Justine (1969)

Set in 1938 Egypt, a young English schoolteacher (Michael York) is introduced to the beautiful and enigmatic wife (Anouk Aimee) of an Egyptian banker (John Vernon). He falls under her spell although her attitude toward him is cavalier and she harbors secrets. Based on the novel by Lawrence Durrell (the first part of his ALEXANDRIA QUARTET) and directed by George Cukor (GASLIGHT). Filled with talent both in front of and behind the camera, the result is an incoherent mess. Joseph Strick (TROPIC OF CANCER) was the original director and began filming in Morocco but when he was fired the production was moved to Hollywood and Cukor took over as its director. I've not read Durrell's novel but the movie feels like big gaps of narrative are missing. Characters pop up and disappear quickly (as if their parts were truncated) without the necessary background to make us interested. Characters are also talked about and I struggled to remember who the hell they were talking about. The actors seem lost at sea with only Anna Karina as a forlorn belly dancer who seems to have a grasp on her character. The film was a big flop at the box office and critically savaged. But what a cast: Dirk Bogarde, Robert Forster, Jack Albertson, Philippe Noiret, Michael Dunn, Marcel Dalio, Barry Morse and Cliff Gorman.