After BAFTA AWARD nominee Maria SCHELL (1926-2005) received an honorable mention at the Cannes Film Festival in 1954 for her performance in DIE LETZTE BRÜCKE / THE LAST BRIDGE, all cinema doors were open to her in France. She had to suffer in her roles there just as much as she did in German-language cinema, but in France she was allowed to hold back a little when she cried. The novel UNE VIE / A LIFE by Guy de MAUPASSANT provided the template for this film.
The young Jeanne (SCHELL) lives on her parents' estate in Normandy. One day she meets the dashing Julien (Christian MARQUAND) and falls in love with him. The wedding bells will soon ring. But Jeanne has to realize that Julien was only interested in the lavish dowry. He also impregnates her maid (Pascale PETIT). But the final catastrophe occurs when Julien begins an affair with the beautiful wife (Antonella LUALDI) of a neighboring count (Ivan DESNY)...
Staged in a concentrated manner and in beautiful images, SCHELL does what she does best in film: suffer, suffer, suffer. But similar to GERVAISE, the suffering is really terrible and dramatic and not as artificially tragic as in her German-language films. In France, the "Seelchen / little soul" of the German-language post-war film became a world star who was able to embody a genuine inner life. After this appearance, Maria SCHELL was ready for Hollywood, where she was allowed to play Grushenka in THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOW based upon the novel by Dostoyevsky.
The young Jeanne (SCHELL) lives on her parents' estate in Normandy. One day she meets the dashing Julien (Christian MARQUAND) and falls in love with him. The wedding bells will soon ring. But Jeanne has to realize that Julien was only interested in the lavish dowry. He also impregnates her maid (Pascale PETIT). But the final catastrophe occurs when Julien begins an affair with the beautiful wife (Antonella LUALDI) of a neighboring count (Ivan DESNY)...
Staged in a concentrated manner and in beautiful images, SCHELL does what she does best in film: suffer, suffer, suffer. But similar to GERVAISE, the suffering is really terrible and dramatic and not as artificially tragic as in her German-language films. In France, the "Seelchen / little soul" of the German-language post-war film became a world star who was able to embody a genuine inner life. After this appearance, Maria SCHELL was ready for Hollywood, where she was allowed to play Grushenka in THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOW based upon the novel by Dostoyevsky.