L'Amour en Fuie - 1979 ****

Truffaut made five films about his 'alter ego' Antoine Doinel. This was the last one. And so I'm not sure whether it would have made more sense to watch in order or not. In fact it probably would have been better, because this film incoorporates all the drama and infidelity that happened in the last 4 films, as well as shows how established the characters already are. Doinel is a strangely weak character in my opinion, and flits from one woman to the next, spinning out the same lines and acting in the same selfish way. He appears to be a man never satisfied with what he has and is always searching for something better on the other side. The lead actresses perform extremely well in comparison and I liked the little touches from '400 Blows' that Truffaut managed to slot in subtly. I will not attempt to find the other 4 movies and watch them backwards.

The Soft Skin - 1964 *****

Francois Truffaut yet again serves up a sumptuous visual delight for us with this story of a famous writer who starts an affair with a woman he meets on his plane to a conference and continues the affair once back in Paris, despite being married with a small child.

You feel everything with this film. The uncertainty, the worry, the awkward moments (i.e where he has to pretend not to acknowledge her when she runs up to greet him in front of his work collegue) and they all appear true to life, as it appears this story was based upon Truffaut's own accounts of leaving his own wife for the actress Fanny Ardant.

Jean Desailly is not an attractive man, in fact his character is very unsympathetic and very shallow which makes it even more pathetic to see him throw away a good marriage with a wife who clearly loves him for someone he meets on a whim.

I have so far seen four Truffaut films that I know of: This one, The Girl Next Door, The 400 Blows, and Jules and Jim. Each one has been superb and I enjoy Truffaut's 'New Wave' approach to his film directing each time I see more.