It's going to be difficult to discuss this film without sounding like an Academic manque' so if I start throwing in jargon like 'metonyme', 'diagenetic', 'mimentic', etc give me a solid nudge, flash me a snapshot of the Accatone and send me to bed without any supper. One of the reasons for an Academe feeding frenzy are the parallels with Ophuls earlier film La Ronde; both are circular and both feature a carousel-like progression; in La Ronde it is venereal disease that passes from one person to another in Madame D ... it is a pair of diamond heart earrings, given to her by her husband (Charles Boyer) on the day after her wedding, which, in order to settle some considerable debts incurred we know not how, Madame D ... (Danielle Darrieux) sells to a friendly jeweller. When she reports them stolen to account for their disappearance the case is reported in the press and the jeweller approaches Boyer, who buys them back and gives them to his own mistress who in turn sells them in Constantinople to cover her gambling debts. There they are bought by Dantoni (Vittoria de Sica) who meets Darrieux in Paris and embarks on an affair with her and, in the fullness of time, presents her with her own earrings. This is merely a frame on which to hang some stunning camera work and what is striking is the way that Ophuls keeps both his camera and the lovers continuously spinning around in three-quarter time. This is a sumptuous movie with timeless performances from the three principals, a feat of black and white photography and an undisputed French classic.
Review of The Earrings of Madame De...
