Second viewing; previously viewed between 1983 and 1986.
Max is released on parole, but resumes his life of crime.
It has at least one great sequence (hint: it features Max and his parole officer), some good ones and some not so good ones. So, while not consistently great, on the whole I think this is a gripping story about a flawed individual.
Rating: 72 (down from 81)
U.S. title: The Room Upstairs
In a provincial town, Blanche, a young widow, lives with her uncle who owns a bird shop. She is not from that region, and had lived in Paris before. She has an affair with a local, who is married, but her uncle expects her to marry a diplomat whose rich wife is ill and may die soon. One night, Blanche goes to a boxing match and meets a man who works in the construction business. He is attracted to her, and they start a relationship.
This is a nicely put together passional drama, and well filmed too. One might say it's a tad predictable, but it's so well done that this is not much of a nuisance. The acting is good, and certainly enlivens the film. In its genre, I don't see how one could improve it. I'd never heard of it before it was shown on TV5 about a year ago, and so I suppose it is not well known. Perhaps it should be, but perhaps some people could find it too depressing.
Rating: 63
