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The Soft Skin

Play trailer Poster for The Soft Skin 1964 1h 50m Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
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90% Tomatometer 29 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
While flying to Lisbon, Portugal, to give a lecture, a writer and magazine editor, Pierre Lachenay (Jean Desailly), encounters an attractive flight attendant, Nicole (Françoise Dorléac), and winds up spending the night with her. What was intended to be a one-night stand becomes a tumultuous extramarital affair once he gets back to Paris and his wife (Nelly Benedetti) and kids. Pierre tries to keep the affair secret, but, when his wife suspects him, she snaps.
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The Soft Skin

Critics Reviews

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Keith Phipps The Dissolve 03/10/2015
4.5/5
It's the work of a director operating at the height of his powers, and figuring out where he wanted to take his career after that first flash of inspiration. Go to Full Review
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 05/26/2011
3/4
Francois Truffaut's "The Soft Skin" is being revived at the very moment when it seems uncannily prophetic Go to Full Review
J. Hoberman Village Voice 03/08/2011
Franois Truffaut's fourth feature, The Soft Skin, has never gotten much respect -- even though many people (myself included) regard it as one of his best. Go to Full Review
Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand 12/16/2023
Francois Truffaut’s cool, creamy smooth story of a doomed affair channels the director’s love of Hitchcock into a romantic melodrama. It isn’t a thriller in any traditional sense of the term but still evokes the master of suspense. Go to Full Review
Yasser Medina Cinefilia 08/23/2021
7/10
A fairly grounded and poetic Truffaut film about adultery and marital dilemmas. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com 10/29/2020
4/5
It's a cold, bitter film about a rather unappealing affair. Yet, it's also strangely humorous in its very realistic depiction of the inescapable traps people often set for themselves. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Toby C @jhonnycheese7 1d sehr gut meine mutter See more Alain E @AlainE Jul 3 An excellent melodrama about infidelity. Interesting also as illustrative of what made a frumpy literary critic a hot commodity in France in the sixties. In any event our supposedly happily married male hero meets an attractive flight attendant while flying to deliver a lecture in Portugal. Doing most his thinking with his lower head, he starts an affair that eventually destroys his marriage. Even worse, the girlfriend realizes that he is not a very good prospect and she splits. In the final scene the rejected wife gives an American style ending. The restored print shows well the excellent black and white photography. At that point Francoise Dorleac had just three more years to live. The acting is very good and the story is delivered with absolutely no nudity. Similar to the Hays code period in US during a sexual encounter that occurs off screen, we see a kitten eating from the breakfast tray. A new symbolism for me. On Max. See more Will G May 16 A great French film. Francois Truffaut is a wonderful director. There is romance. It was nice to see France. A couple goes to Portugal. Also there is an affair. See more Abe A 01/14/2024 It's a good movie overall, but it's not necessarily ground-breaking and I found the end rather melodramatic. An alternate ending with a far more insightful take on Pierre's character opened itself up to Truffaut at the final phone booth scene, but either he missed it or he chose not to take it. Pretty chilling to know that the actress who played Nicole, Francois Dorleac, would die in a car accident three years later. See more 08/01/2021 Hilário as intempéries do protagonista com a amante, um anti-herói de caráter duvidoso, torci para que terminasse só, por sua antipatia, mas eu não esperava por esse desfecho fantástico, a sutil relação do casal ante a economia de energia elétrica e os interruptores, situações realistas num triângulo amoroso não consensual, Panair do Brasil, pioneira da aviação, atuante no filme, falida e cassada por questões políticas… Eclesiastes 9:18 "...um só pecador destrói muitos bens". Filme maravilhoso. See more 03/06/2021 The Soft Skin could have easily been titled “The Tangled Web” or something along those lines, considering the old adage about the dangers of lying. It’s an extremely straightforward story about a husband who strays with another woman, and the complexity of this new relationship. I always struggle with films about infidelity, and this was no different. I found myself constantly annoyed and frustrated with the main character. But when he encountered obstacles in his efforts to build up this affair, I was chuckling at his misfortune because I was so opposed to the entire thing from the beginning. In other words, while I was kind of annoyed that he seemed allergic to telling the truth (even when it would obviously improve his situation,) it didn’t bother me so much to watch his bad choices blow up in his face. I suppose one of the positives I could draw from The Soft Skin is the fact that it serves as a morality tale of sorts for people who might find themselves in a similar position. By addressing some of the downfalls that can come from cheating on your spouse, it can potentially teach others that it’s not a road they want to go down. That’s not exactly a lesson I need to learn, but I can appreciate a movie that makes it so abundantly clear for others. I can also commend the acting performances. It wasn’t exactly an enjoyable experience, but part of that is because it felt real. The trio of lead actors did an admirable job of embodying their roles and making the characters authentic. I can’t say I liked The Soft Skin all that much, and I probably won’t recommend it, but it was effective at telling a story so others might find it considerably more impactful if they care more about this kind of plot. See more Read all reviews
The Soft Skin

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Movie Info

Synopsis While flying to Lisbon, Portugal, to give a lecture, a writer and magazine editor, Pierre Lachenay (Jean Desailly), encounters an attractive flight attendant, Nicole (Françoise Dorléac), and winds up spending the night with her. What was intended to be a one-night stand becomes a tumultuous extramarital affair once he gets back to Paris and his wife (Nelly Benedetti) and kids. Pierre tries to keep the affair secret, but, when his wife suspects him, she snaps.
Director
François Truffaut
Producer
António da Cunha Telles
Screenwriter
François Truffaut, Jean-Louis Richard
Distributor
Fox Lorber, Criterion Collection
Genre
Romance
Original Language
Canadian French
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 20, 1964, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 20, 2016
Runtime
1h 50m
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