''Love at Twenty'' (, , , , ) is a 1962 French-produced omnibus project of Pierre Roustang, consisting of five segments, each with a different director from a different country. It was entered into the

12th Berlin International Film Festival The 12th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 22 June to 3 July 1962. The Golden Bear was awarded to ''A Kind of Loving (film), A Kind of Loving'' directed by John Schlesinger. Juries The following people were announced as ...

. The first segment, titled "

Antoine and Colette ''Antoine and Colette'' () is a 1962 French short film written and directed by François Truffaut. It is the second installment in Truffaut's five-film series about Antoine Doinel, the character he follows from boyhood to adulthood. ''Antoine an ...

", is by

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French filmmaker, actor, and critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. He came under the tutelage of film critic Andre Bazin as a ...

and returns actor

Jean-Pierre Léaud Jean-Pierre Léaud, ComM (; born 28 May 1944) is a French actor best known for being an important figure of the French New Wave and his portrayal of Antoine Doinel in a series of films by François Truffaut, beginning with '' The 400 Blows'' (19 ...

to the role of

Antoine Doinel Antoine Doinel () is a fictional character created by François Truffaut (1932–1984) and portrayed by actor Jean-Pierre Léaud (b. 1944) in five films directed by Truffaut. Doinel is to a great extent an alter ego for Truffaut; they share many ...

, a role he played three years earlier in ''

The 400 Blows ''The 400 Blows'' () is a 1959 French Coming-of-age film, coming-of-age Drama (film and television), drama film, and the directorial debut of François Truffaut, who also co-wrote the film. Shot in the anamorphic format List of anamorphic forma ...

'' and would return to again in 1968 (''

Stolen Kisses ''Stolen Kisses'' () is a 1968 French romantic comedy-drama film directed by François Truffaut, starring Jean-Pierre Léaud, Delphine Seyrig, and Claude Jade. It continues the story of the character Antoine Doinel, whom Truffaut had previo ...

''), 1970 ('' Bed and Board'') and 1979 ('' Love on the Run''). It concerns the frustrations of love for the now 17-year-old Doinel and the unresponsive girl he adores. The second, titled "Rome", is the directorial debut of 21-year-old Renzo Rossellini, son of

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such a ...

and later a noted producer. It tells the story of a tough mistress who loses her lover to an older, wealthier and more appreciative woman. The third, "Tokyo" by Japanese film director

Shintarō Ishihara was a Japanese politician and writer, who served as the Governor of Tokyo from 1999 to 2012. Being the former leader of the radical right Sunrise Party, later merged with Toru Hashimoto's Japan Restoration Party out of which he split his f ...

, has been described as a "weird, grotesque" and "clumsy" tale of obsessive and morbid love. The fourth, "Munich", is by

Marcel Ophüls Marcel Ophuls (; 1 November 1927 – 24 May 2025) was a German-French and American documentary filmmaker and actor, renowned for his notable works such as '' The Sorrow and the Pity'' (1969) and '' Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Ba ...

and was described as a "charming, but somewhat sentimental" story of an unwed mother who contrives to trap her baby's father. The fifth and final segment, "Warsaw" by

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the "P ...

, depicts a brief intergenerational liaison based upon multiple misunderstandings. The episodes are tied together with still photos by

Henri Cartier-Bresson Henri Cartier-Bresson (; 22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004) was a French artist and Humanist photography, humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 135 film, 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street ...

and a wistful

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

soundtrack by

Georges Delerue Georges Delerue (12 March 1925 – 20 March 1992) was a French composer who composed over 350 scores for cinema and television. Delerue won numerous important film music awards, including an Academy Award for '' A Little Romance'' (1980), three C� ...

. Truffaut's and Wajda's segments (the first and the last, respectively) are considered the highlights.

