LES AMANTS ***

Louis Malle's follow-up to his debut "Lift to the Scaffold" was an elegant tale of adultery among the French upper-class, superbly photographed in widescreen black and white by the great Henri Decae. While "Les Amants"certainly broke new ground in its frank treatment of sexuality, (it is still one of the most erotic films ever made), it was also decidedly old-fashioned. The New Wave would have to wait another year for Truffaut and for Godard. Malle's movie belonged to a more  traditional time in French cinema, albeit with a more radical edge. Ophuls could have made it or Renoir, (Malle shares the same sense of wonder in and affection for the French countryside as Renoir did and has made a film as romantic as Ophuls might have done). The lovers are Jeanne Moreau, superb in one of her earlier roles, and Jean-Marc Bory and the husband is Alain Cuny. (An earlier lover is Jose Villalonga and they all spend time together at Cuny and Moreau's chateau; the French are so civilised about these things). Malle would, of course, make better and more profound films but this is still pretty remarkable.