Beautiful music by Brahms. Superb in its simplicity.

Jeanne Moreau's big break into films of substance came by way of Louis Malle, pushing out both Elevator to the Gallows and The Lovers (Les amants) in 1958. The latter made film history by being a big hit in Europe and because of its sexual content, getting a theater charged with pornography charges in the States (of course). Cue the famous "I know it when I see it" line from the attending judge who dismissed the charges. Moreau plays a dissatisfied provincial wife who goes the Paris often to meet a would-be lover, though both men are boring bourgeois types - a workaholic and a polo player - who most definitely put their professions above her in their lists of priorities. The jealous husband forces a meeting with the usurper at which point the film teeters on the edge of screwball, and instead falls into one of the most romantic and sensual third acts in cinema. Screw those guys, what about the no-nonsense archaeologist who helps her out of some car trouble and ends up spending the night? Transgressive for its time, Les amants retains some of that power through its uninhibited sentiment, washing away bourgeois cynicism in favor of something scarier, but better.

Astonishing to learn that a theatre owner in Ohio was arrested for showing this. The case went to the Supreme Court.