sam Waterston) buy an old Puegeot to drive across southern Europe. They encounter various female travelers. Marty (Charlotte Rampling) joins them and puts them to the test.

I don't know much about director James Salter. He seems more of a writer and this is his only directing credit. The sense of bored youth is all over this movie. The girls almost don't have the strength to lift their arms. The people live so slowly that they almost travel back in time. It's a more amateurish production. It does have the great Waterston and the great Rampling in their youth. These are beautiful people in their 20's. Rampling is especially adapt at playing beautiful, young, bored, and yet mentally alert. There are moments which struck me as funny. It's not a movie of action thrills but the old world charms do have its own particular thrills. Let's watch them lie around some more.

I didn't catch up to this film until thirty years after the fact, but I was pulled in by its simple, elegant emotional resonance. This is a pretty young Sam Waterston. Though the plot is rife with potential rivalries over Charlotte Rampling, the film lays an astute and well-observed tale about friendship over a road film and, happily, these guys aren't ugly Americans, and even make an attempt to try to speak the languages along the way. Wonderful, spare location photography. I started watching it out of morbid interest, but ended up being lulled by that heart ache and yearning at the center of a vacation and adventure movie.