Two English Girls
Encyclopedia
Two English Girls is a 1971 French romantic
drama film
directed by François Truffaut
and based on a 1956 novel
by Henri-Pierre Roché
. Starring Jean-Pierre Léaud
as Claude, Kika Markham
as Anne, and Stacey Tendeter
as Muriel.
The novel was available in its first English translation as of January 2004, translated by Walter Bruno
, published by Cambridge Book Review Press, Cambridge, WI. Despite the title, the titular characters are actually both Welsh
.
), a young middle-class Frenchman, meets Ann Brown (Kika Markham
), a young Englishwoman, and they become quick friends. Ann invites Claude to spend the holidays at her family's mansion, where we meet Ann's widowed mother (Sylvia Marriott) and younger sister Muriel (Stacey Tendeter
). During the holidays, Claude, Ann and Muriel become very close and Claude gradually falls in love with Muriel. Not fully knowing the couple's intentions, both families lay down a one-year-long separation without any contact before agreeing to get married. Claude goes back to Paris when he has many love affairs, and eleven months later he sends Muriel a break-off letter. A despondent Muriel sinks into a deep depression, and upon returning to Paris to defend her sister, Ann falls for Claude. This instigates a love triangle that consumes the threesome for the next twenty years.
.
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by 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...
and based on a 1956 novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Henri-Pierre Roché
Henri-Pierre Roché
Henri-Pierre Roché was a French author who was deeply involved with the artistic avant-garde in Paris and the Dada movement.- Biography :Roché was born in Paris, France. In 1898, he was an art student at the Académie Julian....
. Starring Jean-Pierre Léaud
Jean-Pierre Léaud
-Early years:Born in Paris, Léaud made his major debut as an actor at the age of 14 as Antoine Doinel, a semi-autobiographical character based on the life events of French film director François Truffaut, in The 400 Blows....
as Claude, Kika Markham
Kika Markham
Kika Markham is an English actress.Markham was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire. She is a daughter of actor David Markham and writer Olive Dehn . She has led a long career in the cinema, television, and theatre as an actress...
as Anne, and Stacey Tendeter
Stacey Tendeter
Stacey Tendeter was a British actress best known for her performance as Muriel in the 1971 film Two English Girls...
as Muriel.
The novel was available in its first English translation as of January 2004, translated by Walter Bruno
Walter Bruno
Walter Bruno, M.Phil was born in Montreal, Canada.His career as a writer of plays includes three productions, Shouting for Joy; Hand-to-Hand; and, in collaboration, Ubu the King, all staged in Toronto...
, published by Cambridge Book Review Press, Cambridge, WI. Despite the title, the titular characters are actually both Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
.
Plot
The film begins in Paris, somewhere around the year 1902. Claude Roc (Jean-Pierre LéaudJean-Pierre Léaud
-Early years:Born in Paris, Léaud made his major debut as an actor at the age of 14 as Antoine Doinel, a semi-autobiographical character based on the life events of French film director François Truffaut, in The 400 Blows....
), a young middle-class Frenchman, meets Ann Brown (Kika Markham
Kika Markham
Kika Markham is an English actress.Markham was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire. She is a daughter of actor David Markham and writer Olive Dehn . She has led a long career in the cinema, television, and theatre as an actress...
), a young Englishwoman, and they become quick friends. Ann invites Claude to spend the holidays at her family's mansion, where we meet Ann's widowed mother (Sylvia Marriott) and younger sister Muriel (Stacey Tendeter
Stacey Tendeter
Stacey Tendeter was a British actress best known for her performance as Muriel in the 1971 film Two English Girls...
). During the holidays, Claude, Ann and Muriel become very close and Claude gradually falls in love with Muriel. Not fully knowing the couple's intentions, both families lay down a one-year-long separation without any contact before agreeing to get married. Claude goes back to Paris when he has many love affairs, and eleven months later he sends Muriel a break-off letter. A despondent Muriel sinks into a deep depression, and upon returning to Paris to defend her sister, Ann falls for Claude. This instigates a love triangle that consumes the threesome for the next twenty years.
Cast
- Jean-Pierre LéaudJean-Pierre Léaud-Early years:Born in Paris, Léaud made his major debut as an actor at the age of 14 as Antoine Doinel, a semi-autobiographical character based on the life events of French film director François Truffaut, in The 400 Blows....
as Claude Roc - Kika MarkhamKika MarkhamKika Markham is an English actress.Markham was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire. She is a daughter of actor David Markham and writer Olive Dehn . She has led a long career in the cinema, television, and theatre as an actress...
as Ann Brown - Stacey TendeterStacey TendeterStacey Tendeter was a British actress best known for her performance as Muriel in the 1971 film Two English Girls...
as Muriel Brown - Sylvia Marriott as Mrs. Brown
- Marie Mansart as Madame Roc
- Philippe LéotardPhilippe LéotardPhilippe Léotard was a French actor, poet, and singer....
as Diurka - Irène TuncIrène TuncIrène Tunc was a French actress and model. She was crowned Miss France in 1954. She was the wife of film director Alain Cavalier and she died in a car crash in 1972...
as Ruta - Mark Peterson as Mr. Flint
- Georges DelerueGeorges DelerueGeorges Delerue , was a French film composer who composed over 350 scores for cinema and television. He won numerous important awards including Rome Prize , Emmy Award , Genie Award , ACE Award and Academy Award for Best Original Score in 1979 for A...
as Claude's business agent - Marie Iracane as Madame Roc's maidservant
Reception
The film received generally positive reviews; it currently holds an 86% 'fresh' rating on review aggregate website Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.