Das Geheimnis der falschen Braut

Truffaut ist mein Favorit, von den französischen Regisseuren gehört er zusammen mit Ozon zu meiner persönlichen absoluten Spitze. Dies bedeutet allerdings nicht, dass ich all seine Filme gleichermaßen mag. Bei diesem romantisch-dramatischen Thriller ist hat es meines Erachtens geschadet, dass ich irgendwann vor zehn Jahren wahrscheinlich dreimal Original Sin gesehen habe, das mich buchstäblich von seiner Atmosphäre, der wundervollen Chemie zwischen dem temperamentvollen Banderas und der verhängnisvollen Angelina, der mitreißenden Handlung und mehreren außergewöhnlich gut gelungenen, buchstäblich unvergesslichen Szenen in seinen Bann gezogen hat. Ich bin jemand, der bei Filmen vor allem die Handlung verfolgt, mich interessieren die Handlung, wie die Figuren gezeichnet sind, die Spannung, der Plot, und es konnte mich hier kurz gesagt nichts überraschen, im Gegenteil, ich fühlte mich des dramatischen Plots mit dem gefährlichen Liebhaber der Protagonistin beraubt. Wahrscheinlich klingt es filmisch barbarisch, aber mir hat Original Sin wirklich besser gefallen. Das ändert jedoch nichts an meiner Bewunderung für Truffauts Werk. (12.11.2012)

Openly speaking, I have a real problem with this film... Francois Truffaut is my favorite director and his direction is not a disappointment in this case either. The cast is luxurious, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Catherine Deneuve are first-rate stars and their mere presence on the screen is beneficial. Moreover, they don't even act badly. What bothers me, however, is the script, or rather the basic premise. This melodrama with a crime plot has a significantly unreliable outline, and it is fabricated to the point of misery. The film is clearly set in the time of its production, the late 60s, when the sexual revolution was at its peak, technology rapidly shortened distances and connected people from the other side of the planet, consumer society was booming, and at the same time, a successful businessman exchanges several letters with a completely unknown woman and arranges marriage with her without ever meeting her before. They don't even call each other to hear how their voices sound? If the story took place in the year 1900, I wouldn't have a problem with it, maybe in the 30s, but this? After the man learns that he has been robbed of all his savings and his fiancee murdered, by an incredible stroke of luck, he meets that fraudster, and then a short conversation culminating in the sentence: "I still love you," is enough for him to forgive that woman and plan a life together despite her criminal past, and what's more, he is willing to murder for her and lose all his standing. It just doesn't add up and I don't believe it for a second. Three weak stars for the direction and performances. Overall impression: 50%. (11.04.2009)

Why did Truffaut make so few “Hitch-esque" movies? And why, when he did make one, in the second he had to grind it down to a study of an unusual relationship? Don’t get me wrong, both moods are Truffaut precise, it’s just that together then don’t hit it off in any respect. It’s like trying to stuff a beautiful round shape into a perfect triangle hole. In the end you might even get it in there, but it won’t result in perfect beauty however hard you try. It just won’t. (15.10.2008)