«Gilles and Jim,» a landmark film of the French New Wave, is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. François Truffaut’s classic masterpiece premiered in French theaters on January 23, 1962, and arrived in Greece on April 9 of that year (initially under the sexist title «Enjoy My Body»). Since then, it has served as a model for filmmakers and a subject of study for film historians.
The director’s radical techniques—with the handheld camera and its constant movement, the long takes, outdoor shooting with natural lighting, rapid cuts in the editing, the relentless voice-over, along with the wonderful music by Georges Delery, are so captivating and inventive that, as Gregory Weickmann notes on BBC.com, Martin Scorsese later admitted that *Goodfellas* (1990), *Casino* (1995), and *The Wolf of Wall Street* (2013) were his attempts to recreate that daring cinematic freedom.
«Gil and Jim» has both substance and style, exploring sex, friendship, love, masculinity, war, and Paris in a poetic and often heart-wrenching way, all while revolving around the friendliest ménage à trois in the history of cinema.
«It's a romantic film, without being a romantic comedy or a conventional romantic melodrama,» explains Dr. Richard Nebert, an expert on French cinema and a professor at the University of Georgia in Athens, USA, to the BBC. «It’s just very open-minded and not at all judgmental,» he says. The plot begins before World War I and concludes 25 years later.
Modeled after Oscar Werner, Henri Serre, and Jean Moreau, Gilles, Jim, and Catherine, respectively, are the protagonists of Henri-Pierre Rosé’s novel «Gilles and Jim» (published in Greek by Patakis), on which François Truffaut’s film of the same name was based. Sensitive intellectuals—Gilles, an Austrian and the more shy of the two, while Jim, a Frenchman, is more outgoing; both are captivated by Catherine’s spontaneity and zest for life.
When Gilles and Catherine move to the Austrian mountains, get married, and have a young daughter, Jim immediately senses that she is unhappy. Soon, Jim and Catherine can no longer ignore the feelings that are developing between them. And instead of getting angry, Gilles is so worried that Catherine might leave his life forever that he gives the couple his blessing. For a while, they all live together, but Jim and Catherine’s efforts to conceive cause mental and emotional anguish.
As the heroine of the Netflix series, «Emily in Paris»—played by Lily Collins—their relationship may be based on affection and love, but it’s just as tragic. In the fourth episode of the series« second season, Emily goes to the famous Parisian cinema Le Champo to watch »Gilles and Jim.« However, while her colleague Lick calls the ending beautiful—because it makes their love »eternal”—for Emily, its tragedy takes precedence.
There is, of course, an important reason why the old French film stirs up such intense emotions in Emily. The young American woman, who has moved to Paris, is in love with Gabriel, her neighbor and the boyfriend of Camille, Emily’s only French friend. This causes her inner conflict, ruins her friendship with Camille, and complicates her feelings for Gabriel. However, Emily’s reaction when she sees «Gilles and Jim» is perfectly understandable.
A good movie about a love triangle should make viewers rethink their views on sex, relationships, and love, writes Gregory Weickmann for the BBC. And of course, this is neither the first nor the last time we’ve seen a love triangle on the big screen. It has been a staple of film and television since their inception, and stories full of drama and conflict will continue to be shown in the future.
However, the legacy of the series *Emily in Paris* in pop culture will likely be insignificant, while there is no doubt about the impact of *Gilles and Jim*. Even now, 60 years after its premiere, the film’s portrayal of the ménage à trois—and Truffaut’s entirely non-judgmental stance toward the relationship between Gilles, Jim, and Catherine—remains groundbreaking. «There’s a very unusual candor regarding this type of relationship,» explains Dr. Richard Nebert.
«Trifo really wanted to make something that people would accept. But he also wanted to do it in the spirit of the French New Wave. He plays with many different traditions, influences, and styles of filmmaking. That’s why he incorporated stylistic innovations into his film, such as frozen frames. ’He wanted it to stand on equal footing with a Godard film and at the same time be timeless,» says the American professor. Beyond its innovative approach to the subject matter, however, the strength and emotional nuances of the three characters earned the film universal acclaim: «You feel sorry for each of the characters at different moments,» adds Noepert.
«All three are fragile and vulnerable. But at the same time, they are utterly devoted. They can’t help themselves. It’s a real contradiction.» Furthermore, instead of constantly experiencing dramatic situations and tension because they love each other equally, Jill, Jim, and Catherine are able to discuss their feelings and motivations in a tremendously honest and intellectually refreshing way. This immediately set «Gilles and Jim» apart from most other films centered on love triangles.
