''A Very Private Affair'' () is a 1962

romantic drama film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

co-written and directed by

Louis Malle Louis Marie Malle (; 30 October 1932 – 23 November 1995) was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. Described as "eclectic" and "a filmmaker difficult to pin down", Malle made document ...

and starring

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a French former actress, singer, and model as well as an animal rights activist. Famous for portraying characters with Hedonism, hedonistic life ...

and

Marcello Mastroianni Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (26 September 1924Come da lui stesso dichiarato a 1'10" dquesta intervista/ref> – 19 December 1996) was an Italian actor. He is generally regarded as one of Italy's most iconic male performers of the 20t ...

Plot

Jill is an 18-year-old French woman from an upper-class background who lives with her widowed mother in a luxurious villa on

Lake Geneva Lake Geneva is a deep lake on the north side of the Alps, shared between Switzerland and France. It is one of the List of largest lakes of Europe, largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the course of the Rhône. Sixty percent () ...

and takes ballet lessons in Paris with her close friend Carla. Despite dating Dick, her ballet instructor, she is secretly infatuated with the older Fabio Rinaldi, an Italian magazine editor and theater director who is married to Carla. Dismayed by her unrequited love, Jill moves to Paris with Dick, despite her mother's protests, and pursues a career as a ballerina. However, she soon grows bored with Dick and ballet, and briefly turns to modeling to earn money. After being discovered by film producer Maxime, Jill begins acting in films. Within three years, she becomes a world-famous sex symbol, although she faces intense media scrutiny for her many love affairs and is constantly hounded by paparazzi. While attending a premiere at Maxime's behest, Jill suffers a nervous breakdown after being mobbed by crazed fans and paparazzi. She is admitted to a clinic and shortly thereafter travels in secret to Geneva with her doctor, Juliette, to stay at her mother's villa, but she is not home. She then seeks out Fabio, who accompanies her back to her mother's villa and reveals that he has divorced Carla. As they enter the villa using a spare key, a horde of paparazzi who were tipped off by Juliette gather outside, distressing Jill. The next day, Fabio smuggles Jill out of the villa and into his apartment. While he is at work, she attempts suicide by drowning herself in his bathtub, but he rushes to her rescue and nurses her back to health. They soon become lovers while hiding in Fabio's apartment before he leaves for

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; ) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is south of Trevi, north of Terni, southeast of Perugia; southeast of Florence; and north of Rome. H ...

, Italy, where he is staging an open-air production of Heinrich von Kleist's play '' Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'' for the arts festival. In the meantime, Jill stays with her mother at the villa, which is surrounded by paparazzi. Maxime visits Jill, attempting to convince her to return to Paris, but when she expresses that she wants to quit acting, he threatens to sue her for breach of contract. Evading the paparazzi, Jill travels to Spoleto and happily reunites with Fabio. She is not recognized in public at first, until she encounters a close friend named Alain, a paparazzo, who publishes a photograph of Jill and Fabio in the newspaper. Soon, rehearsals for the play are hindered by hordes of fans and paparazzi, prompting Fabio to ask Jill to stay in his hotel room. Enraged by the media circus surrounding Jill, Fabio throws out Alain and his friends while they are keeping Jill company and vows to protect her. In response, Alain and his colleagues besiege the nearby rooftops, eager to take pictures of Jill. After Fabio transfers Jill to a higher room in the hotel, she quickly grows frustrated with having to stay alone in the room. On opening night, Fabio discourages Jill from attending the play, fearing her presence will cause an uproar, and she angrily accuses him of holding her captive. Shortly afterwards, Fabio calls Jill and pleads with her to come to the premiere, but she refuses. When Jill climbs out onto the rooftop to watch the play, she is spotted by Alain, who takes a picture of her. Startled by the flash of his camera, Jill loses her balance and falls to her death with a serene expression on her face.

Cast

as Jill *

as Fabio Rinaldi * Nicolas Bataille as Edmond * as Juliette * as Cécile * as Carla * Gregor von Rezzori as Gricha * as Alain, a photographer * Dirk Sanders as Dick * Paul Sorèze as Maxime * Gloria France as Anna

Production

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

took place from 10 June to 27 August 1961 in Paris, at the Franstudio in

Saint-Maurice, Val-de-Marne Saint-Maurice () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. The lunatic asylum Charenton was located in Saint-Maurice; it is now a psychiatric hospital. History Originally called Charen ...

, in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

and

Reception

According to a 1963 report by the Centre national de la cinématographie (CNC), Bardot's two films, ''

The Truth The Truth may refer to: Film * ''The Truth'' (1920 film) starring Madge Kennedy * ''The Truth'' (1960 film) or ''La Vérité'', a French film by Henri-Georges Clouzot starring Brigitte Bardot * ''The Truth'' (1988 film), a Hong Kong trial cri ...

'' and ''A Very Private Affair'', generated a combined net profit of $640,000 for their distributors in the United States.

References

External links

* *
A Very Private Affair
' at

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Very Private Affair, A 1962 films 1962 romantic drama films 1960s French films 1960s French-language films 1960s Italian films 1960s Italian-language films Films about actors Films about tabloid journalism Films directed by Louis Malle Films scored by Fiorenzo Carpi Films set in Geneva Films set in Paris Films set in Umbria Films shot in Italy Films shot in Paris Films shot in Switzerland Films shot in Val-de-Marne Films with screenplays by Jean-Paul Rappeneau French romantic drama films French-language Italian films French-language romantic drama films Italian romantic drama films Italian-language French films Italian-language romantic drama films