Cesar & Rosalie (1972)

In American romantic comedies, after overcoming some silly obstacle, the heroine will choose this guy or that one, and it's usually pretty obvious which. In French romantic comedies, not only is either guy just as likely, but the heroine could just as well end up with both of them--or neither. Ah, the worldly French! César and Rosalie are a happy May-December couple (young Romy Schneider and middle-aged Yves Montand) until the return of Rosalie's old flame David (Sami Frey). David immediately inflames the insecure César with jealousy, to the point that his aggressive behavior threatens his relationship with Rosalie far more than David himself does. The story of César & Rosalie takes unpredictable turns, but every shift is compelling because of how truthfully written and acted the characters are. The French don't need to invent silly obstacles to romance; they understand that human nature itself is obstacle enough. --Bret Fetzer Amazon.com

 Should be a Criterion selection
This is a provocative film. You will enjoy it from the beginning and all the way to the end. After the first 15 minutes I think you will realize how much is going on and that's a good thing.

First and last, the actors are all top of the line and they all fit this movie perfectly. Casting this must have been rewarding in itself, but once the film was out...tres bien!

The storyline is simple, but the story is about 3 or 4 layers deep. And not just for females, not just for the young or young at heart and not just for the romantics. And you probably won't want it to end.

And if it becomes a "Criterion Collection" offering, I will buy it again. January 29, 2008

 Yves Montand at his best
Cesar et Rosalie is from the days when Claude Sautet still set his films in a wider world before retreating into chamber pieces set in enclosed universes (the bookshop of Un Mauvais Fils], the apartment of Nelly et Monsieur Annaud, the hotel room and junkyard of Max et les Ferraleurs). Here he's still embracing a wider canvas of characters and everyday locations, with a strong visual sense of location (the long grass of a field is beautiful), and it gives this romantic trifle a breath of fresh air and life that the material doesn't always deserve. But what really makes the film work is Yves Montand's outstanding performance, one of his very best, turning what could easily have been a larger than life stereotype into something flesh and blood and all too believable as everything he tries to prevent lover Romy Schneider (also excellent here) from returning of Sami Frey only drives her into his arms. There's a real vulnerability beneath the bravado: his reactions in the scene where Frey casually tells him he still loves Schneider are an amazing mix of conflicting emotions he can't quite hide.

The film paints itself into a corner by the end, with a particularly unsatisfying conclusion that would probably have worked a little better had the film ended a minute earlier, but it's still a surprisingly vital little movie.

The Region 1 NTSC DVD offers an acceptable but not outstanding widescreen transfer. The only extras are trailers for The Last Metro, Stolen Kisses and Z. January 18, 2008

 Cesar and Rosalie

Subtle and engrossing - and unequivocally French - this movie explores a menage a trois and its effects on the three involved. Rosalie (Romy Schneider) is loved by two men: Cesar (Yves Montand), a scrap metal tycoon, loud and brash, and conceited; and David (Sami Frey), quiet and reserved and detached. As the movie begins Rosalie and Cesar are living together; divorced now, Rosalie has a young child. Before that marriage she was the lover of David. When David comes back onto the scene after a five-year absence, Cesar becomes insanely jealous - to the point, ironically, of actually driving Rosalie and David together. But Cesar is a pursuer, the agressor, where David tends to walk away. Thus Cesar wins Rosalie back, but her thoughts are still with David. Desperate now, Cesar goes to David and begs him to come home with him to be with Rosalie. The two men end up becoming the best of friends - and Rosalie leaves them both! The script is strong and very clever, and the acting by all three principals is superb. Rosalie's never flinching honesty, which eliminates any guilt for her, is wonderful. A very well constructed and acted movie. April 23, 2006

 A Mature, Beautifully Observed Love Triangle
Claude Sautet is one of the lesser known French directors in the United States, but he made a number of wonderful dramas about romantic relationships that are hard to find on DVD (two of his last films found an audience in the U.S.--Un Coeur en Hiver and Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud). Cesar and Rosalie is one of his best with memorable performances by Yves Montand, Sami Frey, and the extraordinary Romy Schneider. The love triangle in this film is unpredicatable and touching. Another Sautet film that should be released is Vincent Francois Paul and the Others, which is a melancholy ode to love and friendship. October 14, 2003

 1st review for this movie. Wow.
That's indicative, I guess, of the overwhelming popularity of Claude Sautet's *Cesar and Rosalie*. No matter -- it's still one of the most plausible "love-triangle" movies ever made. There are many reasons for this, starting with Sautet's refusal to be just another New Wave-wannabe. A good plan, considering that by 1972 the movement had run its natural course, anyway. There are no jump-cuts here; no socio-political commentary; no stylistic flourishes. Although *Cesar and Rosalie* ranks as an "auteur" film, technically speaking (i.e., by its virtue of being written and directed by one man), the director makes a big point of not investing it with "personality" or trademark tics which we can point to. With this film, Sautet announced his ongoing obsession with the unsatisfied bourgeoisie, an obsession that typically manifested itself in the form of a May-December romance. This movie is no different: here we have Yves Montand as a middle-aged wealthy dealer in car parts, and the lovely Romy Schneider as his live-in partner. Schneider's Rosalie is a free spirit in the Sixties vein, but she's no ingenue: she's been around the block a time or two. Around 30, she has a young daughter from a previous marriage, and is confident enough to be of some considerable help to Montand's Cesar with his auto business. She's wise enough to not put up with Cesar's fussy nonsense. Enter David (well-played by Sami Frey), an old flame -- though NOT the father of her kid -- who is determined to win her back. With this fairly predictable set-up, Sautet proceeds to frustrate our expectations and surprise us at almost every turn, making for an engrossing viewing experience. All three of the principles are excellent. Schneider was always at her best in Sautet's films. . . . Yves Montand delivers what may be the performance of his life in the role of manic, joyful, and dangerously belligerent Cesar. . . . Sami Frey as the Other Man is of course the opposite of Cesar: thoughtful, younger, rather ineffectual, and just plain quiet. The movie doesn't take sides, either. Each man's faults and virtues -- to say nothing of Rosalie's faults and virtues -- are meticulously laid-out in an egalitarian display. March 14, 2003

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