The movie begins with the alcohol-addicted Alain in the clinic meeting with Lydia, who is part of a troubled love. Alain has become a man who cut suicide news from the newspaper and has never exceeded his pains about life. Apart from her lover Lydia, her biggest problem is being able to love and wait for his wife Dorothy again.
This contradictory love situation, unique to New Wave films, is perceived differently for ordinary people and the leading role in the film. The will to change his life is not in Alain, but he believes that he has got rid of alcohol addiction and goes to Paris and wants to see what is left about life. The fire inside causes him to think about death and suicide. He falls into the arms of his weak and willless addiction and his incompatible character as he sees his friends in Paris.
In my opinion, the importance of this film for the New Wave is that it makes you question what salvation is despite the moody atmosphere. Although it is not one of the most representative films of the New Wave, Le feu follet makes an impressive touch to the new wave existentialism. Preparing to fall asleep by saying Alain will “kill myself tomorrow” makes you think a lot without saying much.
Alain’s saying, “There is still a lot to be experienced.” It has come to an end. He also sees his friends as bourgeoisie, who are obsessed with false passions. But what did Alain do and strive for? The difficulty in understanding this is related to the characters that maintain the uncertainty of the New Wave and which are tried to be made to feel very “deep”. We don’t follow Alain. It is almost as if we were immersed in Alain’s grief. To conclude with his last words; “I’m killing myself because you didn’t love me because I didn’t love you. Because our ties were very loose. I kill myself to strengthen our ties. I leave you with an indelible stain. ”(Gülin Çavuş)
Storyline
Life has become unbearably painful for Alain who is in his early 30s. He once used alcohol to dull the pain. His estranged wife in New York has paid for a cure at a clinic in Versailles and sends an emissary, one of the many woman he has known, to see how Alain is. She sees only the surface as does his doctor, who says it’s time for Alain to leave the clinic. He goes to Paris the next morning and has lunch with old friends, a rendezvous in a cafe and is invited to a dinner party. Will Alain make a connection that will change his mind about ending it all?
Le Feu Follet (1963)
Directed by: Louis Malle
Starring: Maurice Ronet, Léna Skerla, Yvonne Clech, Hubert Deschamps, Jean-Paul Moulinot, Mona Dol, Pierre Moncorbier, René Dupuy, Jeanne Moreau, Ursula Kubler, Alexandra Stewart
Screenplay by: Pierre Drieu La Rochelle
Production Design by: Bernard Evein
Cinematography by: Ghislain Cloquet
Film Editing by: Suzanne Baron
Costume Design by: Gitt Magrini
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Lux Compagnie Cinématographique de France (France)
Release Date: October 15, 1963
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