Vie Privée (aka A Very Private Affair) (1962)

An unfocused young dancer (Brigitte Bardot) has no aim in her life. She drifts through life until a screen test pushes her into a career she has no real interest in but she becomes an internationally famous sex symbol. She goes from man to man until she meets the ex-husband (Marcello Mastroianni) of a friend (Ursula Kubler) and falls in love. Directed by Louis Malle (MURMUR OF THE HEART). Not without interest, after all it's Louis Malle but nevertheless a disappointment. The prospect of two cinematic icons (Bardot, Mastroianni) directed by a great director had me excited but the film is disjointed and its two stars have no chemistry. One can't help but see the similarities between Bardot and the put upon movie star she portrays. It's difficult to sympathize with someone who has no passion in life except to be in love but it's the kind of unreasonable love that sucks up the air around them and leaves no room for anything else. Its downbeat ending is telegraphed and inevitable. With Gregor Von Rezzori, Dirk Sanders and Antoine Roblot.