Bonjour Tristesse

Star Review

Bonjour Tristesse is often neglected in the Otto Preminger canon in favour of his films noir from the 1940s or his starry big-budget movies such as Exodus. Yet Bonjour Tristesse is a masterpiece, and its ruthless depiction of the corruption of the rich recalls Sirk’s Written On The Wind. Jean Seberg stars as spoilt rich girl Cecile, whose possessiveness is inflamed when her roguish bachelor father Raymond (an excellent David Niven) becomes attracted to a prim and prudish designer (Deborah Kerr). Cecile’s decision to try and end this new relationship leads to tragic results.
The characteristic image of Jean Seberg is her iconic role as the flighty American girl in Godard's À Bout de Souffle, but Bonjour Tristesse features her finest acting. She convinces as both a shallow, irresponsible monster who disposes of her rival with little thought to the people she is hurting, and as a vulnerable daughter threatened by the intrusion on her quasi-oedipal relationship with her father – we realise that Cecile, like Raymond, is destined to continue as a sociopath. This uncharacteristically bleak implication renders Bonjour Tristesse one of the most interesting and disturbing melodramas of the 1950s.

Alex Davidson on 8th July 2005

View all 154 of Alex Davidson’s reviews

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Film Description

Drama based on Francoise Sagan's novel. Jean Seberg plays Cecile, the spoiled 17-year-old daughter of a wealthy Parisian widower vacationing in a sumptuous villa on the French Riviera. Their shallow existence is threatened when Raymond decides to marry Cecil's straitlaced godmother who disapproves of the teenager's steamy summer affair. To keep her carefree world from being shattered, Cecile plots to drive Anne away. Her plan however, takes an unexpected and tragic turn.

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DVD Extras

• French, English, Italian, German and Spanish Mono language options.

Film Details

Cast

David Niven, Jean Seberg, Deborah Kerr, Juliette Greco

Technical Details