Jules and Jim

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1h 50m

Drama

List

94%

50 Reviews

Tomatometer

89%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In the carefree days before World War I, introverted Austrian author Jules (Oskar Werner) strikes up a friendship with the exuberant Frenchman Jim (Henri Serre). Both men fall for the impulsive and beautiful Catherine (Jeanne Moreau), but it's Jules who wins her hand. After the war, Jim visits Jules, Catherine and their daughter in their Austrian home and discovers not only that his feelings for Catherine are unchanged, but also that they're reciprocated.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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harwee h

Truffaut's 5th best movie.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/22/23

Full Review

Ben W

Hello. Rotten tomatoes machine does not allow me to delete reviews... but consider this a deleted review. I opted for three stars , as a compromise- it's again not my review. Farewell.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

11/23/23

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Dave S

The viewer's response to Francois Truffaut's Jules and Jim will very much depend on the viewer's response to French New Wave cinema. Simply put, for those who enjoy the French New Wave and appreciate the fact that its style flies in the face of cinematic convention, Jules and Jim will be right up their alley. For the uninitiated, many will be put off by the jump cuts, freeze frames, quirky editing style and other stylistic affectations, and that's perfectly fair. The story itself is pretty straightforward – over a period of years, the mercurial Catherine (Jeanne Moreau) wreaks havoc on the relationship between Jules (Oskar Werner) and Jim (Henri Serre). Give it a watch – you'll know within the first ten minutes or so whether or not you'll find it watchable.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/26/23

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CodyZamboni

Movie was fun and fresh at the beginning, then grew tiresome and illogical, as it went on, much like the main characters. Oskar Werner was the best thing in this movie, his understated performance balanced the increasingly wacky drama. He was the most normal of the three friends. The low budget New Wave, hand held rambling camera, offbeat style was interesting at first, but like Moreau's unstable character, grows tiresome and annoying. Why the two guys stuck around for so long, enduring her mood swings, selfish uncommitments, cheating, etc, is maybe the point of the movie. I would've dumped her after a year of her self destructive nonsense.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

07/29/23

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Thomas V

) A masterpiece. Comedy that turns to tragedy, as in Truffaut's earlier films. This film has everything: comedy, tragedy, great cinematography that was innovative at the time, and well drawn characters very well portrayed by the principals. It is funny, sad, and touching, and surprisingly fresh after 60 years. A throuple in 1962? Wow.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

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Audience Member

There needs to a sixth star for some movies. I watched this film, in the late 70s, as an artsy snob cinephile and raves about to the unwashed who had barely heard of it. And I hadn’t watched it since. Some of the things I watched in that era have paled with the passage of time. This film, which I hadn’t seen in more than 20 years, is as resplendent and overwhelmingly beautiful and heartfelt as the first time I saw it. One of the top ten great films EVER.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/11/23

Full Review

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François Truffaut

Director

Jeanne Moreau

Catherine

Oskar Werner

Jules

Henri Serre

Jim

Marie Dubois

Thérèse

Vanna Urbino

Gilberte

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Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

This is a near-perfect film from François Truffaut...

Rated: 5/5

Feb 4, 2022

Full Review

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

There is something very literary about the film, with dialogue line-readings that often sound like the voiceover narration by Michel Subor.

Rated: 5/5

Feb 2, 2022

Full Review

Carrie Rickey

The Dissolve

A case study in romantic triangulation.

Rated: 5/5

Feb 18, 2014

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Justine Smith

Vague Visages

n the male dominated world of the French New Wave, Catherine in François Truffaut’s Jules and Jim stands out as a mysterious and particularly beguiling female presence.

Nov 21, 2023

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Pauline Kael

Partisan Review

Jules and Jim is the most exciting movie made in the West since L’Avventura and Breathless and Truffaut’s earlier Shoot the Piano Player; because of the beauty and warmth of its images, it is a richer, a more satisfying film than any of them.

Sep 11, 2023

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

There’s such an energy and a freshness in both the technique and in the storytelling itself.

Rated: 4.5/5

Aug 22, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

In the carefree days before World War I, introverted Austrian author Jules (Oskar Werner) strikes up a friendship with the exuberant Frenchman Jim (Henri Serre). Both men fall for the impulsive and beautiful Catherine (Jeanne Moreau), but it's Jules who wins her hand. After the war, Jim visits Jules, Catherine and their daughter in their Austrian home and discovers not only that his feelings for Catherine are unchanged, but also that they're reciprocated.

Director: François Truffaut
Producer: Marcel Berbert
Screenwriter: Henri-Pierre Roché, François Truffaut, Jean Gruault, François Truffaut
Distributor: Alpha Filmes, Janus Films, Criterion Collection
Production Co: Les Films du Carrosse
Genre: Drama
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 23, 1962, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 23, 2017
Runtime: 1h 50m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm, Scope (2.35:1)

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