Cesar and Rosalie

What a terrific, offbeat little gem this one is! I stumbled across it in the Seattle Library List and checked it out. It was made in 1972 when these three appealing stars were at the peak of their box office appeal: Yves Montand ("Grand Prix" and "Delusions of Grandeur"), Romy Schneider ("What's New, Pussy Cat?" and Boccaccio '70"), and Sami Frey ("Who was Kafka?" and "War and Remembrance"). All three are a treat to the eye!

Initially, Montand's character made me think of Broderick Crawford's junk dealer in "Born Yesterday" but he quickly showed me that this man has much more to offer; disregarding his wealth from scrap metal, this character has an upbeat personality, is funny, charming, likeable and considerate, although his lower-class roots sometimes assert them- selves. His and Schneider's characters are lovers, although they don't live together, while Frey's character was the man she loved before she married her FIRST husband (remember, they're French...), who comes back to France to look her up. Schneider's character is enigmatic, honest, gorgeous, smart and much loved by both men.

Montand starts out very confident of Schneider's love, then doubt starts to creep in. The lengths to which he is willing to go for her happiness are what this movie is all about. This is yet another of Montand's characters that continue to amaze me as I dig them up. His range was wonderful and he was never less than convincing. What a gem!

This DVD is available in all the on-line catalogs, so I have to conclude it is also available through the various rentals, e.g., Netflix, Blockbuster, etc... I hope so, I'm sure you will find it clever, insightful and diverting.