La Ronde (1964)
Directed by Roger Vadim

Film Review

When it was first performed in 1897, Arthur Schnitzler's play Reigen provoked scandal with its lurid eroticism.  This appears to be the same reaction Roger Vadim was hoping for with his 1964 adaptation of Schnitzler's play, which had previously been made into a film, La Ronde (1950), by the esteemed German cineaste Max Ophüls.  In his cleverly tongue-in-cheek version, Ophüls handles the raunchier aspects of the play with whimsical metaphor (the breakdown of a merry-go-round representing impotency), whereas Vadim prefers the more full-frontal approach.  It is not hard to see which is the superior film.

By this stage in his career, Vadim had pretty well depleted his modest stock of inspiration and good taste, and an endless supply of tacky vulgarity was just about all he had left to play with.  Had it been made a few years earlier, when Vadim could at least turn in a plausible imitation of a sensible artist, his La Ronde might have approximated to the stylish power of Les Liaisons dangereuses (1959), his one worthwhile film.  By the mid-60s, Vadim was so far past his best that his adaptation of Schnitzler's play was bound to be a disappointment, but even those familiar with his late work will be surprised by how bad it is.  Despite being scripted by one of France's greatest playwrights (Jean Anouilh) and photographed by French cinema's finest cinematographer (Henri Decaë), Vadim's La Ronde is a turgid spectacle of vulgarity which appears to be incapable of distinguishing real art from softcore porn.

It is hard to believe that a film which boasts the combined talents of Jane Fonda, Maurice Ronet and Anna Karina (to name just three fine actors in the impressive cast) should fail to impress so spectacularly.  It is reported that Vadim was so beguiled by Fonda that he neglected every other member of the cast, and judging by the performances it is easy to believe the truth of this.  Only Fonda shines in this tawdry monstrosity, but whilst she was able to salvage Vadim's subsequent foray into bad taste - Barbarella (1968) - here she can only save the scenes she appears in.  Decaë's cinematography has a garish beauty that is occasionally mesmerising, but this alone cannot make up for the sheer, staggering vacuity of a film that cannot help collapsing under the weight of its pretentious excesses.  Max Ophüls's La Ronde leaves the spectator in a state of contented exhilaration.  Vadim's version leaves you wishing you could delete the last two hours from your life.

Film Synopsis

So turns the wheel of love...  In Paris, 1914, just before the outbreak of WWI, a prostitute mistakes a handsome soldier she meets in the street for a childhood acquaintance.  For old time's sake, she offers her services for free, and her lucky client leaves afterwards without the least sign of gratitude.  The same soldier, Georges, later encounters two pretty young women at a ball.  He flirts with one of them, Rose, before turning his attention to the other.  One Sunday, Rose, a chambermaid to a bourgeois family, finds herself on the receiving end of the passionate declarations of love of her employer's son, Alfred.

Later, Alfred is meeting in secret with a married woman, Sophie, who derives a thrill from playing the part of the adulterous wife.  Sophie's highly respectable partner Henri professes to being the most faithful of husbands, but he keeps to himself the fact that he has taken a young woman as his mistress.  The latter is delighted when she meets a writer who promises to make her a famous actress.  The same writer then spends a night with his former mistress Maximilienne, who is now a great actress.  The next day, this star of the Parisian stage enjoys the company of a disillusioned young aristocrat, who then meets up with the very prostitute who began this cycle of romantic encounters...