Two English Girls (1972)

Synopsis: A neverending visual feast of strikingly beautiful images--from a stone château looking over the ocean in the English countryside to the grand art ateliers and beautifully decorated parlors of... A neverending visual feast of strikingly beautiful images--from a stone château looking over the ocean in the English countryside to the grand art ateliers and beautifully decorated parlors of Paris--François Truffaut's TWO ENGLISH GIRLS is the story of the lovely Anne (Kika Markham) and her intriguing little sister, Muriel (Stacey Tendeter), who invite their Parisian friend Claude (Jean-Pierre Léaud) to spend one summer with them in England and then spend the rest of their lives wrapped up in their changing relationships with him. That first summer, while painting canvases by the sea, playing lawn tennis, having lively games of charades in front of a majestic fireplace, the threesome becomes quite close. Despite Muriel's weak emotional and physical health (including damaged eyes that cause her to sometimes wear a macabre bandage across her face) and Anne's overprotectiveness, the banal scenario becomes rather interesting as the randy trio becomes more and more engrossed in their romantic games, leading to numerous turns in the story. An analytic narrator keeps the action on track, while the majority of the tale is told in voice-overs by the characters, who are constantly writing personal letters to each other or pouring their hearts out in their diaries. The narrative style of TWO ENGLISH GIRLS follows the traditional format of a Jane Austen period piece, while its emotionally complex story line, symbolically loaded cinematography, and attention to famous works of art--especially Rodin--give it an intellectual sophistication and a seductive sheen. Like the similarly themed JULES ET JIM, Truffaut's film is once again based on a novel by Henri-Pierre Roché. [More]

Starring: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Kika Markham, Stacey Tendeter, Marie Mansart

Starring: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Kika Markham, Stacey Tendeter, Marie Mansart, Sylvia Marriott

Director: François Truffaut

Director: François Truffaut
Composer: Georges Delerue

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