Love from Paris

Love from Paris (original title: Monpti) is a 1957 West German film directed by Helmut Käutner and starring Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz. It was based on the novel of the same title by Gábor von Vaszary. Vaszary also worked on the screenplay. The film premiered on September 12, 1957 in Lichtburg in Essen. The cinematographer was Heinz Pehlke, who used different techniques to convey the mood of the film, including using a concealed camera to capture the sights and sounds of Paris.^[1] The original copy of the film is archived at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin.^[1]

Plot

A young Hungarian student (Buchholz) and a 17-year-old French girl, Anne-Claire (Schneider) meet in a park in Paris. She calls him "Monpti" (mon p'tit, "my little one"). They fall in love and enjoy a happy time. Anne-Claire claims to come from a wealthy family, but Monpti finds out that she actually comes from poor circumstances. Angered at having been deceived by Anne-Claire, he tells her off on the street and leaves her standing there. As she runs after his taxi, she is hit by another car. Lying in the hospital, Monpti promises he will marry her, but Anne-Claire dies a little while later from her injuries.

At the same time, the story of a second couple is told, whose relationship stands in stark contrast to the main story.

Reception

The Lexicon des Internationalen Films wrote, "In Paris, a hungry 23-year-old artist from Budapest plays an erotic cat-and-mouse game with an orphaned 17-year-old seamstress, until the girl's death from an accident puts an end to it. A melancholy romantic comedy is told by an old Bistro customer, who functions as a sort of keyhole peeper in a cabaret-like farce. A melodramatic, compact, at times very suggestive battle of the sexes—male lust and feminine stalling tactics, focusing on a fascinating, young Romy Schneider.^[2]

Cast

• Romy Schneider as Anne-Claire Jouvain
• Horst Buchholz as Monpti (as a young man)
• Mara Lane as Nadine
• Boy Gobert as Monpti (as an old man)
• Olive Moorefield as Zaza
• Bum Krüger as Herr from No. 17
• Iska Geri as Frau from No. 17
• Bobby Todd as Fliegenäugiger
• Joseph Offenbach as Redaktionssekretär
• Helmut Käutner as Erzähler
• Willibald Eser as an acquaintance of (mature) Monpti

Sources

• Gábor von Vaszary: Monpti. Roman. (Translated into German by the author.) Thiele, Munich and Vienna (2009). ISBN 978-3-85179-015-3

References

External links

• Love from Paris at the Internet Movie Database
• Monpti Filmportal.de