L'important c'est d'aimer
Encyclopedia
L'important c'est d'aimer (That Most Important Thing: Love) is a French film directed by Polish filmmaker Andrzej Żuławski. It tells the story of a passionate love relationship between Nadine Chevalier, a B-List actress (Schneider
) and Servais Mont, a photographer (Testi
) in the violent and unforgiving French show biz.
In 1975, Żuławski coadapted and directed this movie, based on the novel by Christopher Frank La Nuit américaine (no relation with the François Truffaut
movie
). The success in France was such —it was featuring the very popular actress Romy Schneider
and French singer Jacques Dutronc
— that it allowed Żuławski to come back to Poland. The film had a total of 1,544,986 admissions in France.
Romy Schneider obtained the inaugural César Award for Best Actress
for this role and Pedro Almodóvar
dedicated his film All About My Mother
partially to her in this role.
Romy Schneider
Romy Schneider was an Austrian-born German film actress who also held French citizenship.-Early life:Schneider was born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach in Nazi-era Vienna, six months after the Anschluss, into a family of actors that included her paternal grandmother Rosa Albach-Retty, her Austrian...
) and Servais Mont, a photographer (Testi
Fabio Testi
Fabio Testi is an Italian film actor, notable as the star of, among many other films, First Action Hero.Born in Peschiera del Garda, Italy, the 1.84m tall actor started his film career as a stuntman in his college years...
) in the violent and unforgiving French show biz.
In 1975, Żuławski coadapted and directed this movie, based on the novel by Christopher Frank La Nuit américaine (no relation with the François Truffaut
François Truffaut
François Roland Truffaut was an influential film critic and filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the French film industry. He was also a screenwriter, producer, and actor working on over twenty-five...
movie
Day for Night (film)
La Nuit Américaine is a 1973 French film directed by François Truffaut. It stars Jacqueline Bisset and Jean-Pierre Léaud. In French, nuit américaine is a technical process whereby sequences filmed outdoors in daylight are underexposed to appear as if they are taking place at night...
). The success in France was such —it was featuring the very popular actress Romy Schneider
Romy Schneider
Romy Schneider was an Austrian-born German film actress who also held French citizenship.-Early life:Schneider was born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach in Nazi-era Vienna, six months after the Anschluss, into a family of actors that included her paternal grandmother Rosa Albach-Retty, her Austrian...
and French singer Jacques Dutronc
Jacques Dutronc
Jacques Dutronc is a French singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer, and actor. He has been married to singer Françoise Hardy since 30 March 1981 and the two have a son . He also has been a longtime songwriting collaborator with Jacques Lanzmann...
— that it allowed Żuławski to come back to Poland. The film had a total of 1,544,986 admissions in France.
Romy Schneider obtained the inaugural César Award for Best Actress
César Award for Best Actress
List of winners and nominees of the César Award for Best Actress .-Winners and nominees:...
for this role and Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar Caballero is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.Almodóvar is arguably the most successful and internationally known Spanish filmmaker of his generation. His films, marked by complex narratives, employ the codes of melodrama and use elements of pop culture, popular...
dedicated his film All About My Mother
All About My Mother
All About My Mother is a 1999 Spanish drama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. The film deals with complex issues such as AIDS, transvestitism, faith, and existentialism....
partially to her in this role.
Plot
Servais Mont, a photographer, meets Nadine Chevalier who earns her money starring in cheap soft-core movies. Trying to help her, he borrows the money from the loan sharks to finance the theatrical production of 'Richard III' and gives Nadine a part. Nadine is torn apart between Servais, for whom she is falling in love, and her husband Jacques, to whom she has moral obligations.Cast
- Romy SchneiderRomy SchneiderRomy Schneider was an Austrian-born German film actress who also held French citizenship.-Early life:Schneider was born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach in Nazi-era Vienna, six months after the Anschluss, into a family of actors that included her paternal grandmother Rosa Albach-Retty, her Austrian...
as Nadine Chevalier - Fabio TestiFabio TestiFabio Testi is an Italian film actor, notable as the star of, among many other films, First Action Hero.Born in Peschiera del Garda, Italy, the 1.84m tall actor started his film career as a stuntman in his college years...
as Servais Mont - Jacques DutroncJacques DutroncJacques Dutronc is a French singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer, and actor. He has been married to singer Françoise Hardy since 30 March 1981 and the two have a son . He also has been a longtime songwriting collaborator with Jacques Lanzmann...
as Jacques Chevalier - Claude DauphinClaude Dauphin (actor)Claude Dauphin was a French actor. He appeared in over 130 films between 1930 and 1978.He was born in Corbeil-Essonnes, Essonne. His father was Maurice Étienne Legrand, a poet who wrote as Franc-Nohain, and who was the librettist for Maurice Ravel's opera L'heure espagnole.Dauphin married...
as Mazelli - Roger BlinRoger BlinRoger Blin was a French actor and director notable for directing the first production of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot....
as Servais's father - Gabrielle Doulcet as Madame Mazelli
- Michel RobinMichel RobinMichel Robin is a French film actor and comedian. He has appeared in 120 films since 1966.-Selected filmography:* The Invitation * Les Guichets du Louvre * L'important c'est d'aimer...
as Raymond Lapade - Guy MairesseGuy MairesseGuy Mairesse was a racing driver from France. He participated in 3 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on September 3, 1950...
as Laurent Messala - Katia Tchenko as Myriam, the whore
- Nicoletta Machiavelli as Luce, Lapade's wife
- Klaus KinskiKlaus KinskiKlaus Kinski, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski , was a German actor. He appeared in more than 130 films, and is perhaps best-remembered as a leading role actor in Werner Herzog films: Aguirre, the Wrath of God , Nosferatu the Vampyre , Woyzeck , Fitzcarraldo and Cobra Verde .-Early...
as Karl-Heinz Zimmer - Paul BiscigliaPaul Bisciglia-Career:Throughout his acting career, Bisciglia appeared in more than one-hundred feature films. He made his debut in the 1950 film Trois télégrammes. What followed was several uncredited roles, before landing a much larger part in drama Clara de Montargis...
as Assistant director