Catherine Deneuve was a natural Hitchcock blonde - icy beauty and suggested sensuality underneath; she never made a movie for him but Hitchcock fan Francois Truffaut was the next best thing and certainly she's very well cast as a mystery brie in this movie. Reunion Island planter Jean Paul Belmondo has fallen in love with her via letters - she rocks up, he marries her, but she's not who she appears to be.
Belmondo has great star charisma but his casting does throw the movie off - he's a handsome, virile guy, I didn't quite believe he would need to resort to a mail order bride, even on Reunion... the movie is set in the present day. I also didn't quite buy he would become so obsessed with Deneuve he would overlook all the lying and deception. (There's nothing wrong with his performance, it just took a stretch.) Mind you, Deneuve is very hot.
The first half is a decent mystery - Belmondo falling for Denueve, then trying to find her; very Hitchcock. The second half is more warped this-love-thing-is-crazy stuff, which feels more typically Truffaut. (Though this is influential in it's way - the ending of this isn't that far away from Basic Instinct.) Bizarre scripting decision - Deneuve's actions are motivated by this evil gangster called Richard who we barely see.
There's beautiful locations - Reunion Island, the Alps, Lyon. The stars look stunning.
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