L'Amant De Cinq Jours (aka Five Day Lover) (1961)

A young wife (Jean Seberg) with two small children is married to a loving but rather dull husband (Francois Perier). She begins an affair with the lover (Jean Pierre Cassel) of her best friend (Micheline Presle). But how long before they're found out by the husband and friend? Directed by Philippe De Broca (KING OF HEARTS), this is a rather poignant adult romantic comedy. It's certainly far more sophisticated than the Hollywood product we're usually given, more Noel Coward than WHEN HARRY MET SALLY. Seberg's young wife has love, what she wants is romance. Cassel's gigolo living off his mistress's money has romance, what he wants is love. Inevitably, they can't fulfill each other's needs. De Broca's bittersweet tale has the dreaminess of early Rene Clair, the lovers in a garret that overlooks the rooftops of an impossibly romantic Paris. One can't help but like all four protagonists, even Seberg's rather narcissistic little adulteress. She wouldn't dream of leaving her husband yet she seems oblivious to her husband's quiet pain. It's the kind of romance where no one ends happy as some reject what they're given while others accept what they can. The lovely underscore is by Georges Delerue.