This is probably my favorite romance movie of all time. The film tracks a couple by showing us their varied trips together through France. But what is so wonderful is that this is no Hollywood, sugar-coated love story but the chronicle of a very real marriage that should be recognizable to anyone who is working at his or her own marriage. We see the bonding that forms from the NOT love-at-first-sight trip, the glowing honeymoon trip, and the us vs. them trip. But we also see the trips that involve estrangement, infidelity, discord and marital rapprochement.
Stanley Donen takes all these trips, chops them into pieces, and presents them in a fascinatingly scrambled chronology that takes several viewings to unscramble. He also gets excellent performances from all his actors, especially Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney.
At the end we appreciate this marriage so much more because we've seen all the work it has taken and learn that "bitch" and "bastard" can really be terms of endearment.
Stanley Donen takes all these trips, chops them into pieces, and presents them in a fascinatingly scrambled chronology that takes several viewings to unscramble. He also gets excellent performances from all his actors, especially Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney.
At the end we appreciate this marriage so much more because we've seen all the work it has taken and learn that "bitch" and "bastard" can really be terms of endearment.