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  Average Rating for Bonjour Tristesse - 3 out of 5

  
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• Bonjour Tristesse

  Ed Howard 01 May 2007

  

  Otto Preminger's second film directing Jean Seberg (after the flop of "Saint Joan") is an odd modern parable with a constantly shifting tone that makes it very difficult to pin down. On the one hand, the film's glorious Technicolor vibrance makes it look a classical musical, and there's even a grandiose outdoor dance that's clearly meant to evoke that tradition. And the interaction between Seberg and her screen father, David Niven, is absolutely witty and sparkling and impossible to resist. The two play a father/daughter pair of idle rich adventurers, vacationing by the sea and partying it up in their usual way -- drinking, sleeping late, and having casual flings. That is, until Deborah Kerr enters the picture as an old family friend who Niven falls in love with and marries, in the process seemingly abandoning his carefree lifestyle and allowing Kerr to rein in his daughter as well. Preminger allows his audience to utterly sympathize with his idle, spoiled characters, right up until the devastating tragedy of the climax. The film ably juggles moods, especially in the contrast between the framing scenes, shot in noir-ish black and white, and the gaudy color flashbacks that take up most of the film. Sony's DVD is barebones, but most importantly it does justice to the film's sunny, colorful palette.

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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 or region free DVD player in order to play An amoral French girl and her playboy father discover the dark side of passion in this sizzling 1958 adaptation of Francoise Sagan&39;s notorious bestseller Jean Seberg is Cecile the spoiled 17-year-old daughter of Raymond (David Nevin) a wealthy Parisian widower vacationing in a sumptuous villas on the French Rivera Their shallow pleasure-seeking existence is threatened when Raymond decides to marry Cecil&39;s straitlaced godmother Anne(Deborah Kerr) who disapproves of the teenager&39;s steamy summer affair with Philippe (Geoffrey Horne) To keep her carefree world from being shattered Cecile plots to drive Anne away But it&39;s a Goodbye Happiness&39; and &39;Bonjour Tristesse&39; (Hello Sadness) when the plan takes an unexpected and tragic turn

Drama based on the novel by Francoise Sagan. Jean Seberg plays Cecile, the spoiled 17-year-old daughter of Raymond (David Niven), a wealthy Parisian widower vacationing in a sumptuous villa on the French Riviera. Their shallow, pleasure-seeking existence is threatened when Raymond decides to marry Cecil's straitlaced godmother, Anne (Deborah Kerr), who disapproves of the teenager's steamy summer affair with Philippe (Geoffrey Horne). To keep her carefree world from being shattered, Cecile plots to drive Anne away. But it's goodbye happiness and bonjour tristesse (hello sadness) when the plan takes an unexpected and tragic turn.