Vincent, Francois, Paul and the Others (1974)

Lack of good storyline.

Good concept, poorly executed.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

French filmmaker Claude Sautet has been hailed as an important sociologist in the history of French cinema. Most of his films are about French middle class where he has painted it in its true colors. 'Vincent, François,Paul and the others' is an important film in his productive career. It combines elements of gaiety with those of midlife crisis. The overall tone of the film is light with occasional moments of problems which upset the well being of the protagonists. Much of the screen space is shared by these protagonists finding a solution to their personal problems which include problems related to money which has direct bearings on health, decision to participate in a boxing match against a tough rival or how to deal with their women. As these emotions are shown from a purely masculine perspective, presence of women characters has not been strongly developed. Actors Yves Montand, Michel Piccoli, Serge Reggiani and Gérard Depardieu add extra life in their roles are troubled individuals who are not at all afraid to reveal their true feelings. As their anger and frustrations are revealed with a bang, it would not be an understatement to say that they can be found in other places too albeit with somewhat different traits. Lastly, it is important to watch the manner in which everybody understand that solutions have to be found as life needs to be continued at all costs.

Friendship and the way we relate to those people that have had a clear effect on us, fill our lives with a kind of well being, and to a degree, makes us happy in knowing they are just within a short distance away. This is clearly a story about how a group of friends go through a tough period in their lives. It is an ode by the director, Claude Sautet, that celebrate friendship, and to a certain extent, the intimacy developed when people have an affinity to care for others.Vincent, the main character in the film, is the owner of a small factory. His business cannot compete with larger enterprises. Times are tough, but he is a great boss with a rapport for his employees as well as a loyal friend to them. There is Francois, a doctor, who has lost his zest to a profession he chose. Paul, a writer, is suffering from writer's block. The three meet over drinks, playing soccer, and staying in close contact in good times and in bad times.The three men observed in this story are in their forties, facing emotional, as well as financial crises, especially Vincent, who cannot raise enough capital to keep his business afloat, no matter what he does. His wife, Catherine, has left him and now wants a divorce. Lucie who is Francois wife, is attracted to a younger man. Vincent's protégé, Jean, a factory worker, enters a boxing match at a disadvantage, something the three friends look at with dread.At heart "Vincent, Francois, Paul, and the Others" is an account about people facing a crisis, either created by what life had in store for them, or by the paths they followed in pursuit of their dreams. Loyalty is the bond that keeps them together. These are your basic decent guys anyone would feel blessed to enjoy. Claude Sautet's films examine those intimate moments among people that must face decisions that will change their lives completely, while getting the strength to face those situations with the support of true friends.The cast is first rate. Yves Montand, Michel Piccoli, Serge Reggiani, are seen as Vincent, Francois and Paul. It is a pleasure to see these three men, at the height of their profession perform a sort of choreography where they cross each other in small moments that are tribute to the way the men feel about the others. The women are less predominant in the film. Stephane Audran, herself one of the best in the French cinema, has nothing to play. Marie Dubois, her beauty intact, makes a perfect Lucie. A young Gerard Depardieu is seen as Jean.

I would define this movie as an example of a job well done of France's 1970's cinema. The cast is excellent and, as I may already have said in other comments, Sautet's direction acts a magic wand in his works. A little bit like "Je Vous Aime" with Catherine Deneuve and Jean Louis Trintignant, Vincent, Francois, Paul...et les autres shows the "after life" of certain characters trying to cope with their sentimental failures and mix-ups, except the fact that in this movie not everyone is an ex-husband of one of the female stars.This certainly isn't as dramatic as Sautet's "Les Choses de la Vie" but there is just as much of a bitter final after taste, although everyone is alive at the end. Sautet has thus far left me with a "punch in the stomach feeling after seeing several of his movies. Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud for instance is another one of his unresolved romantic story, where no one knows at the end whose feelings were hurt.Albeit its solemn Sautenesque tones with regards to love, Vincent, Francois, Paul...et les autres keeps its focus on a bizarre yet strong friendship among several men, preventing their unsolved love relationships to tamper with its strong lesson on the fact that, often times, friends last longer than partners.

I can't believe there are no comments at all on this. I realize as well as anyone that art house movies are low on the totem pole at a site such as this where, not unnaturally nor, if it comes to that, unreasonably, mainstream fodder is the order of the day but I have seen sufficient comments, both favorable and otherwise, for French movies to know that there are people out there who both watch, enjoy and comment. Sautet himself has been well served via such titles as 'Cesar et Rosalie', 'Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud' etc to make this omission all the more inexplicable. However if someone has to start it may as well be someone who actually enjoyed, if not revelled in yet another restrained masterpiece. Once again the old creative team of Sautet and Dabadie provide a solid base for the actors to excel. Montand is, of course, superb. Thorough as ever he did in-depth research on heart attacks and when it came time to simulate one he scared the bejesus out of cast and crew who, to a man, thought he had really suffered a stroke. Non-French viewers will perhaps be unaware of any secondary meanings - it was made at a time when France was experiencing social upheaval and reflected this in the storyline - but, as with all the best messages, it is not necessary to be hip to social conditions to enjoy superb performances and great storytelling. Sautet is one of a handful of directors who seldom, if ever, make a bad, dull or uninteresting movie and this belongs with his best.