Seven Days... Seven Nights

An atypical film for director Peter Brook, who has never been known for his concern for the emotional crises of the bourgeois, this adaptation of Marguerite Duras's novel might qualify him as an honorary member of the Nouvelle Vague. The film stars Jeanne Moreau as Anne Desbaredes, a wealthy, bored housewife who believes she has witnessed a murder in a quayside bistro. Rushing to the scene of the crime, she strikes up a conversation with Chauvin (Jean-Paul Belmondo), an employee of her husband who also saw the crime. The troubled woman continues to return to the café, increasingly identifying herself with the murder victim and becoming obsessed with Chauvin. Brook creates repetitive patterns of sound and image that reflect the disintegration of Desbaredes's throughts into a succession of these patterns interlaced with fantasies. As she listens to her son, Pierre (Didier Haudepin), practice a Diabelli sonata, the themes continue to echo in her mind, reflecting her frustration with the "moderato cantabile" nature of her life and the absence of true passion that draws her inexorably to the café and Chauvin. MODERATO CANTABILE is an intriguing film, very much of its period, with brilliant lighting and photography by Armand Thirard, and an exceptional performance by Moreau.