''Mourir d'aimer'' (English title: ''To Die of Love''; it, Morire d'amore; ) is a 1971 Franco-Italian film drama directed by
André Cayatte
André Cayatte (3 February 1909, in Carcassonne – 6 February 1989, in Paris) was a French filmmaker, writer and lawyer, who became known for his films centering on themes of crime, justice, and moral responsibility.
Cayatte began his directora ...
. Based on the true story of
Gabrielle Russier r it was the third most popular film of 1971 in France.
Plot
The time is
May 1968. Danièle Guénot, 32 years old and divorced with two children, is a politically engaged French and Latin teacher in
Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...
who organises discussion sessions at her home. A 17-year-old student, Gérard Leguen, falls in love with her. She rebuffs him but eventually gives in to the mutual attraction. His parents complain, and she is sent to prison and he to other schools, relatives, and a psychiatric in-patient clinic. She eventually kills herself.
Cast
*
Annie Girardot
Annie Suzanne Girardot (25 October 193128 February 2011) was a French actress. She often played strong-willed, independent, hard-working, and often lonely women, imbuing her characters with an earthiness and reality that endeared her to women und ...
: Danièle Guénot
*
Bruno Pradal
Bruno Pradal (17 July 1949 – 19 May 1992) was a French actor.
Filmography
External links
*
1949 births
1992 deaths
People from Rabat
Road incident deaths in France
French male film actors
French male television actors
French ...
: Gérard Leguen
*
Claude Cerval: judge
*
François Simon: Gérard's father
*
Jean-Paul Moulinot: Danièle's father
*
Jean Bouise
Jean Bouise (3 June 1929 – 6 July 1989) was a French actor.
He was born in Le Havre. In the 1950s he helped to found Théâtre de la Cité, and was a player in the company. He entered films in the 1960s, and played a supporting roles in ...
: juvenile justice judge
*
Marie-Hélène Breillat r "The snake" (Danièle's cell mate in prison)
*
Monique Mélinand
Monique Mélinand (9 March 1916 – 16 May 2012) was a French film and television actress.Capua p.177
Selected filmography
* ''Rouletabille joue et gagne'' (1947)
* ''Rouletabille contre la dame de pique'' (1948)
* '' Between Eleven and Midnigh ...
: Gérard's mother
*
Yves Barsacq
Yves Barsacq (17 June 1931 – 4 October 2015) was a French film actor, who appeared in more than 150 films. He is the son of the French-Russian production designer Léon Barsacq and the nephew of the French theatre director André Barsacq. ...
: friend
* Edith Loria: Renée
*
Jacques Marin
Jacques Marin (9 September 1919 – 10 January 2001) was a French actor on film and television. Marin's fluency in English and his instantly recognisable features made him a familiar face in some major American and British productions ('' C ...
: correspondent
*
Raymond Meunier: Danièle's lawyer
*
Maurice Nasil r teacher
*
Marcelle Ranson r neighbour
*
André Reybaz: school director
* Mariannik Revillon: Cécile
* Daniel Bellus: Jean-Luc
*
Nicolas Dumayet r Marc
* Bernard Jeantet: Alain
*
Nathalie Nell r Thérèse
* Franck Combeau: child 1
* Frantz Guéroult: child 2
*
Claudine Berg r Mrs. Arnaud
*
Florence Blot r lawyer
*
Hélène Dieudonné, fr: blind old woman
*
Marius Laurey r Mr. Arnaud
*
Jean Marconi r clinic director
*
Charles Millot: false judge
*
Bernard Musson: head of student discipline
*
Marcel Pérès (actor) r grandfather
* Clément Thierry : Danièle's ex-husband
*
Roger Trapp r school monitor
*
Marthe Villalonga
Marthe Villalonga (born 20 March 1932) is a French actress. She was born in Fort-de-l'Eau, Algeria.
Theatre
Filmography
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villalonga, Marthe
1932 births
Living people
French film actresses
People from ...
: social worker
*
Jacky Blanchot r inspector (uncredited)
*
Marcel Gassouk rprison employee (uncredited)
*
Jean Minisini r nurse (uncredited)
* Yves Gavard-Perret: pupil who helps Gérard (uncredited)
Background and production
The film is based on the story of Gabrielle Russier, a 32-year-old divorced French teacher in
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...
who killed herself on 1 September 1969 after being found guilty of
corruption of a minor
In common law jurisdictions, statutory rape is nonforcible sexual activity in which one of the individuals is below the age of consent (the age required to legally consent to the behavior). Although it usually refers to adults engaging in sexual ...
.
Cluses
Cluses (; frp, Clluses) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.
Citizens are known as ''Clusiens''. The commune is situated in the Arve Valley, on the river which bears the sam ...
.
Music
The score is by Louiguy. The song "Mourir d'aimer" by Charles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...
was also inspired by Russier's story and appeared before the film, at the beginning of 1971, but Louiguy did not allow it to be used in the French soundtrack;[ it was included in some non-French releases, including the Italian and the American.][ It was also represented as "inspired by the film" on 45 rpm singles that appeared soon afterwards.][ The version used on the Italian soundtrack won a Golden Lion at the 1971 ]Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
.[
The song "De terciopelo negro" (black fur) by the ]Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...
ian Jorge Araujo Chiriboga
Jorge is a Spanish and Portuguese given name. It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος (''Georgios'') via Latin ''Georgius''; the former is derived from (''georgos''), meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker".
The Latin form ''Georgius' ...
recurs several times in the film, performed by Carmela, with Paco Ibañez on guitar.[ It and "Partida" (Parting) were issued as singles.
]
Reception
The film was a success; 5,912,404 tickets were sold in France, making it the third most popular film of the year.[ Annie Girardot's performance as Danièle was particularly praised.][ The reviewer for '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' praised the performances and wrote that the film "delves deeply and often movingly into the states of mind of both the obdurate lawmakers and the tragic principals."[
]
Awards
* 1971: [
* 1972: Nominee for ]Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is a Golden Globe Award presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
Until 1986, it was known as the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, meaning that any non-American film coul ...
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, 0066101
French films based on actual events
Films à clef
French drama films
Italian drama films
Films directed by André Cayatte
Films about suicide
1971 films
Films about scandalous teacher–student relationships
1970s Italian films
1970s French films