That Most Important Thing: Love

R

1975

1h 50m

Drama

Romance

List

93%

Tomatometer

14 Reviews

89%

Audience Score

500+ Ratings

Aging ex-starlet Nadine Chevalier (Romy Schneider) is on the downside of her career, now relegated to acting in B-movie smut that her smarmy, self-hating husband, Jacques (Jacques Dutronc), lines up for her. When she meets ponderous photographer Servais Mont (Fabio Testi) on the set of one of her movies, he feels compelled to save her. He finances a vanity production of "Richard III," hoping to re-launch her career. But can their love rise above the debauched world they inhabit?

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Ben Sachs

Chicago Reader

Shining through L'Important C'Est D'Aimer is a genuine sense that love enables us to transcend the most degrading experiences.

Rated: 4/4

Sep 21, 2017

Full Review

Frank Scheck

Hollywood Reporter

The film, although fascinating, is also slightly boring.

Jul 20, 2017

Full Review

Melissa Anderson

Village Voice

At once electrifying and eviscerating.

Jul 17, 2017

Full Review

Diane Carson

KDHX (St. Louis)

When a distributor asked what the film was really about, Źuławski responded, “The Important Thing Is to Love.” That theme dominates a romantic triangle, but in a thoroughly unconventional way, characteristic of the entire film.

May 6, 2024

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

...the first French feature by Polish expatriate Andrzej Zulawski, is a romantic drama of frustrated desires, frail relationships and explosive passions directed with understated intimacy.

Oct 9, 2022

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

The winner of the very first Best Actress Cesar Award, besting fellow French icons Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Adjani and Delphine Seyrig, was Romy Schneider, who won her prize for her performance in this edgy endeavor.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 5, 2020

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Audience Member

Vehicle for late-period Romy Schneider to show off intense and over the top emotions; this late-period French New Wave film has great style at the expense of plausibility

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This film's title is actually translated as "The Most Important Thing: Love" has earned a valid place in French Film History for Romy Schneider's performance. The infamous and beautiful actress is so good here that it is sometimes feels like she is allowing more of a glimpse into her than her character. Add this to Klaus Kinski's odd but charismatic presence along with a youthful Jacques Dutronc and Andrzej ?u?awski presents a surprisingly examination of both an artist struggling to find her place in mid-1970's theatre scene to escape her abysmal cinematic opportunities and an obsessively compulsive tragic love triangle. It is all very dated, but still bears validity as film art.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Certainly not for every taste. Many will be put-off by the hysterical theatrics. However, it one enjoys unbridled passionate filmmaking -- this film is an Art House treat. Romy Schneider is unforgettable. Her mere charisma is a major factor in this film's success. Jacques Dutronc gives a surprisingly uncharacteristic turn as the impotent husband. Klaus Kinski is allowed out of his cage and is fascinating to watch. An odd and captivating met-film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A lovely romance. Zulaswski's brilliance here is to take what is essentially a soap opera (and a pretty rich one at that) and transform it into something profoundly beautiful. The efforts of a great underdog cast, the manic cinematography of Ricardo Aronovich, and the heart-rending score of Georges Delerue all go a long way toward helping.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

pierluigi p

An intense picture that shows how twisted and utterly disgusting love can be. At the eyes of Andrzej Zulawski, love may be the most evil, hurting, sickest, cruelest act of posession. Everybody acts insane in his films, because no one lies, they all show their true self without hesitating. But in this demented and violent world, love can only be born out of pity, and the only way to attain grief is suffering, both psychologically and phisically, crawling in our own blood.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Wow what a great film. You don't see very many that hold this kind of depth or emotion. I think the title speaks for itself, "The Most Important Thing is to Love." Kudos to the French!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

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Andrzej Żuławski

Director

Romy Schneider

Nadine Chevalier

Fabio Testi

Servais Mont

Jacques Dutronc

Jacques Chevalier

Claude Dauphin

Mazelli

Roger Blin

Le père de Servais

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Synopsis

Aging ex-starlet Nadine Chevalier (Romy Schneider) is on the downside of her career, now relegated to acting in B-movie smut that her smarmy, self-hating husband, Jacques (Jacques Dutronc), lines up for her. When she meets ponderous photographer Servais Mont (Fabio Testi) on the set of one of her movies, he feels compelled to save her. He finances a vanity production of "Richard III," hoping to re-launch her career. But can their love rise above the debauched world they inhabit?

Director: Andrzej Żuławski
Screenwriter: Christopher Frank, Andrzej Żuławski
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Romance
Original Language: French (Canada)
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 14, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA): $18.6K
Runtime: 1h 50m

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