Le Notti Bianche (1957) and Two English Girls (1971)

159. Le Notti Bianche (1957) - Viscounti. Based on Dostoevsky's short story "White Nights, its the story of two people who meet one night on a Rome canal bridge. He's a lonely soul who falls in love with her. She's torn between wanting him and being faithful to a lover who promised to return someday. A good movie with a good story. Some of the scenes (the ending, the dance) are superb. Mastroianni is great as the lead men, and Marcia Schell is adequate as the heroine. But even at 101 minutes the movie seemed padded, lots of time wasted as we see the actors walking around or staring off into space. It easily could have been cut to 85-90 minutes. The other problem is the female lead. First, Schell lacks the charisma needed, she's good - but a real star could have provided fireworks. Secondly, as written, the female is character was too passive and child-like. Rating ***

58. Two English Girls (1971) Truffant. Set in the 1900s - a Frenchman has romantic affairs with two English sisters Pros: Direction, beautiful pastoral scenes. Cons: Script, Pace too slow, characters un-engaging. A beautifully shot film which I found pointless. The male lead is extremely bland and its hard to see why one English girl would love him, let alone two. And masturbation isn't my favorite movie topic. Summary - A disappointment given Truffant's prior films. I'd rate it lower, but it looks great. Rating **1/2