The Soft Skin

Pierre Lachenay, a known figure in literary circles, meets Nicole, a flight attendant, on the plane to a lecture in Lisbon, and an affair begins. Secret meetings, a weekend in Reims, and then incompatibility. By the time the affair ends his marriage has ended too. When his wife Franca finds out she shoots him in a restaurant and then sits down calmly. Francois Truffaut directed. Jean Desailly plays Pierre, Francoise Dorleac plays Nicole and Nelly Benedetti plays Franca. Raoul Coutard photographed it and Georges Delerue wrote the score. It was shot between October and December 1963 in Paris, Reims, Lisbon and at Orly Airport. Although Truffaut was riding high on Jules and Jim and The 400 Blows, the film did not work; it sold 597,910 admissions in France. The verdict shifted later. Roger Ebert called it uncannily prophetic and J. Hoberman counted it among his best. It won a Bodil Award in 1965 and Rotten Tomatoes sits at 89 percent. Who it is for: viewers who like infidelity told without romance and the cold side of Truffaut. Who it is not for: anyone wanting excitement. The film proceeds through lifts, hotel reception desks and phone calls, and it means to.