Lumiere

"Lumiere" is the first film directed by French actress Jeanne Moreau. She stars in it too and it is the movie's only redeeming virtue, because when she is on screen, you can't take your eyes off her, and then that devastating smile of hers transcends criticism.

Most of the picture deals with the lives of four film actresses, one of them Moreau, and the men in their lives, and the various crises they confront. Some of it is confusing, some of it very humorous, especially the scenes with Keith Carradine as a gauche but horny American in Paris. Lucia Bose', an Italian actress of some reputation, is excellent as an actress who has left the movies for domestic life. The movie is shot in very nice color.

"Lumiere" means "light" in French and is also the name of an early French silent film director who roamed the streets looking for documentary beauty. The word is a symbol of the mystery of cinema and the delight of its artifices.