Cesar and Rosalie

César made his money in scrap; he is loud, generous and afraid of losing what he has. Rosalie lives with him. Her former lover David reappears and she does not want to give up either man. César fights first, then threatens, then does something unexpected: he becomes David's friend. The subject is not the triangle but two men beginning to love each other while the woman tires of both. The best passage is at the end: the two men sitting together in the house by the sea, cooking together, with Rosalie nowhere in sight. Who has lost whom is left unclear. The form is Claude Sautet's known manner: dinner tables, talk over food, cars and long silences. Feelings are not stated, they are read off behaviour. The production is among the most cited of the director's collaborations with Romy Schneider. The two worked together on several films through the seventies, and her French career was largely built on that partnership. Philippe Sarde's score is another well-known element. Yves Montand plays César and Sami Frey plays David. Who it is for: viewers who like seventies French bourgeois drama and Schneider. Who it is not for: anyone expecting a clear conclusion; the film ends without resolving anything.