In 1969, when François Truffaut directed ‘La sirene du Mississipi‘ (the spelling mistake appears in the original French title, the English title is ‘Mississippi Mermaid‘) he already had ten years of cinematic experience as a feature film director. Some of the best-known films associated with the French New Wave had become ‘reference films’ after shaking up the art and film industry. Truffaut and his generation colleagues were each looking for their own creative path.Truffaut would find his own, among other things, in a combination of romantic stories and his fascination with Hitchcock and American gangster movies, which is excellently illustrated by this film. Today, I find it amazing that this film, the only one that brings Catherine Deneuve and Jean-Paul Belmondo together on screen, has had mediocre public and critical success. Part of the explanation is that a shortened version seems to have been initially presented on the screens, from which were cut several key scenes that better explained the relationship between the two heroes. Fortunately, we have the chance to see today a full version, recreated in 1999. It is in my opinion one of the most beautiful love stories brought by Truffaut on screen, and a romantic and psychological thriller of the highest quality.
Louis (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is a rich plantation and a tobacco factory owner on the island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean. Disappointed after a youth love episode, he decides to look for a bride by mail. Nowadays, he would have used the Internet for this purpose and risk being approached by women under false identities. It seems that similar dangers existed half a century ago because the young woman who shows up turns out not to be exactly the woman he is expecting to meet, but a much more beautiful one. So beautiful that Louis hopelessly falls in love with her, and continues to pursue his passion in France, even after the woman proves to be a swindler seeking to steal his fortune. Neither theft, nor lies, nor even murder can stand in the way of love.
From a masculine point of view, the fascination of our hero is perfectly explainable, because the lead female role is played by Catherine Deneuve, who was by the time when this film was made at the peak of her youth and beauty. It is one of the roles that suits her perfectly and that Deneuve plays perfectly. As the successive masks of the character fall, the actress manages to keep a dose of mystery, so that even after the final scene we can not be 100% convinced who she is. Belmondo, on the other hand, has a more special role of his career here, unlike many others played before and after this film. Louis is a man in love to the point of madness, but who has a dose of insecurity in him and who must constantly overcome his disappointments, perhaps by creating new illusions. Truffaut is said to have been in love with all the actresses who appeared in significant roles in his films. If true, then Belmondo is the on-screen embodiment of the director, and he succeeds very well in this role. The immense charisma of the two actors manages to make the relationshio credible psychologically, despite the fact that from the story has quite a few holes and impossible details. Truffaut‘s directorial vision does not lack some very interesting innovations, such as the condensation of two successive scenes (the visual part of one and the sound of the other) into a single scene. The succession of landscapes, from exotic to glacial, also works. The colder the air, the greater the flame of passion warming the atmosphere. The narrative is cursive, and if the film makes concessions to commercial cinema, they are for the benefit of viewers. To watch or to watch again!