Jules and Jim (1962)
92%RT Audience Score: 89%
Awards & Nominations: 3 wins & 5 nominations total
Francois Truffaut’s arguable masterpiece in a filmography full of masterpieces ready to be argued for, Jules and Jim is an eternal ode to boundless love.
Jules and Jim is like a love triangle on steroids! Truffaut’s direction is so masterful that you can’t help but get swept up in the story. The black-and-white widescreen cinematography is stunning, and the dialogue is so literary that it feels like you’re reading a novel. It’s a case study in romantic triangulation that only the French could make so beautifully. Plus, it introduced the vulgar into the bourgeois, which is always a good time. Overall, this film is a near-perfect masterpiece that will leave you feeling all the feels.
Production Company(ies)
Columbia Pictures, Bona Film Group Heyday Films,
Distributor
Janus Films, Criterion Collection, Alpha Filmes
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Cimetière du Père-Lachaise – 16 rue Repos, Paris 20, Paris, France
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
1962
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 50m
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Language(s):French, German, English
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Country of origin:France
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jan 23, 1962 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 7, 2005
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
Jules and Jim, drama, French, Francois Truffaut, directed by Francois Truffaut, written by Henri-Pierre Roché, Francois Truffaut, Jean Gruault, starring Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner, Henri Serre, Marie Dubois, Vanna Urbino, Sabine Haudepin, produced by Marcel Berbert, box office performance, budget, MPAA rating, reviewed by Kevin Maher, Peter Bradshaw, Carrie Rickey, Variety Staff, Ed Gonzalez, Dave Kehr, Ken Winters, Sarah Brinks, Victor Pineyro, Philip French, David Parkinson, Paul Dale, love triangle, World War I, Austria, France, Catherine, Jules, Jim, friendship, impulsive, beautiful, daughter, exuberant, introverted, eternal ode, boundless love, near-perfect film, literary, dialogue, Michel Subor, romantic triangulation, light touch, evoking moods, candid entry, ageless beauty, spirit, sublimity, New Wave, French film, Wes Anderson, universal truths, relationships, French attitude, visually joyful, creative, pioneering visuals, comedic, dramatic, romantic, war-time dramatics, heavy-handed tale, romantic deceit, childish gayness, optimism, tragedy, melancholy, pursuit of love, obsession, repetitive, admirably-constructed
Worldwide gross: $446,908
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $4,969,844
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,178
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 541,968
US/Canada gross: $509
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $5,660
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,828
US/Canada opening weekend: $11,206
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $124,616
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,855
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Oskar Werner – Jules
Henri Serre – Jim
Marie Dubois – Thérèse
Vanna Urbino – Gilberte
Sabine Haudepin – La petite
Director(s)
François Truffaut
Writer(s)
Henri-Pierre Roché, François Truffaut, Jean Gruault, François Truffaut
Producer(s)
Marcel Berbert
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 5 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (47) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (3)
This is a near-perfect film from François Truffaut…
February 4, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
There is something very literary about the film, with dialogue line-readings that often sound like the voiceover narration by Michel Subor.
February 2, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
A case study in romantic triangulation.
February 18, 2014 | Rating: 5/5
Carrie Rickey
The Dissolve
TOP CRITIC
Truffaut has a light touch for evoking moods, time, place and desires. Its forthright attempt to grasp life sometimes makes it uneven. But, overall, this is a candid entry.
May 28, 2008
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
More than 40 years old, François Truffaut’s whirling dervish remains an ageless beauty.
December 12, 2006
Ed Gonzalez
Village Voice
TOP CRITIC
With this 1961 film Truffaut comes closest to the spirit and sublimity of his mentor, Jean Renoir, and the result is a masterpiece of the New Wave.
December 12, 2006
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
This is the kind of movie that only the French seem able to make really beautifully.
August 18, 2021
Ken Winters
Winnipeg Free Press
I can’t quite put my finger on what is so fascinating about love triangles, but they certainly make for great fiction.
March 26, 2021
Sarah Brinks
Battleship Pretension
One of the summit’s of Truffaut’s career. This love triangle seems intrepid and brave, to the point that modernity becomes insolent. It introduced the vulgar into the bourgeois. [Full review in Spanish]
March 1, 2021 | Rating: 8/10
Victor Pineyro
Seventh Art Studio
It’s a majestic film, beautifully photographed in black-and-white widescreen by Raoul Coutard…
June 16, 2020
Philip French
Observer (UK)
Echoing the style of Jean Renoir while epitomising the exuberance of the nouvelle vague, this is a virtuoso technical performance from the director.
June 16, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
David Parkinson
Radio Times
Truffaut is having fun and so are we.
June 16, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
Paul Dale
The List…
Plot
In pre-WWI Paris, two friends, Jules (Austrian) and Jim (French), fall in love with the same woman, Catherine. But Catherine loves and marries Jules. When they meet again in Germany after the war, Catherine starts to love Jim – This is the story of three people in love, a love that doesn’t affect their friendship, and about how their relationship evolves with the years.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Jeanne Moreau’s performance in Jules and Jim is considered one of the highlights of the film, and helped establish her as a major French actress.
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