©Gaumont
Le sense de l’objet – Les boucles fatales
Madame de…
1953 / France, Italy / 96min / Black and White / Blu-ray
Director: Max Ophüls
Writers: Marcel Achard, Max Ophüls, Annette Wademant, Louise de Vilmorin
Cinematography: Christian Matras
Music: Oscar Straus, Georges Van Parys
Cast: Danielle Darrieux, Charles Boyer, Vittorio De Sica, Jean Debucourt, Lia Di Leo
Set in the early 20th century, the film focuses on a brilliant grande dame in the opulent era of Belle Époque Paris. Her name? Madame de… To repay the debts she has accrued through a lavish lifestyle, the woman secretly sells a pair of diamond earrings she had received from her husband, an army general, as a wedding present. After discovering the truth, the general buys back the earrings, which pass through a number of different hands, including the general’s mistress and an Italian baron, before finally returning to Madame de. A symbol of love gone cold, the jewels illuminate various aspects of the relationships between these upper-class men and women, who find themselves at the mercy of fate. In the meantime, the earrings begin to take on a completely different meaning. Depicted with elegant camerawork, the drama, tinged with the dazzling splendor of love, is director Max Ophuls’ crowning achievement.