L’Important c’est d’aimer

‘A gritty romantic drama’ may appear to be an incongruous description; however, it undoubtedly best fits Andrzej Zulawski’s striking breakthrough film, which was released to instant acclaim in France.

Servais Mont (Fabio Testi), a photographer, meets a struggling actress, Nadine (Romy Schneider), who makes ends meet through roles in exploitation films. Enamoured, Servais taps into his underworld contacts, for whom he takes controversial smut pictures, to finance a production of Richard ΙΙΙ for Nadine to star in. However, the potential to act on their feelings for each other is encumbered by Nadine’s attachment to her husband Jacques (Jacques Dutronc), a depressive clown, while Servais must deal with the consequences of his risky pact.
Zulawski’s film is a hard-hitting work, which unabashedly exposes the ruthless world of showbiz, where the hopes and dreams of its aspiring players are exploited to devastating results. A fine cast expresses the pain of the human cost of their industry. Testi infuses his role with verve and vulnerability while Klaus Kinski again displays unsettling menace as the lead actor of the play. The film provided household name Dutronc with his first dramatic role and launched the singer’s lauded acting career due to his wonderfully tormented performance. However, it is undoubtedly Romy Schneider who steals the show. At the height of her career (following plaudits for Les Choses de la vie, Max et les ferrailleurs and Le Train) Schneider is electrifying in every scene and she was finally awarded a deserved French Academy César for best actress. She flawlessly embodies the tragedy of the story; her face is pure pain in a film that exposes the underbelly of the entertainment industry in all its non-glamour. A pivotal work from 70s French cinema.