Taglines: The many ways of young love…
Love at Twenty unites five directors from around the world to present their different perspectives on what love really is at the age of 20. The episodes are united with the score of Georges Delerue and still photos of Henri Cartier-Bresson.
The directors create their peculiar scenarios with Truffaut revisiting Antoine Doinel, this time finding some meaning to his life while getting involved with a girl; Renzo Rossellini’s episode about an abandoned mistress; Ishihara’s tale about an obsessive love; Ophüls’ story about a pregnant woman trying to plot against the baby’s father; and Wajda presenting a confusing relationship between people from different generations.
Love at Twenty (French: L’Amour à Vingt Ans) is a 1962 French-produced omnibus project of Pierre Roustang, consisting of five segments directed by five directors from five different countries. It was entered into the 12th Berlin International Film Festival.
Five Segments<, Five Directors
The first segment, titled Antoine and Colette is by François Truffaut (France) and returns actor Jean-Pierre Léaud to the role of Antoine Doinel, a role he played three years earlier in The 400 Blows and would return to again in 1968 (Stolen Kisses), 1970 (Bed and Board) and 1979 (Love on the Run). It concerns the frustrations of love for the now 17-year-old Doinel and the unresponsive girl he adores.
The second segment, the directorial debut of 21-year-old Renzo Rossellini (Italy), son of Roberto Rossellini and later a noted producer himself, tells the story of a tough mistress who loses her lover to an older, wealthier and more-appreciative woman.
The third, by Japanese film director Shintarō Ishihara is described as a “weird, grotesque” and “clumsy” tale of obsessive and morbid love.
Fourth is Marcel Ophüls (Germany) with a “charming, but somewhat sentimental” story of an unwed mother who contrives to trap the father of her baby.
Finally the fifth segment, by Andrzej Wajda (Poland) entitled Warszawa depicts a brief intergenerational liaison based upon multiple misunderstandings.
The episodes are tied together with still photos by Henri Cartier-Bresson and a wistful jazz soundtrack by Georges Delerue. Truffaut’s and Wajda’s segments (the first and the last, respectively) are considered the highlights of the collection.
Love at Twenty (1962)
Directed by: François Truffaut, Andrzej Wajda, Renzo Rossellini, Shintarō Ishihara, Marcel Ophüls
Starring: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Marie-France Pisier, Patrick Auffay, Rosy Varte, François Darbon, Jean-François Adam, Cristina Gaioni, Geronimo Meynier, Eleonora Rossi Drago, Barbara Frey
Screenplay by: Shintarô Ishihara, Marcel Ophüls, Renzo Rossellini, Yvon Samuel, Jerzy Stefan Stawiński, François Truffaut
Cinematography by: Raoul Coutard, Jerzy Lipman, Mario Montuori, Shigeo Murata, Wolf Wirth
Film Editing by: Claudine Bouché, Halina Nawrocka
Art Direction by: Jean de Baroncelli
Music by: Georges Delerue
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Embassy Pictures
Release Date: June 22, 1962
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