Bella Krastner is sunbathing on a beach on the Côte d'Azur when she attracts the attention of an attractive younger man, Ralph Scaffari. It is the start of a whirlwind romance which looks like it might last beyond the end of the summer. Unfortunately, Bella is already married, to Carl Krastner, a once renowned pianist who has become bitter and reclusive after a car accident that irreparably damaged one of his hands. Krastner no longer has any zest for living. He tyrannises both his wife and his sister Laurence and divides his time between scuba diving and gambling. After ratcheting up a small fortune in gambling debts, Krastner decides to fake his own death so that he can claim on his life insurance.
Acting
Michèle Morgan's suffocated radiance—glamour used as armor.
Cinematography
Côte d'Azur so gorgeous it mocks these miserable people.
Writing
The casual cruelty of how Carl weaponizes his disability.
Director
Philippe Agostini
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This is peak 'cinéma de qualité'—the French mainstream style the New Wave rebels specifically hated for being too literary and polished. Agostini was a cinematographer first, which explains the pretty suffering.
Pierre Brasseur based Carl's physicality on real pianists he'd observed, particularly the way ruined virtuosi protect their damaged hands—a detail that makes his scuba diving almost obscene.
FR
