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French Postcards

French Postcards (1979)

October. 19,1979
|
5.8
|
PG
| Drama Comedy Romance

French Postcards rings both comic and true. The believable, fresh-faced characters are young naives from American colleges spending their French-English dictionaries, they compulsively seek out hundreds of monuments, romanticize the nomadic artist's life, and look for grown-up love. The French tutor them well, as befits their reputation. Jean Rochefort is the harassed headmaster with a hankering for affairs, and Marie-France Pisier is his very sexy wife. Watch for a newcomer named Debra Winger, and another-Mandy Patinkin.

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Reviews

Matrixston
1979/10/19

Wow! Such a good movie.

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Cortechba
1979/10/20

Overrated

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Protraph
1979/10/21

Lack of good storyline.

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Sarita Rafferty
1979/10/22

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

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wassduo
1979/10/23

I would definitely recommend this movie, if - and it's a big "if" - it is the one I am thinking of. I carefully researched this issue before posting and I am 90% certain this movie is the one I think it is since no others seem to fit the bill - ensemble cast, plot about American students studying in France, personal development.I had HBO as a teenager growing up in the 80s and remember watching an oddly engaging romance film (my normal fair back then was "Mad Max" and "Commando") about a troupe of US college students studying abroad and going through a series of personal contortions that held lessons on maturity. In 1989-1990, I actually went on a one-year study abroad myself and as I experienced life in Luxemburg, which is where I went, I kept remembering this movie.In a broad macro way it captured much of what I felt and perceived to be going on in my life and that of my fellow. There were romantic entanglements within the student body and with the locals - though there was certainly no "The Graduate" Mrs. Anderson-type of thing - and personality clashes and blossoming friendships. I have vivid recollections from my time abroad of seeing and experiencing events that caused my mind to hearken back to this movie repeatedly.The fact that this movie is so intertwined with my experience is, actually, what speaks out to me most. For me, the movie somehow captured the oddity of the overseas experience; that going far away from home forced us closer to ourselves. It prompted honest and clear introspection and, through that process, maturation. Time and again, I participated in or witnessed deep heartfelt and thoughtful conversations about personal development and insight that were almost entirely absent from what I had seen stateside. We discussed the ugly and the beautiful in people and saw both. Oddly, it built a durable sense of comradeship such that many of the friendships that began in Lux, as we called it, endured through the remainder or college and beyond.It is seemingly odd to attach so much meaning to a movie I saw only once and have never seen again but, actually, I think it is remarkable. I will say this, the movie put a lens on my experience that was very helpful to me.Putting aside the falsities that are inherent in any fictional enterprise, there is some essence of the truth of the overseas experience that is captured by this film that makes it worth viewing. Perhaps, it is the drama. That is what stands out. Passionate discussions in bars while surrounded by people who, to you, are speaking a foreign language."French Postcards" could be viewed as an existential allegory. We are separate and alone to a degree even in the midst of a crowd while simultaneously - in contrast to existentialism - the mere fact we are engaged in a dialog with another is proof that we are not alone. It is proof of a duality of aloneness and comradeship that makes up a person's life.Now that I got that off my chest, I want to get on Amazon or Netflix and see if I can lay hands on a copy to confirm the truth of my lamentations.

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caulfield8
1979/10/24

i have just ordered "french postcards" from amazon.com. (a VHS version is the only thing i could find.) i am looking forward to seeing it for the first time. the reason i am curious about the film is that Valérie Quennessen. the reason i got curious is that i recently saw (for the first time in 25 years) "summer lovers." that movie was ALMOST a very good character study--it couldn't seem to decide whether it want to be as such, or a soft-porn erotic movie. anyway, i did a quick internet search on valerie and was kind of stunned to learn that she died in a car crash at age 31 in 1989. very sad. i also was enticed by the fact that after "summer lovers," she all but bagged Hollywood in favor of a family life. (i would like to know if she ever married and/or had children.) i respect the fact that she had just starred in a hit movie and then tossed it all away for a better purpose. anyone with some details on her life, please post them.

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Jamie Rich
1979/10/25

"French Postcards" is a light-hearted romantic comedy that was probably seen by more people on cable TV than in the theater.Two rising stars have supporting roles in this film.Mandy Patinkin plays "Sayyid." He won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for playing Che Guevera in "Evita" on Broadway in 1979... the same year "French Postcards" was released. He went on to star opposite Barbra Streisand in the film "Yentl," and to act in many other movies including another favorite of mine, "The Princess Bride." He's appeared in numerous Broadway productions and also played for years in the TV series "Chicago Hope."The other actor to watch for is Debra Winger who plays "Melanie." She went on to roles in "Urban Cowboy," "An Officer and a Gentleman," and "Terms of Endearment," and is a three-time Oscar nominee.As a reporter, I got to interview Winger when "Cannery Row" was released and asked her about her memories of "French Postcards." She said she was not happy about the way the film turned out because "Melanie" apparently played a much larger role in the original script as shot. She felt too much of her work was left on the cutting room floor during editing, and that her major character had been relegated to a lesser role. Judging from what's happened since, she was probably right.After "French Postcards," Willard Huyck went on to direct the bombs "Best Defense," and "Howard the Duck."

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sergio-45
1979/10/26

there is something about this film...when i was 15-16, it seemed that it was on HBO every other day. and i watched it every time! of course i had such a crush on Valérie Quennessen (Toni) and i can say i am actually crushed to learn of her death. but there was a lot more to the film than just your average teenage crush. i can't explain the feelings it gave me of another world, far away.turns out that neither kozmo nor urbanfetch have it, so am going to have to go on a quest now to find it.if you haven't seen this movie, do so! it is light, not too heavy on the mind or the heart, but leaves just enough of an impression on both that you won't forget it!

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