«The structure of “Zil and Jim” is very different from films featuring love triangles, which depict a female protagonist with competing male suitors,» says Dr. Michelle Mick, an assistant professor of film studies at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts. «Most love-triangle movies are something like a heterosexual female fantasy. Usually, the heroine has several suitors to choose from. One is very sexually assertive, and the other is a more practical choice. They never meet anyone who is both sexually assertive and a good partner,» she adds.
The American professor cites, for example, the films *The Philadelphia Story* (1940), *Sabrina* (1954), «It’s Complicated» (2009), and «Bridget Jones’s Diary« (2001) as examples of films featuring female characters who negotiate and ultimately choose their partners. These aren’t the only films told from a woman’s perspective, but Michelle Mick highlights the common threads in their stories: the ways in which »they act, make choices, and explore what is important to them in a partner.«.
For Mick, however, «“Gilles and Jim” is the opposite. It’s the nightmare of never feeling satisfied, of never enjoying love or sex». The influence of «Gilles and Jim» is, moreover, evident in films such as Bernard Blier’s «The Waltz of the Depraved» («Les Valseuses,» 1974), «I Want My Mom» (*Y Tu Mamá También*, 2001) by Alfonso Cuarón, and *The Dreamers* (2003) by Bernardo Bertolucci, to name just a few. The main difference, however, is that these films explore their characters« sexuality in a much more explicit way. And the purpose of their sex scenes is to signal that the participants are either at their lowest point or rapidly approaching it.
«In movies and on TV, it’s no longer considered taboo for characters to have sex or have relationships outside of marriage. Those barriers have been broken down. But, for some reason, one thing has remained more constant than ever,» says Mick, adding: «Ultimately, a love triangle isn’t considered a viable solution for a relationship. It may be portrayed in a positive light for a while. But more often than not, it comes across as something that takes a very troubling turn.» In «Gilles and Jim,» during the first hour, the trio’s relationship is idyllic. Society doesn’t shun them; their bohemian friends, after all, are involved in similar romances. Gilles is in a committed relationship with Catherine, and Jim falls in love with her. But Jim’s mutual love and respect for Gilles make him hesitant to get involved with Catherine as well.
«In reality, “Gil and Jim” is more of a tragic love story between the two men than a traditional love triangle movie,» Mick argues. «The title, after all, is their names; it’s their story. Catherine disrupts and ultimately destroys their happy relationship.» However, there are certain aspects of the film that are undeniably problematic when viewed through a contemporary lens. This is especially true of Catherine, who, after marrying and having a child with Gilles, has been in a long-term affair with Albert (Serge Rezani). She then decides to settle down and try to have a baby with Jim. But when he starts to pull away, Catherine becomes increasingly unhappy and irrational: «The film seems to be saying, “Women will play by the same rules as men. But they don’t really seem cut out for it,’” observes the American professor.
She adds: «The film portrays Catherine’s indecisiveness toward men as a sign of her emotional instability and the sense of insatiability that consumes her, which is particularly complex and sexist, given that they call her a “real woman”» («Catherine isn’t particularly beautiful, nor is she smart or sincere, but she’s a real woman,» Gilles says at one point). However, Catherine’s flaws and self-destructive behavior make Jeanne Moreau’s performance all the more impressive. Not only does she «refuse to conform to any of the simplistic assumptions about what she ought to do,» Richard Noebert tells the BBC, but she is an emancipated female character—something extremely rare in cinema at that time.
It should be noted that, in addition to her performance, Moro also contributed to the screenplay, assisting Trifo with the dialogue and characters. It has even been said that, in the middle of production, real life began to imitate art: Moro became romantically involved with Trifo at the very same time that her romance with her first husband, Jean-Louis Richard, was rekindled: «Obviously, there was tension on set. Almost all the men were obsessed with her,» says Noepert. «That simply added a real and personal dimension to the film.».
Sixty years later, writes Gregory Weickmann on the BBC, the combination of Jeanne Moreau’s innate magnetism and Truffaut’s directorial talent makes «Gilles and Zim» seem as creative, original, and inspired as any other film released since then. However, the film’s popularity can also be attributed to its theme. Love, excitement, jealousy, disappointment, and betrayal of the love triangle make «Zil and Zim» a film that is not only captivating but also rich in subtle nuances of meaning.
By Kiki Triantafylli