Cast

as Antoine Doinel (segment ''

'') *

Marie-France Pisier Marie-France Pisier (10 May 194424 April 2011) was a French actress, screenwriter, and director. She appeared in numerous films of the French New Wave, and twice earned the national César Award for César Award for Best Supporting Actress, Best ...

as Colette (segment ''Antoine and Colette'') * Patrick Auffay as René (segment ''Antoine and Colette'') *

Rosy Varte Rosy Varte (22 November 1923 – 14 January 2012) was a French actress of Armenian descent. She made more than 100 film and television appearances during her career. She starred in the 1972 film '' The Bar at the Crossing'', which was ente ...

as La mère de Colette (segment ''Antoine and Colette'') *

François Darbon François () is a French language, French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis (given name), Francis. People with the given name * François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter * Voltaire, Fran ...

as Le beau-père de Colette (segment ''Antoine and Colette'') *

Jean-François Adam Jean-François Adam ( 14 October 1980) was a French actor and director. Career Adam was an assistant to French filmmakers François Truffaut and Jean-Pierre Melville. He is known for having played the small role of Colette's lover in the Anto ...

as Albert Tazzi (segment ''Antoine and Colette'') *

Pierre Schaeffer Pierre Henri Marie Schaeffer (English pronunciation: , ; 14 August 1910 – 19 August 1995) was a French composer, writer, broadcaster, engineer, musicologist, acoustician and founder of Groupe de Recherche de Musique Concrète (GRMC). His inno ...

as himself (segment ''Antoine and Colette'') *

Cristina Gaioni Cristina Gaioni (born Maria Cristina Gaioni; 4 November 1940) is an Italian actress, sometimes credited as Cristina Gajoni and Cristina Gaioni Visentin. Born in Milan, Italy, Gaioni studied acting at the drama school of Piccolo Teatro under Gio ...

as Christina (as Christina Gajoni) *

Geronimo Meynier Geronimo Meynier (5 July 1941 – 23 January 2021) was an Italian film actor who starred in Italian cinema of the 1950s and 1960s. He debuted in '' Amici per la pelle'' in 1955 at age 14. His last film was in 1968. The Italian actor Geronimo Me ...

as Leonardo *

Eleonora Rossi Drago Eleonora Rossi Drago, born Palmina Omiccioli, (23 September 1925 – 2 December 2007) was an Italian film actress. She was born in Quinto al Mare, Genoa, Italy, and had the leading role in '' Le amiche''. She appeared in '' The Facts of Mur ...

as Valentina * Nami Tamura as Fukimo * Koji Furuhata as Hiroshi * Barbara Frey as Ursula *

Christian Doermer Christian Doermer (5 July 1935 – 14 July 2022) was a German actor and director. He appeared in more than 80 films and television shows from 1954 to 2022. He starred in the 1966 film '' No Shooting Time for Foxes''. The film was entered int ...

as Tonio *

Vera Tschechowa Vera Wilhelmowna Rust (22 July 1940 – 3 April 2024), known as Vera Tschechowa, was a German producer, director, screenwriter, and actress of Russian descent. She appeared in more than 50 films between 1957 and 1996. She was widely known as E ...

as Self *

Werner Finck Werner Finck (2 May 1902 – 31 July 1978) was a German ''Kabarett'' comedian, actor and author. Not politically motivated by his own admission but just a "convinced individualist", he became one of Germany's leading cabaret artists under the co ...

as Professor Zeifer * Barbara Lass as Basia (segment "Warszawa") *

Zbigniew Cybulski Zbigniew Hubert Cybulski (; 3 November 1927 – 8 January 1967) was a Polish film and theatre actor, one of the best-known and most popular personalities of the post-World War II history of Poland. He is known for portraying young rebels i ...

as Zbyszek (segment "Warszawa") * Władysław Kowalski as Wladek (segment "Warszawa")

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Love At Twenty 1962 films 1962 drama films West German films 1960s French-language films 1960s Italian-language films 1960s Japanese-language films 1960s Polish-language films 1960s German-language films French anthology films German anthology films Italian anthology films Japanese anthology films French black-and-white films German black-and-white films Italian black-and-white films Japanese black-and-white films Polish black-and-white films Films directed by François Truffaut Films directed by Andrzej Wajda Films directed by Renzo Rossellini Films directed by Shintarō Ishihara Films directed by Marcel Ophuls Antoine Doinel Films with screenplays by François Truffaut Films scored by Georges Delerue 1960s multilingual films French multilingual films Italian multilingual films Japanese multilingual films Polish multilingual films German multilingual films 1960s Japanese films