La Piscine (1969)

• Year: 1969
• Released: 01 Aug 1970
• Country: France, Italy
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064816/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_swimming_pool
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/la-piscine
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: French, English
• MPA Rating: GP
• Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance
• Runtime: 122 min
• Writer: Jean-Claude Carrière, Jacques Deray, Alain Page
• Director: Jacques Deray
• Cast: Alain Delon, Romy Schneider, Maurice Ronet
• Keywords: southern france,

	7.1/10
	95% – Critics
	81% – Audience

La Piscine Storyline

SPOILER: The failing writer Jean-Paul and his lover Marianne are together for more than two years and spending vacation in a mansion in Saint-Tropez that belongs to a friend of them. They spend most of the time in the swimming pool that is the main attraction of the real estate. Jean-Paul is an insecure man and tried to commit suicide because of the reviews of his last novel but is now recovered. When the composer Harry, who had been Marianne’s lover for four years, calls her and tells that he is passing by Saint-Tropez with his teenage daughter Pénélope, she invites them to come to the mansion to stay with Jean-Paul and her. Soon Harry woos Marianne trying to rekindle their former relationship and there is a tension in the house. Jean-Paul does not react and seduces Pénélope instead, which discloses the true feelings of Harry towards him. One night, Harry comes back late night drunk and argues with Jean-Paul, calling him a loser. However he falls in the swimming pool and Jean-Paul does not let him leave the water. Harry is drowned by Jean-Paul who forges a situation indicating that Harry has accidentally died. However the smart Inspector Lévêque does not buy the evidences of accident. What will happen to Jean-Paul?

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La Piscine Movie Reviews

You keep expecting to see fireworks and all you see is ennui….

“The Swimming Pool” is not a bad movie nor is it a very good one. Instead, it starts with a reasonably interesting premise and infuses it with almost zero energy and passion. The end result is like a diet of tap water and bread–not especially satisfying.

The film starts off horribly. There is a really, really annoying opening song–one of the worst I’ve heard in fact. Fortunately, the film does get better–it couldn’t get any worse! Alain Delon and Romy Schneider are a couple enjoying their time together on vacation. They mostly just lounge around the pool and make love–and considering how beautiful this couple is, I am sure many folks didn’t mind this slow portion of the film. It certainly was very sexy.

An old lover of Schneider’s shows up uninvited (Maurice Ronet) and brings his 18 year-old daughter (Jane Birkin). Instead of maintaining their passion, however, Schneider begins drifting towards her old lover and Delon just looks very bored. Later, Delon begins paying a lot of attention to the 18 year-old–though exactly how deep this relationship goes, you never know. What you do know, though, is that both Delon and Schneider begin to take the other for granted and their relationship suffers badly.

While this sounds like there would be a lot of excitement, there isn’t–and it’s all very strangely muted. Instead of anger, they mostly seemed filled with ennui and self-absorption–making the film very tough to enjoy. Only towards the end are there any–and by then it just seemed too late, as my attention had long since vanished–and it’s a shame, as the ending was pretty interesting (at least compared to the rest of the film). Had there been more fireworks along the way and some performances seeming more like normal human reactions, then the film could have been a lot more interesting. Slow and tough to love.

Delon and Schneider back together…

After ten years .Their last and only movie together(Schneider had only a cameo in “plein soleil”)was “Christine”.That movie helped Delon become a star when his partner was famous (the “Sissi saga”).But Schneider’s career ran into difficulties when she tried to get rid of her image of a very nice Austrian empress.And in the late sixties ,when her success was waning,Delon returned the favor,in a gentlemanly manner.He was right:Schneider soon gained critical acclaim again and became one of the biggest actresses of the seventies in France till her tragic death.We still miss her now.And Maurice Ronet too.

“La piscine” is a psychological detective story.There are only four characters well portrayed by the four leads.Almost all the action takes place around a pool (hence the title) in the middle of a desirable villa(I wish I could spend my vacation here).Tempers rise as it appears that Jean-Paul (Delon) is a wash-out professionally and that his guest (Ronet)is a show-off ,and Jean-Paul’s lover’s (Schneider) ‘ex -partner.It’s a cat and mouse play,not always original ,but where the actors can display their skills.The murder can remind people of “plein soleil” ,mainly because it’s the same actors.

Not flawless but still a classic

This film about surface and inner passion (derangement, fear, etc…obviously symbolized by the pool) is a pleasure, mostly through the performances of Alain Delon and Romy Schneider. Most of the plot lies under the surface and there are many scenes where one must read between the lines to understand where everything will lead to. Okay, the film could have been a bit shorter, but the actors in my opinion really make up for it. We’ve seen everything now in the movies – but still, the opening sequence is one of the hottest scenes ever filmed. I cannot explain, see it yourself.